Ohio State football final score: Ohio State 21, Northwestern 7

The Ohio State football team travels to Evanston, Ill. for a matchup against 1-7 Northwestern as the 8-0 Buckeyes begin their November push to the College Football Playoffs.

The Buckeyes are ranked No. 2 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, behind only No.1 Tennessee, who plays No. 3 Georgia on Saturday.

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So there will likely be some type of shakeup in the top 4 of the CFP, and the Buckeyes (along with No. 4 Clemson, which plays Notre Dame) hope to benefit from it. But they need to beat Northwestern in what should be a wet and windy day in Illinois.

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The Wildcats have lost seven straight games since beating Nebraska in Ireland to start the season. Last week, Northwestern allowed the struggling-to-score Iowa Hawkeyes to put up 33 in a 20-point loss. Ohio State beat Iowa 54-10 two weeks ago.

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Will Ohio State make its case to be the No. 1 team today if Tennessee were to lose to Georgia? Follow the action live as the Columbus Dispatch provides and scoring and news updates today.

A couple of interesting stats from today:

Ohio State's longest pass play against Northwestern was 15 yards, while the Buckeyes had four rushes of 15-plus yards. Ohio State's offensive output of 283 total yards marks the first time since the 2017 Cotton Bowl that OSU was held beneath 300 yards.

Ohio State football final score: Ohio State 21, Northwestern 7

OSU improves to 9-0 and will next play Indiana at home on Saturday.

Final stats:

Northwestern's Brendan Sullivan hurt

It's too generous to say Brendan Sullivan looked woozy or that he got his bell rung. The Wildcats quarterback, following a jarring hit, started to leave the field and went down on a knee before he was finally walked off by athletics trainers.

OSU's C.J. Stroud again gets it done in the running game | Score: Ohio State 21, Northwestern 7

While Ohio State's C.J. Stroud has struggled through the air, he is easily having his best game running. His previous high rushing was 13 yards, a number he posted twice in 2021. Today, he has 79, including a 44-yard gain on OSU's most recent touchdown drive. Miyan Williams was the player to actually carry it into the end zone for a two-yard score.

C.J. Stroud needs fourth-quarter turnaround to avoid his worst day of 2022

Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud is 10-26 passing for 76 yards, giving him a quarterback rating of 63. His previous low this season was a 78.9 quarterback rating in OSU's Oct. 1 game against Rutgers, a 49-10 win for the Buckeyes.

Stats through the third quarter of the Ohio State, Northwestern game:

OSU's Miyan Williams runs for a touchdown | Score: Ohio State 14, Northwestern 7

Ohio State's last two drives have ended in touchdowns, including their first possession of the second half. Miyan Williams capped things off by bouncing off defenders on a 27-yard TD run. C.J. Stroud ran down the field with Williams and was the last Buckeye in position to set a block. Williams celebrated his touchdown with a weather angel.

Ohio State's defense gives Buckeyes ball in positive territory

OSU allowed 20 yards and then buckled down, holding the Wildcats on fourth down. So Ohio State's offense will start their first offensive drive of the second half at the Northwestern 45.

Ohio State football score, halftime stats:

OSU's C.J. Stroud is Buckeyes' leading rusher | Score: Ohio State 7, Northwestern 7

Emeka Egbuka scored on a 15-yard fly sweep, but what really got OSU's offense going on their first scoring drive of the day were runs of 16 and 6 yards for quarterback C.J. Stroud.

Here is a look at Egbuka's touchdown:

Here are OSU's rushing numbers:

Ohio State's struggles continue with even worse weather on the way

In the second quarter, OSU has 2:10 time of possession to Northwestern's 6:33. The Buckeyes have two second-quarter drives, both of which ended with punts.

Ugly first quarter stats for OSU

As beat writers Joey Kaufman and Bill Rabinowitz noted in one of the texts they send to their subscribers, it was the first quarter all year in which Ohio State failed to score.

Ohio State no longer perfect on fourth down

OSU opened the season converting on 11 straight fourth-down attempts, but with the offense struggling mightily in Evanston, Illinois, they came up short and turned the ball over to the Northwestern Wildcats.

