For the second time in three years, Northwestern faces Ohio State in the Big Ten championship game.

The big, bad Buckeyes come in with a 5-0 record and No. 4 ranking in the College Football Playoff. Quarterback Justin Fields directs the No. 4 scoring offense in the country at 46.6 points per game, and they have been installed as 20-point favorites over the Wildcats.

No. 14 Northwestern (5-1) is no stranger to Ohio State, having faced them in each of the last two seasons. In 2018, on the same stage, the Buckeyes beat the Cats 45-24 for the Big Ten title. Then last season, Ohio State came into Evanston and, as head coach Pat Fitzgerald said this week, shouldn't even have turned the busses off in a 52-3 demolition.

How does this Buckeye outfit compare to those two, and where might there be some chinks in the Scarlet-and-Gray armor Northwestern could exploit? We went to Kevin Noon, publisher of BuckeyeGrove.com, to get the inside scoop on Ohio State.

Here is our Q & A.

Q. Northwestern has seen the 2018 and 2019 Buckeyes up close and personal. In 2018, NU gave them a game for three quarters, but last year, as Pat Fitzgerald said this week, “they shouldn’t have even turned off their buses.” How do you compare this 2020 Buckeye squad to those two? Where are they stronger, and where do they not measure up?