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Game Thread Ohio State v Northwestern B1G Championship, @ Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis, IN 12/1/18 8PM, FOX
- Thread starter sparcboxbuck
- Start date
Yep - I said that yesterday. NW is that quirky team you can't quite discount totally because they have a way of surprising people out of no where.
Because the only team we really dismantled this conference season has been the one dumb enough to not try to exploit the same thing the other NW-ish teams were able to do.
Thanks again, Jim.
I agree, but NW is always a bit of an odd duck for some reason under Fitz. Remember how they really pushed Ohio State in 2013 in foot high grass, and that game was one of the most glorious backdoor covers ever with the Bosa fumble recovery on the last play.
Ohio State has been schizoid enough on offense and defense to either completely annihilate NW or get blown out. But that said, the line still is curious. I don't really track the sites to check it, but I would imagine -14 with the offensive potential of Ohio State (since they've scored 114 points in the past two weeks) would see significant action to Ohio State.
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ScriptOhio
Everybody is somebody else's weirdo.
ACROSS THE FIELD: Q&A WITH NORTHWESTERN WRITER DAVIS RICH AS WILDCATS PREPARE TO PLAY OHIO STATE IN BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
Before each week's Ohio State game, Eleven Warriors catches up with a media member who covers the opposing team to get his or her perspective on the Buckeyes' upcoming opponent.
Ahead of this weekend's Big Ten Championship Game, we're joined by Davis Rich, the co-editor-in-chief of Inside NU, to get his insights on Northwestern before the Wildcats battle Ohio State for a conference title on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Northwestern enters this week's conference championship game with a 8-4 record, having won seven of its last eight regular-season games to win the Big Ten West title and earns its first-ever berth in the Big Ten Championship Game, which was first played in 2011.
How did the Wildcats turn around their season after a slow start, what does this game means to the Northwestern football program, what are the Wildcats' strengths and weaknesses and do they believe they can upset the Buckeyes?
Rich answers those questions and more in our Big Ten Championship Game edition of Across The Field.
Q: Northwestern started the season just 1-3, but finished the season 7-1 to win the Big Ten West and make the Big Ten Championship Game. What do you think were the keys to the Wildcats' turnaround?
Rich: The main theme has been defense. Northwestern has had a couple blips against Nebraska and Notre Dame, but since starting 1-3, those are the only two games it allowed more than 19 points. The Wildcat defense has kept the team in games, and the NU offense has made the big plays at the right times to pull out several close victories. Northwestern re-established its running game with the emergence of Isaiah Bowser, who has piled up over 700 yards on the ground since he became NU’s No. 1 back in mid-October.
Q: This is Northwestern's first Big Ten Championship Game appearance. What do you think that means to the Northwestern football program and to the Northwestern community as a whole?
Rich: Since its conception, the Big Ten Championship Game has been Pat Fitzgerald’s goal. So it means a lot that the Wildcats finally got there after falling short several times. Northwestern just invested a lot of money in its football program with the new indoor field house as a part of a $270 million lakeside athletic facility, and I’m sure donors and members of the athletic department are happy to see NU making national waves right away.
As for the fans, people are pretty psyched. A lot of people, including most of us at InsideNU, wrote this team off after a 1-3 start, but it’s a testament to Fitz and the culture he’s built that the team was able to rebound. He earned a well-deserved Coach of the Year award.
Q: There aren't a lot of nationally renowned names on Northwestern's roster. Who are the players that Ohio State and its fans need to know entering this game?
Rich: We’ll start with quarterback Clayton Thorson, a four-year starter. He’s not a world-beater like Dwayne Haskins, but Thorson is very accurate in the short-to-intermediate game, makes good decisions, and is a credible run threat, too. NU will rely heavily on Bowser, the running back, too. He’s a big, physical, downhill running back who doesn’t go down easily and has shown some shiftiness in the past few weeks.
On the other side of the ball, Northwestern’s best pass rusher is Joe Gaziano, who has tallied 11 TFLs and six sacks this year. The strength of the team is at linebacker, where Paddy Fisher, Blake Gallagher, and Nate Hall all earned some type of All-Big Ten honors. And cornerback Montre Hartage is coming off an injury, but he’s NU’s best defensive back, and arguably one of the top cover corners in the Big Ten.