Northwestern carves up OSU defense for touchdown | Score: Northwestern 7, Ohio State 0

Northwestern averaged 8.9 yards per play on a scoring drive that ended with Evan Hull taking a direct snap and rushing left for a 16-yard touchdown. Not only did the Wildcats get yards in chunks, but they avoided plays of negative or no gain.

Ohio State and Northwestern having trouble getting passing games going

It wasn't until there were about nine minutes remaining in the first quarter that either team could complete a pass. Brendan Sullivan missed on his only attempt on Northwestern's opening drive. (He has, however, connected on two passes since.) Ohio State's C.J. Stroud has been off-target on his first five throws.

Conditions at kickoff

According to the National Weather Service, when the Wildcats kicked off today's game against OSU, the weather in Evanston, Illinois, was 63 degrees with 81% humidity and south winds at 26 mph with gusts up to 45 mph.

Who are the officials for today's Ohio State, Northwestern game

Observations from Ohio State pregame

With running back TreVeyon Henderson out this week, Miyan Willians will handle starting duties. And behind him in warmups was Chip Trayanum, who played the position at Arizona State before transferring to OSU. However, he only recently returned to the position with the Buckeyes. He had been playing linebacker.

Teradja Mitchell was warming up with the linebackers after missing the previous six games with an undisclosed injury.

Three projected 2023 NFL draft first-round picks are set to face off in Ohio State vs. Northwestern 

Ohio State will not be the only team with first-round talent on the field Saturday afternoon.

Northwestern offensive tackle Peter Skoronski is projected to be the No. 6 overall pick in CBS Sports’ latest 2023 NFL mock draft.

Skoronski will be one of three projected first-round picks that will likely take the field Saturday, along with Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and offensive tackle Paris Johnson Jr.

Ohio State wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba is also projected as a first-round puck, but will miss Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury.

Pat Fitzgerald: Northwestern has ‘hands full’ with Ohio State

When previewing Northwestern’s matchup with Ohio State Monday, coach Pat Fitzgerald wasn’t afraid to mince words when talking about the Buckeyes.

“When you pop on the tape and take a deeper dive, it’s a complete team,” Fitzgerald said. “Coach (Ryan) Day and his staff have done a phenomenal job in recruiting. They’ve got depth everywhere and explosiveness in all three phases. Coming off a really hard-fought game at Penn State, that was impressive to watch.

“We’ll have our hands full.”

Redshirt senior defensive back A.J. Hampton Jr. showed confidence when asked about facing Ohio State’s passing game led by quarterback C.J. Stroud.

“Everybody’s praising these guys, everybody wants these guys to do good,” Hampton said. “But they haven’t faced us yet. They haven’t faced me, they haven’t faced Cam Mitchell, they haven’t faced any of our secondary.”

Ohio State vs. Northwestern set for extreme weather conditions Saturday

Weather conditions are not set to be ideal for Ohio State vs. Northwestern Saturday afternoon.

Evanston, Illinois is currently under a high-wind warning with gusts up to 65 mph, and a storm warning that will last until 8 p.m. with a 52% chance of rain starting at noon.

Coach Ryan Day said he’s preparing for extreme conditions Saturday afternoon.

"This is probably a little more extreme, so we will have to be smart," Day said on ESPN's "College GameDay" Saturday morning. "But also, we're going to play our game.

"We have to be cognizant of how the wind's blowing. It looks like it's blowing north here. We'll have the wind one of the quarters and then going against it the other quarter. We'll adjust, but we're also going to run our offense.

Ohio State has dominated its recent history against Northwestern 

Ohio State hasn’t had much trouble with Northwestern recently.

Since 1972, the Buckeyes have only lost once against the Wildcats: a 33-27 loss in Evanston, Illinois in 2004. After the loss, Ohio State has won each of its last nine games against Northwestern by a combined score of 388-121, allowing more than 24 points only once.

During Ohio State’s nine-game win streak against Northwestern, the Buckeyes have beaten the Wildcats by an average of 29.7 points per game.

Ohio State also leads the overall season series 64-14-1, which started with a 58-0 Buckeye victory in 1913.

Ohio State comes in as massive favorite against Northwestern 

Ohio State will come into Ryan Field Saturday as a massive favorite against Northwestern.

The Buckeyes are 37.5-point favorites against the Wildcats according to Tipico Sportsbook, with an over/under line of 55.5 points.

