THE RUNNING START
When: Saturday, October 29, 2016
Where: Ohio Stadium
TV: 3:30, ESPN
Announcers: Dave Pasch, Greg McElroy and Tom Luginbill
This is the 76th game between Ohio State and Northwestern in football and the Buckeyes lead the series 60–14–1.
Below you will find some interesting facts about the teams, key offensive player stats, coach information, and team stats.
THE LAST TIME...
- Ohio State played Northwestern was 2013, the Buckeyes won 40-30 in Evanston.
- Northwestern defeated Ohio State was Oct. 2, 2004. Randy Walker's unranked team defeated No. 7 OSU and Jim Tressel 33-27 at Ryan Field.
- The Buckeyes played the Wildcats in Ohio Stadium was 2007, OSU won 58-7.
- Ohio State faced Northwestern on October 29th was 1955 when the 15th-ranked Buckeyes defeated the Wildcats 49-0 in Columbus.
- The Buckeyes lost to NU in Ohio Stadium was 1971, Woody Hayes' 16th-ranked team lost to Alex Agase's unranked Wildcats 14-10.
- Ohio State lost back-to-back regular season games was 2011.
ON THE HORIZON
- The Buckeyes currently have won 29 of the last 30 games against Northwestern..
- Urban Meyer earned his 160th career victory when the Buckeyes defeated Wisconsin. Meyer tied Bob Stoops for the most wins by a coach in his first 15 seasons. A win over Northwestern will give Meyer the outright record.
- This will be the second time Urban Meyer and Pat Fitzgerald face each other as head coaches. Meyer is 2–0 against Northwestern and 1–0 against Fitzgerald.
- J.T. Barrett (90) is five touchdowns away from tying Drew Brees' Big Ten record of 95 touchdowns responsible for.
- Urban Meyer has only lost consecutive games four times during his 15-year head coaching career. Losses to Michigan State and Clemson to close out the 2013 season is the last time it happened.
- J.T. Barrett has 5,278 career passing yards and is 14 yards away from bumping Braxton Miller from the 8th spot and 291 yards away from Mike Tomczak at the 7th position.
- Cameron Johnston has downed an Ohio State record 97 punts inside the opponent's 20 yard line and is averaging 49.5 yards per punt.
Evanston, Illinois
GET TO KNOW NORTHWESTERN
- Northwestern is located in Evanston, IL.
- The university was established in 1851.
- The Wildcats are 4–3 this season.
- Northwestern is 34–23 (.596) since 2012.
- Pat Fitzgerald's team beat Indiana 24-14 last week at Ryan Field.
- NU has won five straight road conference games.
- The Wildcats are 8–33 (.195) against Ohio State in Columbus.
TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:
- Since 1950 how many Ohio State coaches have lost to Northwestern? Can you name the losing coach(es)?
- Who was the last Buckeye tight end to finish a game with 100 or more yards receiving?
- The last time Ohio State blocked a punt for a touchdown was against Northwestern in 2013. Who was the player that scored on the play?
Answers at the bottom of today's article.
NORTHWESTERN'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING
| STATS | PASSING | % | YARDS | TDS | INTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 24/43 | .558 | 285 | 3 | 0 |
| 2016 | 143/247 | .579 | 1,686 | 14 | 5 |
| CAREER | 293/542 | .541 | 3,208 | 21 | 14 |
RUSHING
| STATS | YARDS | YPC | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 94 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 789 | 4.6 | 6 |
| CAREER | 3,394 | 4.7 | 21 |
RECEIVING
| STATS | YARDS | YPR | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 32 | 32.0 | 1 |
| 2016 | 176 | 17.6 | 1 |
| CAREER | 176 | 17.6 | 1 |
| STATS | YARDS | YPR | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 125 | 17.9 | 1 |
| 2016 | 720 | 14.4 | 9 |
| CAREER | 1,122 | 15.4 | 11 |
OHIO STATE'S INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
PASSING
| STATS | PASSING | % | YARDS | TDS | INTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 28/43 | .651 | 245 | 1 | 0 |
| 2016 | 124,195 | .636 | 1,452 | 17 | 4 |
| CAREER | 420/656 | .640 | 5,278 | 62 | 18 |
RUSHING
| STATS | YARDS | YPC | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 71 | 3.4 | 0 |
| 2016 | 683 | 5.9 | 4 |
| CAREER | 683 | 5.9 | 4 |
| STATS | YARDS | YPC | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 71 | 35.5 | 1 |
| 2016 | 527 | 8.2 | 4 |
| CAREER | 1,042 | 7.5 | 11 |
RECEIVING
| STATS | YARDS | YPR | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 68 | 8.5 | 0 |
| 2016 | 471 | 12.7 | 3 |
| CAREER | 855 | 12.2 | 5 |
| STATS | YARDS | YPR | TDS |
|---|---|---|---|
| LAST GAME | 45 | 15.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 258 | 13.6 | 6 |
| CAREER | 267 | 13.4 | 6 |
THE RUNOFF
Urban Meyer
56–5 (.918) at Ohio State (5th year)
160–28 (.851) overall (15th year)
Meyer is 2–0 against Northwestern and is 1–0 when facing Pat Fitzgerald.
