“We had to get back there. We had to get pressure,” defensive tackle Eddrick Houston said. “We had to get sacks and get that pressure off the DBs, who are trying to cover for that long. … Coverage and rush work together, so we just had to do what we needed to do.”
OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
A bundled Ohio State Buckeyes fan watches as the team arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
A bundled Ohio State Buckeyes fan watches as the team arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks across the field before the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
(Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Robert Griffin III walks across the field prior to the NCAA football game between the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes walk across the field before the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
(Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Luke Fahey and quarterbacks coach Billy Fessler arrive prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Arthur Smith arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes mascot Brutus high fives players as the team arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
The Ohio State Buckeyes prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Khary Wilder (34) and wide receiver Chris Henry Jr. (15) high five fans as the team arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes running back Legend Bey (2) high fives fans as the team arrives prior to the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
(Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes head coach Ryan Day walks across the field before the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
(Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback Julian Sayin (10) walks across the field before the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
(Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch)
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OSU Buckeyes face Northwestern in college football matchup. See the photos
Ohio State Buckeyes safety Jaylen McClain (8) greets fans before the NCAA football game against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ohio Stadium on Nov. 14, 2026 in Columbus, Ohio.
(Samantha Madar/Columbus Dispatch)
The defensive line, after failing to record a sack the past four games, accounted for all of the Buckeyes’ sacks, which pushed the Wildcats back 25 total yards and led to two fourth downs.
In those games the defensive line went without a sack, Ohio State as a whole had just two, both credited to defensive backs, Jermaine Mathews Jr. and Jaylen McClain. The Buckeyes were ranked 121th in the nation in sacks with 11.
“It’s something we’ve been emphasizing,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “Getting more pressure on the quarterback.”
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive tackle Will Smith Jr. (53) and defensive tackle Jason Moore (94) celebrate a sack of Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Nicco Marchiol (4) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
Against Northwestern, defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. finished with two sacks despite remaining on the bench for nearly two full drives at the beginning of the game. Has a team-high five.
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Alabama transfers Qua Russaw and James Smith Jr., both defensive ends, each recorded a sack, a first for Smith at Ohio State. Will Smith Jr. was the only defensive tackle to sack Wildcats quarterback Nicco Marchiol.
Houston, who has three sacks in his four seasons with the Buckeyes, still took pride in the Buckeyes hitting a season-high in sacks, even though a majority came from the edges rather than the middle of the line.
“It felt great, it all coming together,” Houston said. “Rushing four as one, and allowing our ends to eat, but at the same time, while our ends are eating, we can work stuff in the middle to allow us to get sacks as well.”
The veteran Buckeye admitted the defensive line had begun to shy away from the pass rush and began to put more emphasis on stopping the run after its performance against Illinois, in which Ohio State allowed 199 rushing yards.
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“We’ve got some great pass rushers,” Houston said. “Great guys in there that can pass rush, but we kind of got away from that and focused on stopping the run. Now that we’ve stopped the run, we’ve got to get to that quarterback. I just feel like we took that next step.”
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. (2) sacks Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Nicco Marchiol (4) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026.
The run defense was progressing in the three games following Illinois, giving up an average 64.7 rushing yards. But in the losses to USC and Oregon, Ohio State allowed 112 rushing yards per game and conceded five rushing touchdowns, in addition to lacking a pass rush.
Northwestern had been averaging 190 rushing yards per game, the second-most in the Big Ten. On 29 run attempts against Ohio State, the Wildcats posted just 53 yards, marking just the second time they were held to under 100 rushing yards.
Ohio State Buckeyes defensive end Eddrick Houston (96) pursues Northwestern Wildcats quarterback Nicco Marchiol (4) during the NCAA football game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Nov. 14, 2026. Ohio State won 28-19.
The Buckeyes limiting Northwestern’s ground game was impactful on the pass rush, especially on long-yardage third down plays, on which Ohio State forced Marchiol into incomplete or short-yardage passes five times.
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“When you can put them into a situation where they’re one-dimensional, it certainly allows us more [pressure] opportunities,” Day said. “There were some times in the game where we struggled on third down, getting off the field, but we got them off schedule a bunch, which allowed us an opportunity to get after the quarterback.”