Ohio State is a 38-point favorite on Draft Kings Sportsbook, while coming in as 38.5-point favorites against Northwestern on FanDuel Sportsbook.

While Ohio State has won each of its eight games in 2022, the Buckeyes are 4-3-1 against the spread this season, while Northwestern, with only one win, has covered three of its eight matchups this season.

Ohio State to be without TreVeyon Henderson, Jaxon Smith-Njigba vs. Northwestern

Ohio State will be without two of its main offensive weapons Saturday afternoon against Northwestern.

After recording 78 rushing yards and two touchdowns against Penn State Oct. 29, running back TreVeyon Henderson was listed as unavailable for the Buckeyes against the Wildcats.

Ohio State will have Miyan Williams back Saturday afternoon, who recorded only two rushes for nine yards and a touchdown against the Nittany Lions before leaving the game at the end of the first quarter.

Wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba will miss his second-straight game after playing 23 snaps against Iowa Oct. 22. Due to a lingering hamstring injury, he's been limited to five receptions for 43 yards.

According to an interview with The Dispatch, Maada Smith-Njigba, Jaxon's father, said the best-case scenario for the wide receiver's return is against Michigan Nov. 26.

Ohio State will also be without wide receiver Kamryn Babb, cornerback Cameron Brown, running back T.C. Caffey, cornerback Lloyd McFarquhar, linebacker Mitchell Melton, linebacker Jalen Pace, running back Evan Pryor, long snapper Bradley Robinson, running back Cayden Saunders and safety Kourt Williams against Northwestern.

What time is the Ohio State football game vs. Northwestern?

Kickoff: Noon, Ryan Field

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What channel is the Ohio State game on this week against Northwestern?

The Ohio State Buckeyes will play Northwestern on ABC. This is the fourth game in a row the Buckeyes have been on national TV.

s the OSU vs. Northwestern game streaming?

Yes. The game will stream on any platform that offers ABC, such as HULU Live and YouTube TV. The game will also be on the ESPN+ app.

Who is announcing the Ohio State vs. Northwestern game?

Here is the broadcast team:

• Sean McDonough (play-by-play)

• Todd Blackledge (analysis)

• Molly McGrath (sideline)

Listen to Ohio State football: OSU radio station information

The Ohio State game will broadcast in Columbus on 97.1 FM and 1460 AM.

Here are the announcers:

• Paul Keels (play-by-play)

• Jim Lachey (analysis)

• Matt Andrews (sideline)

College football rankings: CFP Week 1 poll

1. Tennessee (8-0)

2. Ohio State (8-0)

3. Georgia (8-0)

4. Clemson (8-0)

5. Michigan (8-0)

6. Alabama (7-1)

7. TCU (8-0)

8. Oregon (7-1)

9. USC (7-1)

10. LSU (6-2)

11. Ole Miss (8-1)

12. UCLA (7-1)

13. Kansas State (6-2)

14. Utah (6-2)

15. Penn State (6-2)

16. Illinois (7-1)

17. North Carolina (7-1)

18. Oklahoma State (6-2)

19. Tulane (7-1)

20. Syracuse (6-2)

21. Wake Forest (6-2)

22. NC State (6-2)

23. Oregon State (6-2)

24. Texas (5-3)

25. UCF (6-2)

Ohio State football's 2022 schedule

• Sept. 3: Ohio State 21, Notre Dame 10

• Sept. 10: Ohio State 45, Arkansas State 12

• Sept. 17: Ohio State 77, Toledo 21

• Sept. 24: Ohio State 52, Wisconsin 21

• Oct. 1: Ohio State 49, Rutgers 10

• Oct. 8: Ohio State 49, Michigan State 20

• Oct. 22: Ohio State 54, Iowa 10

• Oct. 29: Ohio State 44, Penn State 31

• Nov. 5: Ohio State vs. Northwestern, Evanston, Ill. , noon

• Nov. 12: Ohio State vs. Indiana, Columbus, Ohio

• Nov. 19: Ohio State vs. Maryland, College Park, Md.

• Nov. 26: Ohio State vs. Michigan, Columbus, Ohio, noon 

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Ohio State football score vs. Northwestern: Live OSU updates