After pitching their second shutout of the season against Purdue, the Buckeyes travel to the tall wild grass plains of Ryan Fie-- wait, Wrigley Field!? Yes, football game in baseball stadium. Ryan Field wasn't exactly in a condition to accept visitors at the time. 

Going into Week 12

• Divided Load Dividends - Bringing Judkins in to join Tre was probably a move we don't appreciate enough. Although his overall touches are down, his efficiency went up and he played in every game of the 2024 season, which could not be said for 2022 or 2023. 
• Hinzman Resurgence - Following a mysterious benching for the 2023 Cotton Bowl, speculation on the reason abounded. In the doghouse due to comments on a podcast? Just passed up? Whatever the reason, he spent that time learning under McLaughlin's tutelage and got the chance to show what he was capable of against Penn State. And his performance drew rave reviews in the comments. 
• Across the Field - Armed with the worst offense in the Big Ten, statistically speaking, the Wildcats will need to lean on their defense against Ohio State. 
• Game Trailer
• Game Preview - While nobody expects a close game, Ohio State's run game would get to test themselves against the 16th-ranked run defense. Tyleik would be "full go" for the first time in a long time. 

Week 12 @ Northwestern in 40 Minutes

Open Threads: Q1 | Q2 | Halftime | Q3 | Q4  

Coming Out of Week 12

• Game Summary - It took more than a quarter before anybody scored any points, but Ohio State just had more juice than Northwestern and pulled away. Northwestern was able to drive deep into Ohio State territory with their first two drives, though only one resulted in points. The defense would clamp down and only allow Northwestern to put together two non-single-digit-yard drives for the rest of the game, neither resulting in points. Of note was Sonny Styles' emergence in his new position. But I'm burying the lede here, which is that...
• CARNELL TATE HAD A DAY - Eyes were misty this day as Carnell would get to show out back home in front of over 30 family members in his first time playing in his hometown since the untimely loss of his mother just a year prior. After his two-touchdown day, his teammates heaped praise on the type of person and player he is in their postgame interviews. Make sure you click through and watch his first touchdown a few times. Just a great play. It surely played a role in NU head coach David Braun calling OSU's receiving corp "One of the best you're gonna see, or may ever see."
• Notebook - Wrigley Field is Ohio Stadium East-East as Buckeye fans showed up in Chicago. Jack Sawyer had a great day on the run-stop front, making seven tackles to help limit NU to a paltry 1.7 ypc and 50 rushing yards. Oh, he also forced a fumble on our 16-yard line, which was recovered by Iggy. Jeremiah Smith had an incredible 68-yard catch-and-run, although it still pisses me off that the Northwestern defensive back decided to stop playing football and start doing BJJ on Jeremiah's leg well after the play was dead. You will not convince me that that was not purposeful dirty act that should have resulted in a suspension. Smith would limp off the field, but return later in a clearly limited manner. 

Up Next: #5 Indiana (wtf?)

Note: I'll be posting these at a faster clip since some dummy who will remain unnamed is a poor planner, was late on the Oregon post, and didn't leave enough time before the Texas game.