Ohio State vs. Northwestern final score: Carlos Hyde leads Buckeyes to 40-30 win
By Josh Sanchez
The primetime match up on ABC between the No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes and No. 16 Northwestern Wildcats lived up to the billing and provided us one of the most exciting games of the day. Northwestern proved that they were up to the challenge by taking a lead in to the half, but Ohio State answered the call and came storming back for a 40-30 win. However, the game was much closer than the score indicated.
In the second half, Ohio State running back Carlos Hyde began to take over.
With three second half touchdowns, Hyde did everything in his power to ensure the Buckeyes kept their undefeated season and national title hopes alive. Hyde finished the game with 168 rushing yards and 38 yards on the ground with three total touchdowns.
After a few lead changes, the Wildcats got the ball back with a chance to milk the clock and take the late lead, but Ohio State’s defense came up huge.
On fourth-and-one, Northwestern line up to go for it, but quarterback Kain Colter bobbled the snap and that was enough for the Ohio State defense to close in and come up with the big time stop. It was a controversial spot, but the replay did not provide enough evidence to overturn the call on the field and Ohio State took over.
Northwestern got the ball back with 21 seconds to go and one final chance to pull off the upset, but a sack from the Buckeyes defense was all the team needed to stop the Wildcats magic.
On the final play of the game, a misplayed hook-and-ladder led to a loose ball in the endzone as Ohio State hopped on the ball for a touchdown as time expired.