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Q: How do you see the game playing out?
Rich: Northwestern is going to have to neutralize Dwayne Haskins, and I don’t think they can do that for 60 minutes. Ohio State is going to score some points, but this is not going to be a 2014 Big Ten Championship Game repeat. The Wildcats keep it close for a while, before OSU pulls away. Buckeyes 31, Wildcats 17
Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...writer-davis-rich-as-wildcats-prepare-to-play
Re: OSU pulls away. Buckeyes 31, Wildcats 17
Before each week's Ohio State game, Eleven Warriors catches up with a media member who covers the opposing team to get his or her perspective on the Buckeyes' upcoming opponent.
Ahead of this weekend's Big Ten Championship Game, we're joined by Davis Rich, the co-editor-in-chief of Inside NU, to get his insights on Northwestern before the Wildcats battle Ohio State for a conference title on Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Northwestern enters this week's conference championship game with a 8-4 record, having won seven of its last eight regular-season games to win the Big Ten West title and earns its first-ever berth in the Big Ten Championship Game, which was first played in 2011.
How did the Wildcats turn around their season after a slow start, what does this game means to the Northwestern football program, what are the Wildcats' strengths and weaknesses and do they believe they can upset the Buckeyes?
Rich answers those questions and more in our Big Ten Championship Game edition of Across The Field.
Q: Northwestern started the season just 1-3, but finished the season 7-1 to win the Big Ten West and make the Big Ten Championship Game. What do you think were the keys to the Wildcats' turnaround?
Rich: The main theme has been defense. Northwestern has had a couple blips against Nebraska and Notre Dame, but since starting 1-3, those are the only two games it allowed more than 19 points. The Wildcat defense has kept the team in games, and the NU offense has made the big plays at the right times to pull out several close victories. Northwestern re-established its running game with the emergence of Isaiah Bowser, who has piled up over 700 yards on the ground since he became NU’s No. 1 back in mid-October.
Q: This is Northwestern's first Big Ten Championship Game appearance. What do you think that means to the Northwestern football program and to the Northwestern community as a whole?
Rich: Since its conception, the Big Ten Championship Game has been Pat Fitzgerald’s goal. So it means a lot that the Wildcats finally got there after falling short several times. Northwestern just invested a lot of money in its football program with the new indoor field house as a part of a $270 million lakeside athletic facility, and I’m sure donors and members of the athletic department are happy to see NU making national waves right away.
As for the fans, people are pretty psyched. A lot of people, including most of us at InsideNU, wrote this team off after a 1-3 start, but it’s a testament to Fitz and the culture he’s built that the team was able to rebound. He earned a well-deserved Coach of the Year award.
Q: There aren't a lot of nationally renowned names on Northwestern's roster. Who are the players that Ohio State and its fans need to know entering this game?
Rich: We’ll start with quarterback Clayton Thorson, a four-year starter. He’s not a world-beater like Dwayne Haskins, but Thorson is very accurate in the short-to-intermediate game, makes good decisions, and is a credible run threat, too. NU will rely heavily on Bowser, the running back, too. He’s a big, physical, downhill running back who doesn’t go down easily and has shown some shiftiness in the past few weeks.
On the other side of the ball, Northwestern’s best pass rusher is Joe Gaziano, who has tallied 11 TFLs and six sacks this year. The strength of the team is at linebacker, where Paddy Fisher, Blake Gallagher, and Nate Hall all earned some type of All-Big Ten honors. And cornerback Montre Hartage is coming off an injury, but he’s NU’s best defensive back, and arguably one of the top cover corners in the Big Ten.
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continued
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Q: How do you see the game playing out?
Rich: Northwestern is going to have to neutralize Dwayne Haskins, and I don’t think they can do that for 60 minutes. Ohio State is going to score some points, but this is not going to be a 2014 Big Ten Championship Game repeat. The Wildcats keep it close for a while, before OSU pulls away. Buckeyes 31, Wildcats 17
Entire article: https://www.elevenwarriors.com/ohio...writer-davis-rich-as-wildcats-prepare-to-play
Re: OSU pulls away. Buckeyes 31, Wildcats 17
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OHSportsFan
Fan of Ohio Sports in Indy
Seats officially secured, let’s fast forward this to Friday/Saturday. Go Bucks!
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