Rapid Reaction: Buckeyes escape windy, rainy Evanston with narrow win over Northwestern

EVANSTON, Ill. — Ohio State needed a rarely-seen part of its offense to come to life and escape a wild Northwestern upset bid.

And that’s just what the Buckeyes got. Behind the legs of C.J. Stroud, who had 79 yards rushing and just 76 yards passing, they topped Northwestern inside a rainy, windy, overcast Ryan Field to improve to 9-0 on the season.

Despite playing its worst game all season, Ohio State survived with a 21-7 come-from-behind win over the Wildcats in a wild, weird game that appeared to be in doubt as late as the third quarter.

Lettermen Row was on site to make sense of it all. Spencer Holbrook and Andy Backstrom are breaking down how the Buckeyes were able to use a big defensive performance from their defensive line and a major rushing effort from C.J. Stroud to take down Northwestern on Saturday afternoon.

The Buckeyes offense eventually cracked a bad Northwestern defense to score twice in the second half. Miyan Williams had two rushing touchdowns, and Emeka Egbuka carried one into the end zone, as well.

Don’t miss the newest Rapid Reaction driven by Byers Auto with Spencer and Andy as they go in-depth on the Buckeyes latest win — this time over the Wildcats on the road.

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