Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes reveal players of game from win over Northwestern
COLUMBUS — Ohio State started slowly on Saturday, trailing Northwestern 7-0 early in the second quarter. From there, though, the Buckeyes dominated and then cruised to a 31-7 win over the Wildcats.
Following the win at Wrigley Field, the program named its players of the game.
On the offensive side of the ball, second-year wide receiver Carnell Tate was the player of the game. In his emotional return to his hometown, Tate had four catches for 52 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His first one was a diving grab from 25 yards out on a beautiful pass from Will Howard. His second opened the second half. Tate has been through so much during the last couple of years, and his homecoming was certainly full of emotions. He shined in his first college game back in Chicago. For that, he earned the Offensive Player of the Game honors.
The defensive player of the game was third-year defender Sonny Styles . Styles had six tackles, one off the team lead, two pass breakups and two solo sacks (one in each half) for the Buckeyes defense. He keeps getting better as the season goes on, a likely arc for a player who started at safety last season before making the transition into the linebacker room.
And the program named freshman safety Jaylen McClain as the special teams player of the game for his efforts. He had three tackles on defense and also showed up with a good day on special teams.
Buckeyes open as double-digit favorite for top-five showdown vs. IndianaOhio State has made it through the boring two-game stretch against overmatched teams in November. Now it's on to a pair of massive games.
The second will be more about emotion, fight and revenge than it is about competition; Michigan is just 5-5 on the season. But the first of these final two games, this one upcoming at home against No. 5 Indiana, well, it's a high-stakes late-season game.
The Buckeyes enter the week as a 10.5-point favorite for the showdown in Columbus on Saturday, according to the folks at Fanduel Sportsbook . The total is set at 55.5.
Indiana is 10-0 for the first time in program history. The Hoosiers are playing really well under first-year head coach Curt Cignetti. They're coming to Columbus to win the game and assert themselves as a national title favorite. As for the Buckeyes, they're happy to be on the other side of the two-game stretch against lesser-than teams and onto Indiana.
Two weeks ago, Ohio State slid up to No. 3 thanks to a win at previously-undefeated Penn State. Last week, the Buckeyes moved into No. 2 slot behind Oregon thanks to a loss by Georgia to Ole Miss.
Well, Oregon squeaked by at Wisconsin on Saturday night, so Ohio State can't get out of the No. 2 spot — which is exactly where the Buckeyes landed for the second straight week in the Associated Press Top 25 rankings. Of note: previously-undefeated BYU lost, dropping the Cougars from No. 7 all the way down to No. 14.
Other previously-ranked teams to lose included Washington State, LSU, Missouri, Kansas State and Louisville. The carnage at the bottom of the rankings caused plenty of change — but not at the top.
The full AP Poll can be found here .
AP Top 5 ( Nov. 17 )
Counting downOhio State vs. No. 5 Indiana: 5 days Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 12 days
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