Game Observations: Ohio State Defense vs. Northwestern

The Ohio State defense really needed to have a good game on Saturday to quell any fears of them not being included in the College Football Playoff. Justin Hilliard and company absolutely rose to the occasion.

College Football Playoff Selection Committee Chairman Gary Barta (who is also the Iowa Hawkeyes athletic director) mentioned in a Tuesday evening interview during one of the first couple weeks of selection shows that the committee had the Buckeyes in the No. 4 spot, but they were going to keep a close eye on their defense.

I would imagine that considering they haven't dropped Ohio State from the No. 4 ranking in over a month, the committee thinks the Silver Bullets have held their own. They'd really only been tested once in the last month, when the Indiana Hoosiers nearly came back to beat the Bucks.

In my opinion, Saturday's second half performance in the Big Ten Championship game should put to bed any doubts for the committee about whether or not this team deserves a chance to go to the Playoff.

Ryan Day Makes His Playoff Case for the Buckeyes

With an offense that had an underwhelmed showing for a good chunk of the afternoon (at least until Trey Sermon exploded in the second half), the Ohio State defense took it upon themselves to silence the Wildcats rushing attack in the second half and squash any hopes of an upset win.

The Buckeyes allowed 167 yards in the first half and 162 in the second - essentially the same - but the halves were much different.

In the first 30 minutes, Northwestern imposed its will on the Buckeyes. They moved down the field, mostly on the ground, running 17 times for 77 yards. 47 of those yards came on two rushes during the first drive of the game, which ended with Northwestern's only touchdown of the day.

In the second half, Ohio State forced three takeaways (two interceptions and a fumble recovery). The Wildcats ran it 17 times for 28 yards after halftime.

Justin Hilliard was arguably the best Buckeye defender. He filled in for starter Baron Browning, who was one of 22 players that were unavailable for Ohio State on Saturday.

Hilliard had a timely interception in the end zone, negating a Wildcat score on the opening drive of the second half. He also led the team with nine tackles, had a fumble recovery and two tackles for loss.

“Oh my gosh, man,” Hilliard said. “This whole journey, man, it's been tough but it's been such a blessing at the same time. I know earlier this week I was able to talk to the younger guys at Senior Tackle and that was just so emotional for me because just the journey I've been on and the guys that have been here with me to stick with me and push me through some of those tougher times.

“I knew I had to step up today in a bigger role and I'm glad I was able to.”

Josh Proctor also came up with a fabulous interception, making up for a dropped pick-6 in the first half and for a poor angle of pursuit on the first drive that enabled a 34-yard Northwestern run.

Marcus Williamson also made a couple of open-field tackles that really bolstered the defense when the Wildcats tried to quickly get out in space.

Eddie George Congratulates Trey Sermon on Breaking Ohio State Rushing Record

As a team, Ohio State totaled three sacks, nine tackles for loss, had five QB hurries and the three aforementioned turnovers.

In a championship setting, with everything on the line, it was an emphatic performance that the Buckeyes desperately needed.

And it should be good enough to send the Scarlet and Gray to the College Football Playoff for the second year in a row and the fourth time in seven years.

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