Buckeyes receiver Carnell Tate snags a catch during Saturday’s 31-7 win over Northwestern. (Press Pros Feature Photos by Scott Stuart)
The Buckeyes’ domination over Northwestern at the end of the first half and the start of the second half were more than enough for victory…and a sweet homecoming for wide receiver Carnell Tate.
Chicago, Il – Monsters of the Middle Eight.
Does Ryan Day ever love it when his team scores points and allows none in the final four minutes of the first half and the first four minutes of the second half.
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Flip momentum, create momentum, be momentous.
Veteran columnist Jeff Gilbert writes Ohio State football and OHSAA sports for Press Pros Magazine.com.
The No. 2 Buckeyes did all that on offense, defense, and with the special teams play of the season to score 21 points in the space of seven minutes and three seconds.
Those eight minutes had to remind Wrigley Field’s brick and ivy of when Dick Butkus led the dominant Monsters of the Midway. That iconic defense often carried the Chicago Bears to victory in the 1960s on the same hallowed grass Ohio State came to Saturday afternoon with their fans in tow.
The middle eight minutes carried the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) to, not a monster victory, but a satisfying one, nonetheless. They departed Wrigleyville with a 31-7 decision over Northwestern.
“Being able to get those stops on defense, score going into halftime, and then get that first score after halftime, it’s a big momentum swing,” Ohio State center Seth McLaughlin said. “It really pushes people out of the game.”
TreVeyon Henderson hurdles a would-be tackler for extra yards during the Buckeyes win in Wrigley Field.
The Buckeyes were also buoyed by a decidedly scarlet and gray crowd that was easily 90 percent of 38,147 in attendance. Northwestern had two pockets of purple: in the right-field bleachers behind the end zone and a field-level section behind the other end zone along the third-base line.
“We expected to have a great presence, but to see the way it was today was exciting,” Day said.
Northwestern, trying to rebuild under second-year coach David Braun, felt about as good about itself as it can in a 7-7 tie in the second quarter despite fumbling away an opening-drive field goal chance. The Wildcats dominated the first quarter and much of the second with big run plays and big pass plays – three for more than 20 yards – from quarterback Jack Lausch.
Then the Wildcats had the “Oh, snap!” moment that always comes when an outmanned team plays one of the nation’s elite. And it always comes for an unranked team since Day has been the Buckeyes’ head coach. He’s 47-0 in such games.
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On third-and-4 from their 31, the momentum began its migration from Northwestern’s side to Ohio State’s side. A snap intended for Lausch in the shotgun misfired and was on the ground like a dud a yard behind the line of scrimmage. The Wildcats fell on it and lined up to punt.
This time the snap sailed over punter Hunter Renner’s head. He retrieved the football at the one, dodged defensive end Caden Curry, and got the kick off. But special teams regular David Adolph blocked the punt attempt.
Quinshon Judkins runs through a Northwestern tackle attempt during Saturday’s 31-7 win at Wrigley Field.
Curry, who blocked a punt last week against Purdue, immediately signaled for a safety. That would have been best-case scenario for the Wildcats. Instead, the ball showed great lateral agility and went out of bounds to the right at the one.
One of the most fortuitous bounces in the history of fortuitous bounces created a one-yard touchdown run for Quinshon Judkins two plays later with 4:19 left in the half. He walked into the end zone behind McLaughlin who would have shoved the tackle into the padded right-field wall if he hadn’t put him on his butt.
The next two scores that concluded the middle-eight turnaround belonged to the teammate every Buckeye wanted to have a big day.
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Wide receiver Carnell Tate.
He played his first game in his hometown since his freshman season at Marist High School. He played his final three high school seasons at IMG Academy in Florida. But that’s not why Saturday meant so much to him.
In the summer of 2023, Tate’s mother, Ashley Griggs, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Chicago. He had 30 to 40 family members and friends at the game, including, most importantly, he said, his sister, father and grandma, the inner circle that’s carried him through the past 16 months of heartache.
Linebacker Sonny Styles breaks up a Wildcat pass attempt during Saturday’s win over Northwestern.
“There was a lot of high emotion stuff, but I had to manage it,” Tate said. “It means a lot to be playing back in my city. The biggest thing was playing back in front of my family. They expected a lot, so they wanted me to put on a show.”
Tate’s first touchdown was the showstopper. The Buckeyes quick-drove to close the half and Tate made a diving catch over the goal line on a near-perfect throw by Will Howard for a 25-yard touchdown and a 21-7 halftime lead.
The Buckeyes began the second half with a five-play, 90-yard drive for a 28-7 lead when Tate caught an eight-yard touchdown pass for a 28-7 lead with 12:11 left in the third quarter.
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“I pretty much knew the ball was coming my way on the first touchdown,” Tate said. “I had to go out there and make a play. Will put the ball out there for me to go get. Then the second touchdown, the ball really was supposed to go to Emeka (Egbuka), but the ball somehow came to me again.”
Howard finished 15 of 24 for another 200-yard game for 247 yards and the two TDs to Tate.
“I’m proud of that kid, man,” Howard said. “I don’t say a lot to him, but he’s one of my favorite guys on the team. Just seeing him every single day he just lifts my mood. And for him to have the game that he had here in his home city in this stadium, I couldn’t be happier for him.”
Ohio State’s game-changing eight minutes and Tate’s defining moments were needed. Because Northwestern (4-6, 2-5 Big Ten) started fast with the threat of putting the Buckeyes into the position of needing to grind out a victory like they did against Nebraska when they scored in the fourth quarter for a 21-17 victory. The Wildcats had two weeks to prepare for the Buckeyes and it showed with gashing runs and on-target passing.
In the first quarter, Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch completed 6 of 7 passes for 85 yards, including three passes of 20-plus yards. He looked like Northwestern legend Otto Graham during the World War II years. Graham also occasionally played on this field while leading the Cleveland Browns to three NFL championships in the 1950s.
JT Tuimoloau tracks down Northwestern quarterback Jack Lausch during Saturday’s win over the Wildcats.
But just like the Bears’ 50-year run here ended in 1970 with the construction of Soldier Field, Lausch’s big day came to a halt. He was 15 of 28 the rest of the day for 176 yards and put the Wildcats in the end zone only once when he scored on an eight-yard draw play early in the second quarter for a 7-0 lead.
From there, the Buckeyes bent some, but they showed the continued improvement of keeping teams out of the end zone since the 32-31 loss at Oregon. The Buckeyes pressured Lausch often and sacked him four times. The rush defense tightened to allow only 50 yards on 30 carries. And the Wildcats’ early third-down successes subsided.
“We’ve done a better job of getting to the quarterback, I feel like we’re playing better technically, fundamentally,” Day said. “We have to continue to do that and understand situations. All the above.”
When you look at Ohio State’s schedule and see Indiana and Michigan left, the Buckeyes are finally finished with all of the above. After the huge win at Penn State, they have taken care of business as expected against Purdue and Northwestern.
Next Saturday at noon the surprisingly unbeaten and No. 5 Indiana Hoosiers come to town with first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. He just signed a two-year extension to his original six-year contract and will earn $8 million a year. It’s the biggest game in IU history.
Like the Oregon and Penn State games, the Buckeyes will play in their third top-five matchup this season. And finally, they will be at home.
“It’s going to be exciting,” McLaughlin said. “Top five matchups are always fun to compete in, and happy that we’re at home in front of our fans. I know they’re going to show up and show out and really make a home-field advantage for us.”
Just like they did at Wrigley Field.
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