Pat Fitzgerald
74–59 (.556) at Northwestern (11th year)
74–59 (.556 ) overall as a college coach (11th year)
Fitzgerald is 0–3 (.000) against Ohio State as a head coach.
CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER
- Ohio State has a record of 352–81–9 (.807) when ranked in the Top 10 of the AP Poll.
- Jerome Baker leads Ohio State with 43 tackles.
- 30 of Ohio State's 44 freshman have played this season.
- As head coach of Ohio State, Urban Meyer is 17–1 during the month of October.
- J.T. Barrett racked up 318 total yards of offense against Wisconsin. That was the 13th time in Barrett's career that he gained at least 300 total yards.
- Urban Meyer is 4–0 in OT games as Ohio State's head coach and 7–0 for his career.
- Since 2012, the Buckeyes (.918) have the highest winning percentage in the FBS. Alabama is second at .906.
- 2016 Buckeyes from Illinois: Four. LB Tuf Borland (Bolingbrook), OL Jamarco Jones (Chicago), WR Brandon Skalitzky (Evergreen Park), DT Dylan Thompson (Lombard).
- Ohio State has been ranked in the AP Poll a record 862 times.
- The Buckeyes have also earned the No. 1 ranking in the AP Poll a record 105 times.
- Ohio State is 78–32–6 (.698) in the eighth game of the season and is 49–17–3 (.732) as the home team.
- Ohio State is 9–4–2 on October 29th and 4–1 when the eighth game of the season is played on the 29th of October.
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| OFFENSE | ||||
| 45.3 | 5th | POINTS FOR | 25.9 | 86th |
| 281.6 | 8th | RUSHING OFFENSE | 137.4 | 106th |
| 220.1 | 80th | PASSING OFFENSE | 241.1 | 52nd |
| 501.7 | 13th | TOTAL OFFENSE | 378.6 | 93rd |
| .486 | 14th | 3rd DOWNS | .381 | 81st |
| .892 | 39th | RED ZONE | .706 | 125th |
| DEFENSE | ||||
| 14.4 | 4th | POINTS ALLOWED | 21.9 | 32nd |
| 121.0 | 23rd | RUSH DEFENSE | 132.0 | 32nd |
| 158.7 | 5th | PASS DEFENSE | 282.4 | 111th |
| 91.2 | 5th | PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE | 126.2 | 56th |
| 279.7 | 5th | TOTAL DEFENSE | 414.4 | 72nd |
| .288 | 10th | 3rd DOWNS | .333 | 27th |
| .650 | 2nd | RED ZONE | .793 | 41st |
| SPECIAL TEAMS | ||||
| 5.6 | 84th | PUNT RETURN | 8.5 | 55th |
| 23.8 | 28th | KICKOFF RETURN | 28.1 | 5th |
| 44.4 | 3rd | NET PUNTING | 35.3 | 104th |
| MISCELLANEOUS | ||||
| + 1.3 | 4th | TURNOVER MARGIN | + 0.6 | 31st |
| 8.0 | 105th | PENALTIES | 4.0 | 6th |
| 14 | EDGE | 4 | ||
TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS
Since 1950 how many Ohio State coaches have lost to Northwestern? Can you name the losing coach(es)?
Answer: Two. Woody Hayes (1958, 1962, 1963, 1971) and Jim Tressel (2004).
Who was the last Buckeye tight end to finish a game with 100 or more yards receiving?
Answer: Jeff Heuerman had 116 receiving yards in the overtime win over Purdue in 2013.
The last time Ohio State blocked a punt for a touchdown was against Northwestern in 2013. Who was the player that scored on the play?
Answer: Bradley Roby.
