Ohio State tied with Northwestern after wind-blown first half
Nov. 5—Ohio State struggled with the elements and a plucky Northwestern team before forging a 7-7 tie through two quarters in Evanston.
The Wildcats struck first with a nine-play, 80-yard drive that featured 61 yards on the ground.
The last 16 came from Evan Hull, who took a direct snap and juked cornerback JK Johnson at the line of scrimmage before going into the end zone untouched.
After spinning its wheels most of the first half, Ohio State finally got something going on its seventh possession of the day.
The Buckeyes took over at the Northwestern 46 after a short punt into the wind and needed six plays to find the end zone on a 15-yard end-around by Emeka Egbuka, who tight-roped the sideline inside the 5 and spun into the end zone at the goal line. C.J. Stroud kept the drive going two plays earlier when he kept the ball on a zone-read and picked up 16 yards on fourth-and-1.
With winds howling in their faces, the Wildcats ran out the first half after getting one first down on the ensuing drive.
They outgained the second-ranked Buckeyes 140-118, including 109-72 on the ground.
After two disappointing showings, Ohio State's running game continued to struggle while the wind played havoc with Stroud and the passing game.
He completed 6 of 16 passes for 46 yards while the Buckeyes were stopped on third-and-short three times and another fourth-and-1.
Hull ran 15 times for 75 yards in the first half for Northwestern.
