It wasn’t pretty, but Ohio State was able to walk out of Ryan Field with its perfect record intact.
Ohio State and Northwestern were tied at the half in large part because Ryan Day’s offense struggled. Star quarterback C.J. Stroud couldn’t get into a rhythm due to the strong wind in Evanston, Illinois.
This Saturday’s game was the first in Stroud’s career as a starter where he didn’t have at least one touchdown pass. He did, however, have 79 rushing yards.
Despite looking much better in the second half, Ohio State received a ton of criticism from the college football world on social media.
Many people questioned Ohio State’s ranking.
“Ohio State played way too close to 1-7 Northwestern today,” one person said. “Gonna be interesting if Clemson & Michigan win, will the #Buckeyes be pushed to the #4 spot. Still, though, in position for the playoff.”
“Can’t wait to hear the playoff committee’s reasoning for keeping Ohio State ranked No. 2,” another person tweeted.
“So with Ohio State struggling against a 1-7 Northwestern, did the playoff committee get it wrong and put them ahead of Georgia? I think so,” one fan wrote on Twitter.
On one hand, a lousy performance shouldn’t seriously impact Ohio State’s ranking since it still defeated Northwestern on the road.
On the other hand, the Buckeyes need to bounce back next week if they want to avoid entering the final stretch of the season on a concerning note.
Next Saturday, Ohio State will host Indiana.