Ohio State Buckeyes: Big Ten Championship to feature clash of styles

Ohio State is No. 1 in the Big Ten in yards per play (7.3) while Northwestern is No. 2 in yards per play allowed (4.5).

The Wildcats are No. 1 in yards allowed per reception (5.0) while Ohio State is far and away the best in the league in that category on offense at 10.3.

Third down offense and defense, respectively, are also strengths for the Buckeyes (No. 1 in conversion rate) and Wildcats (No. 2 in opponents’ conversions).

“They’re well coached,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “They’re disciplined. They do not give up big plays. You try to (put together) the big play real and there’s not very many big plays. That’s a tribute to them.”

While bringing in the league’s best recruiting class nearly every year is no small factor in Ohio State’s success, Northwestern has not ranked higher than 10th in the Big Ten since 2014, when coach Pat Fitzgerald signed the league’s No. 8 class.

Under the direction of long-time defensive coordinator Mike Hankwitz, the Wildcats play a bend-but-don’t-break defense that is meant to limit but plays and force a team to execute its way down the field.

“They’re very disciplined on defense,” quarterback Justin Fields said. “They’re well-coached, and they don’t really make any mistakes so we’re just going to have to execute on our side of the ball and just just play as hard as hard as we can.”

Northwestern’s 4-3 alignment features Big Ten Linebacker of the Year Paddy Fisher in the middle with second-team All-Big Ten performer Blake Gallagher joining him from the weak side.

The secondary, which plays primarily a matchup zone-type defense called quarters, includes a pair of All-Big Ten first-teamers in cornerback Greg Newsome II and safety Brandon Joseph.

Joseph is tied for the league lead with five interceptions and was named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year while Newsome leads the Big Ten with 10 passes defended.

“They don’t give you an inch,” Day said. “They’re so sound, and they just don’t.

“(Hankwitz) has been attacked so many different ways over the years out of different formations, he knows (what to do). You might get them once you’re, but not getting them twice.”

Ohio State will counter with a well-rounded attack whose aim is more to bend defenses until they break, and Fitzgerald credited the Buckeyes’ success to more than just physical ability.

“When you watch them on tape, you know they’re going to execute well,” he said. “They’re so well-coached, and they attack you in areas and ways they believe they have an advantage schematically or in talent to get a matchup. So you have to handle your business, prepare right, put a great week of practice together, be mentally focused, communicate well. You’ve got to execute fundamentally and schematically and then when you have opportunities you’ve got to take advantage of them because they are few and far between.”

The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in rushing, but in practice they are more dangerous through the air.

The latter was also the case when the teams met two years ago in this game when the Wildcats held Ohio State to 108 yards rushing but Dwayne Haskins Jr. threw for 499.

He is gone, but Fields has been named the Big Ten’s best quarterback and offensive player each of the past two seasons since replacing Haskins.

When asked where to begin to try to stop the Buckeyes, Fitzgerald could only laugh.

“I’m just gonna be hanging out all week trying to figure that out, brother,” he said.

More honors for Buckeyes

While the Ohio State offense put six players on the All-Big Ten first team, the defense had only two.

Cornerback Shaun Wade and linebacker Pete Werner both were voted on the first team by Big Ten coaches while the media also gave that nod to Wade while putting Werner on the third team.

Defensive linemen Tommy Togiai and Zach Harrison made the second team while defensive linemen Garrett Haskell and Jonathon Cooper and linebacker Baron Browning made the third team for the coaches.

Togiai was also a second-team pick by the media while Cooper made the third team.

Wade was voted the Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year, an award no Buckeye had won in the first nine years it was given out.

Although Wade had modest stats and some ups and downs during the Buckeyes’ abbreviated season, his interception return for a touchdown against Indiana did prove to be a pivotal play in what was the game of the regular season in the conference.