Northwestern can’t keep up in title game
Ohio State crowned Big Ten champs with 45-24 victory
INDIANAPOLIS — This Northwestern team defied both expectations — 11-1 odds to win the Big Ten West — and logic, becoming the first group in FBS history to go winless in nonconference play and claim a division title.
What it couldn’t do was defy the laws of physics.
Ohio State players are simply faster, stronger and better. And all that showed in the Buckeyes’ 45-24 victory in the Big Ten championship game Saturday night.
Dwayne Haskins played like both a Heisman Trophy winner and the first pick of the NFL draft. His gifts were on display throughout, but one play stood out.
With 98 seconds to play before the half, Ohio State faced a third-and-20. Haskins spotted Terry McLaurin streaking down the right sideline. There wasn’t much space between McLaurin and cornerback Greg Newsome, but it was enough for Haskins.
He dropped a dime into McLaurin’s arms, making the score 24-7.
Thanks to NU’s overmatched secondary, Ohio State’s receivers seemed to be open 24/7.
Haskins finished the game 34-for-41 for 499 passing yards and five scores and one Montre Hartage interception. Haskins’ virtuoso performance will have the redshirt sophomore climbing the NFL draft big boards.
First, though, Ohio State will go to Pasadena, Calif. This is Urban Meyer’s third Big Ten title in seven seasons, but strangely enough he has never coached in the Rose Bowl.
Ohio State is 12-1, but barring a Jim Delany miracle the Buckeyes will not be in the College Football Playoff. With the selection committee slated to choose between Oklahoma and Georgia for the fourth and final spot, this will be the second straight Big Ten shutout after being included in the first three.
Northwestern, meanwhile, likely is ticketed for either the Dec. 31 Holiday Bowl (in San Diego versus the Pac-12) or the Jan. 1 Citrus Bowl (Orlando, Fla., versus the SEC).
"I’m so thankful for the new standard our seniors have created,” Wildcats coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “The guys fought valiantly and gave it all they had. I’m so thankful I get one more game to coach them.”
Northwestern had one clear highlight in the first half: Veteran John Moten IV, who had zero carries during a five-game stretch late in the season, broke through the right side for a 77-yard touchdown, NU’s first of the game. The common reaction: “Johnny Mo” is still on the team?
Down 17, Northwestern came out blazing in the third quarter. Clayton Thorson scrambled his way to an 18-yard score, taking a body blow before he hit the purple paint.
A memorable play came on the next drive: Charlie Fessler caught a pass and began wrestling with safety Damon Arnette for the ball. It came loose, but a replay review revealed that Fessler’s knee was down.
The Wildcats scored two plays later on a brilliant play call — superback Cam Green was all alone after a play fake for a 2-yard score.
NU had the ball trailing 24-21, but Thorson faced pressure and threw low, his pass hitting the center Jared Thomas. The ball shot into the air and safety Arnette snatched it.
But considering all the tight windows and all the pressure he faced, Thorson played extremely well. He finished 27-for-44 for 267 yards and hit 12 receivers, spraying it around after Flynn Nagel and Riley Less left with injuries.
“I think Clayton Thorson is a warrior,” Fitzgerald said. “He has battled through so much. I think outside out locker room he’s one of the most underrated guys in Big Ten history.”
Ohio State had the majority of the crowd at 67,000-seat Lucas Oil Stadium, as everyone knew it would. Ohio State’s undergraduate population is about six times the size of Northwestern’s. But the Wildcats were well represented. Athletic director Jim Phillips made sure of that.
The night that NU clinched the West by beating Iowa, Phillips lay in bed asking himself: Will we look the part? Will enough students show up?
He asked a donor to purchase tickets to allow undergraduates to come. The donor said yes, on two conditions: The school would pick up transportation costs to Indianapolis and the donor would remain anonymous.
Phillips said he expected 500-1,000 students to sign up for a free ticket. More than 3,400 did in less than 48 hours. The average ticket was $65, bringing the approximate cost to $221,000.
NU students loaded into buses, about 50 of them. As tweeted by @bradenpomerantz, they sang the fight song, “Go U Northwestern!” during the four-hour trip.
“I’m so thankful for our fans, the students who made the trip,” Fitzgerald said. “I hope they get used to this being the new normal.”
This night represented a massive step for a Northwestern program that had never been to the Big Ten title game. The Wildcats still have not won a Big Ten title since 2000, but they have momentum, a coach and athletic director who are the envy of many schools and a $270 million multipurpose facility dubbed the Fitz Carlton that will boost recruiting.
And they play in the Big Ten West. So they don’t have to face Ohio State every season.