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WATCH: Pat Fitzgerald, Clayton Thorson talk Ohio State matchup

Dustin Schutte

By Dustin Schutte

Published:

Northwestern has known for two weeks its playing in the B1G Championship Game, but it wasn’t until Saturday afternoon that it knew who it would be facing.

Ohio State finished off a 62-39 win over Michigan while the Wildcats were preparing for opening kickoff against Illinois Saturday, setting the stage in Indianapolis. It’ll be the Wildcats vs. the Buckeyes in Lucas Oil Stadium for a B1G title.

There hasn’t been much time for the Wildcats to prepare, but Pat Fitzgerald and Clayton Thorson understand just how tough the Buckeyes are.

Following Northwestern’s 24-16 win over Illinois, the head coach and quarterback gave a brief preview of their matchup with Ohio State next Saturday.

Northwestern hasn’t had much success against the Buckeyes. Ohio State has won 30 of the last 31 matchups in the head-to-head series, with the Wildcats’ last victory coming in 2004.

Ohio State leads the all-time series 61-14-1. The two teams have played just two times this decade, with the Buckeyes winning the latest matchup 24-20 (2016).

Fitzgerald and Thorson know they’re in for a battle next week, but the Wildcats have been proving everyone wrong all season. Can they do it one more time?

Dustin Schutte

Dustin grew up in the heart of Big Ten country and has been in sports media since 2010. He has been covering Big Ten football since 2014. You can follow him on Twitter: @SchutteCFB