Ohio State came out of the gates a bit sluggish inside Wrigley field, surrendering a couple of impressive drives to Northwestern. On the other side of the ball, the Buckeyes looked out of sorts on their first drive and nearly went 3-and-out on the second.

Facing a 3rd-and-8 from their own 17-yard line, Will Howard was moments away from a disastrous sack. Instead, he hooked up with Emeka Egbuka over the middle for 20 yards, and the rest is history.

Ohio State would face a 4th down but capitalized with a 14-yard gain to Jeremiah Smith. That drive was eventually capped by a short touchdown run to Quinshon Judkins to even the game at 7-all.

Ohio State’s defense also woke up after that drive, forcing Northwestern into a quick 3rd down that was a loss of 4 yards after a fumble. Then, the Buckeye special teams unit got into the mix.

Northwestern’s snap to Hunter Renner on the punt attempt sailed high and bounced back near the goal line. Renner was able to get to the ball on his feet and ultimately decided to try and get a kick away instead of taking a safety or going down at the one-yard line.

It was a noble attempt but did not work out. The Buckeyes were on the kick and blocked the punt with the ball eventually ruled out at the one-yard line.

Judkins would finish things off with his 2nd short rushing touchdown of the game as Ohio State stabilizes things with a 14-7 lead and the ball as we approach halftime.