Northwestern University Athletics
No. 1-Ranked Ohio State Visits Ryan Field This Saturday
11/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Football
Nov. 6, 2006
NU Game Notes (vs. Ohio State)
Download Free Acrobat Reader
The Game
After halting its six-game losing streak with an impressive road win over Iowa, Northwestern returns to Ryan Field this week to battle the nation's top-ranked team, the Ohio State Buckeyes. Kickoff is set for 2:36 p.m., with the contest being televised by ABC. A capacity crowd is expected.
The Wildcats posted a solid 21-7 victory over the Hawkeyes to claim their first Big Ten win of the year. Led by C.J. Bachér and Tyrell Sutton, the Wildcats used a balanced rushing and passing attack against the Hawks to go along with a solid defensive performance to hand Iowa just its third home loss in 30 games at Kinnick Stadium.
Ohio State enters this week's action with a 17-game winning streak after holding off Illinois 17-10 in Champaign last Saturday. The Fighting Illini held the Buckeyes to 224 yards of offense and kept leading Heisman Trophy candidate Troy Smith in check.
Despite Saturday's subpar outing, Smith is enjoying a stellar season, having completed 158-of-237 passes for 2,006 yards, 22 touchdowns and just three interceptions, one of which came against Illinois. He also has run for 206 yards and one score. Smith ranks sixth nationally and first in the Big Ten in passing efficiency (165.87).
Smith has some special weapons around him, led by receivers Ted Ginn Jr. and Anthony Gonzales, and running back Antonio Pittman. Ginn leads OSU with 49 receptions (13.0 ypr) and seven TD's. Gonzales has added 43 catches for a team-best 639 yards (14.9 ypr) and six touchdowns. Pittman leads the Buckeye rushing attack, which averages 174.3 yards per game, with a 95.2 yards per game average. He has scored 11 touchdowns.
The Ohio State defense, which had to replace nine starters from a unit that sent a number players to the NFL, has been sensational this year. The Buckeyes, led by linebacker James Laurinaitis, leads the country in scoring defense, having allowed just 7.6 points per game. The Buckeyes have shut out one team (Minnesota) and held six others to seven points or less. Ohio State allowed a season-most 17 points in a 38-17 win at Iowa.
Laurinaitis ranks fifth in the Big Ten with 8.6 tackles per game. He leads the Buckeyes with five interceptions. Defensive end Vernon Gholston leads OSU with 12 TFL's (5.5 sacks) and tackle Quinn Pitcock has a team-best 7 sacks. The Buckeyes rank 13th nationally with 3.0 sacks per game.
The Buckeyes also rank ninth nationally in total defense (258.2 ypg), fifth nationally in pass efficiency defense (95.06 rating), ninth in turnover margin (+1.10 pg) and 18th in rushing defense (92.4 ypg).
The Broadcasts
Radio -- WGN will carry the game live on 720 AM. The broadcast also can be heard live via the internet at wgnradio.com. The pregame show begins at 2 p.m. Dave Eanet (play-by-play) and Ted Albrecht (analyst) call the action. WNUR (89.3 FM) also will carry the contest live. The game is also available on the XM Satellite Radio network. (Channels 197-199).
Television -- ABC is televising the game to a regionally split national audience. Brad Nessler (play-by-play), Bob Griese (analyst), Paul Maguire (analyst) and Bonnie Bernstein (sideline) call the action.
(For a complete set of notes, download the PDF above.)
