Northwestern University Athletics
Northwestern
Ohio State
Wildcats Fall To No. 4 Ohio State
9/27/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
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COLUMBUS, Ohio - Northwestern turned in a solid defensive performance against the defending national champions, but it had no offensive answer for the tough Buckeye defense as the Wildcats fell 20-0 to fourth-ranked Ohio State. The 'Cats became the first team to rush for 100-plus yards (121 yards) on the Buckeyes, but they could only muster 64 passing yards.
Ohio State won its 19th-straight game -- the nation's longest winning streak -- and its 10th in a row in Big Ten play. Northwestern dropped its first road game after winning its first two away from home this season.
Neither offense mustered much as Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) posted its first shutout in 62 games, dating to a 41-0 victory at Illinois in 1998.
Lydell Ross had a 12-yard touchdown run, Scott McMullen hit Ryan Hamby for a 1-yard score and Mike Nugent kicked a pair of field goals.
That was it for the offenses as Northwestern (2-3, 0-1) missed two field goals and had a touchdown called back by a penalty.
"We had opportunities to seize the momentum and get a little something going and those opportunities did not come through for us," Northwestern coach Randy Walker said. "We came close. That's the most frustrating thing about today. You total everything up and there's probably 15 reasons why we didn't score or make more plays. If it was one thing, it would be easy."
The Buckeyes hurt themselves with dropped passes and struggled to run the ball. Northwestern, which has held four of its first five opponents to less than 150 yards rushing, held Ohio State to 125 yards on 35 carries (3.6 ypc).
"It's clear that our defense has made some huge strides," said Walker.
Hawk had 13 tackles, including two for losses, before taking most of the second half off. Nate Salley added nine tackles and Chris Gamble broke up two passes.
"You can't say enough about that defense," Buckeyes coach Jim Tressel said.
Northwestern's Brett Basanez hit just 10 of 24 passes for 64 yards -- none longer than 12 yards -- and was sacked twice.
"Their front four is the core of the team," Basanez said. "They've got a couple of first-rounders there."
Ross bounced out of a traffic jam in the middle and coasted around left end on a 12-yard score on Ohio State's first possession, capping a 59-yard march that took 10 plays.
"It was congested up the middle and I glanced to the left and saw it was open," Ross said.
Nugent's 32-yard field goal made it 10-0 midway through the second quarter. The Buckeyes took over at the Northwestern 46 after Robert Reynolds recovered Ashton Aikens' fumble.
But Ohio State couldn't move the ball on its next three possessions, punting twice and turning it over on McMullen's high pass that was tipped by tight end Ben Hartsock to safety Bryan Heinz.
The Wildcats drove into Ohio State territory three times in the game but made pivotal mistakes each time.
Basanez avoided a tackle in the backfield and sprinted for an 8-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. Zach Strief was called for holding on the block that sprung Basanez, although subsequent replays appeared to show him pushing Hawk to the ground and away from Basanez.
Three plays later, Slade Larscheid shanked a 35-yard field-goal attempt that was wide left. His 47-yard attempt in the third quarter fell 20 yards short. The snaps bounced to the holder on both kicks.
"I don't feel that they adjusted to anything we were doing," Strief said. "We just killed ourselves over and over today."
Ohio State took the second-half kickoff and had to convert four third-down plays to score, capped by McMullen's 1-yard pass to Ryan Hamby.
Wright was the game's leading rusher with 55 yards (16 carries), although he finished well below his average of 118.2 ypg.
Ohio State's regular quarterback, Craig Krenzel, missed his second game with a hyperextended right elbow. He threw some before the game but never left the sideline.
McMullen completed 16 of 25 passes for 166 yards with the one interception.
Northwestern returns to action next Saturday, hosting nationally ranked Minnesota (5-0, 1-0) at 11 a.m. CT.
(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)
