Chicago native Carnell Tate had two touchdown catches and Quinshon Judkins ran for two short scores as No. 2 Ohio State overcame a slow start to defeat Northwestern 31-7 at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Saturday.
Tate, who had four receptions for 52 yards, made an 8-yard TD catch on the first drive for the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) in the second half to make it 28-7 before a pro-Ohio State crowd.
The score was set up by a 68-yard catch-and-run by Jeremiah Smith, who finished with four catches for 100 yards.
Ohio State made it 31 straight points on a 28-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding with 44 seconds left in the third.
Ohio State has won 11 straight vs. Northwestern since 2004.
The victory sets up a showdown at home next Saturday against No. 5 Indiana. The Hoosiers (10-0, 7-0) are idle this week.
Northwestern (4-6, 2-5) frustrated the Buckeyes in the first quarter, limiting them to one possession that resulted in a punt while the Wildcats held the ball for 10 minutes. They had 118 total yards compared to 30 for Ohio State.
The Wildcats took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter when quarterback Jack Lausch, who lost a fumble at the Ohio State 16 on Northwestern’s first possession, ran for an 8-yard score to complete a 92-yard drive.
Lausch was 21-of-35 passing for 201 yards with Bryce Kirtz making seven catches for 92 yards.
Ohio State responded by going 85 yards in 12 plays with Judkins going in from the 1 to make it 7-7.
The Buckeyes soon made it 14-7 thanks to blocking a Northwestern punt after a bad snap to get the ball at the 1. Two plays later, Judkins again scored from the 1.
Ohio State extended the lead to 21-7 with 47 seconds left in the half on a 25-yard catch by Tate from Will Howard (15-of-24 passing for 247 yards).
Howard’s passing success was complemented by the running of Judkins (76 yards) and TreVeyon Henderson (74).
–Field Level Media