Northwestern is out of their bye week and set to host No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday at Wrigley Field for Homecoming.

Both teams played Purdue as their previous opponent. The Wildcats won 26-20 in overtime on Nov. 2. The Buckeyes, who had looked mortal with narrow wins over Nebraska and Penn State, cruised past the Boilermakers in a 45-0 rout last week.

Ohio State enters the game with the second-best offense in yards per game in the Big Ten, while Northwestern ranks 18th. The Buckeyes score 38.6 points per game, more than double the Wildcats' 19.2 mark.

Northwestern enters the game as 28.5-point underdogs and any hope for an upset rides heavily on Ohio State looking past them to their final two foes: No. 5 Indiana and arch-rival Michigan.

History is not on the Wildcats’ side: they have lost the last 10 games in the series, and 34 of the last 35. It's been 20 years since Northwestern upset the Buckeyes, though Ohio State's margin of victory in the last two games has been 14 points or less.

The Wildcats stand at 4-5 with three games to play, needing two wins to lock up a bowl game and one to put themselves in a favorable spot to earn a bid on Academic Progress Rate.

Our staff weighs in with their picks.

MORE ON OHIO STATE WEEK: Three questions as Northwestern faces the big, bad Buckeyes | Wildcats brace for matchup with No. 2 Ohio State

Northwestern has played an elite team close before: they were within three points of now-No. 5 Indiana in the third quarter of that matchup, and it's a Hoosier defense that's now No. 7 in the nation in scoring defense. But the Buckeyes are on another level, especially on the defensive line. The Buckeyes are allowing just 10.7 points per game, second-best in the nation, and that's with 32 allowed on the road at No. 1 Oregon.

Northwestern's offense showed some progress in the win over Purdue, and it was a career day for Jack Lausch. But it'll be a game of duck and cover for him against the Buckeyes. Lesser defenses like Iowa, Wisconsin and Washington have totally swamped the Wildcats at the point of attack and kept their offense out of the end zone.

I think the Buckeyes run the same game plan we've already seen a handful of times this season: lock down Northwestern's offense, tire out their defense and run up the points.

Fearless Forecast: No. 2 Ohio State 42, Northwestern 3

Leave it to Northwestern to schedule their Homecoming game against the No. 2 team in the country in a venue where they've never won a game. Nothing makes alumni open up their wallets more than watching their alma mater take one on the chin while sitting in a stadium full of Buckeye fans.

I actually think Northwestern's defense will slow down the Buckeyes -- for a while. The Wildcats will do what they do best: play a soft, Cover-4 to prevent big plays over the top, keep everything in front of them, tackle well and make the Buckeyes snap the ball 10-plus times to score. And if they score, they'll try to limit them to more 3s than 7s.

But the offense is another story. This isn't Jake Paul against Mike Tyson; it's more like Aaron Paul against Mike Tyson. The one player who may be sorer than quarterback Jack Lausch the day after the game may be punter Hunter Renner.

The Wildcat defense will hang tough until they tire. The offense will get hung out to dry.

Fearless Forecast: No. 2 Ohio State 34, Northwestern 6