BIG ONE SLIPS AWAY
Northwestern falls apart in fourth quarter in loss to Ohio State
Dwayne Haskins added five more touchdown passes to his singleseason record Saturday and No. 6 Ohio State relied on its staunch defense to hold off a second-half charge from No. 21 Northwestern for a 45-24 victory to claim its second consecutive Big Ten championship.
The Buckeyes (12-1) won their third title in five years and their fifth consecutive game — but it’s unlikely to get them into the fourteam College Football Playoff.
Clayton Thorson went 27-for44 with 267 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as he helped Northwestern trim a 24-7 halftime deficit to 24-21 midway through the third quarter. But NU allowed two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game out of reach. The Wildcats (8-5) lost only their second conference contest in their last 17 league games.
“I tip my hat to coach [Urban] Meyer, his staff and their players — they’re Big Ten champs for a reason,” coach Pat Fitzgerald said.
Haskins finished 34-for-41 with 499 yards and one interception for the Buckeyes. It’s the fifth time he topped 400 yards this season.
“It’s a quarterback’s dream not only to have great receivers, but a great offensive line, great running backs and great tight ends,” Haskins said.
It still turned out to be a more intriguing game than many expected, especially after the Buckeyes’ fast start.
John Moten IV’s 77-yard scoring run, which tied the score at 7-7 in the first quarter, matched Ohio State’s J.K. Dobbins for the secondlongest run in title game history. Dobbins had a 77-yard run in last year’s title game.
After trailing 24-7 at the half, the Wildcats opened the third quarter with Thorson’s 18-yard scoring run and made it 24-21 when Thorson found Cameron Green for a twoyard touchdown pass with 8:03 left in the quarter.
After Haskins connected with Chris Olave for a 29-yard touchdown pass, Charlie Kuhbander made a 21yard field goal to get the Wildcats within 31-24 with 10:34 to go.
But Haskins sealed it with two more touchdown passes — a nineyarder to Johnnie Dixon and a 17-yarder to Olave.
The ascending Wildcats showed some grit after an abysmal start, which could have buried them. Instead, they fought their way back into contention and gave themselves a shot. Now they’ll wait to find out when and where they’ll get to play next.