Northwestern Battles Back, Comes Up Short in Big Ten Championship

12/1/2018 10:59:00 PM | Football

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INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Despite a Herculean third quarter effort, No. 21 Northwestern came up short in the 2018 Big Ten Championship on Saturday night in Lucas Oil Stadium, falling 45-24 to No. 6 Ohio State.

The #B1GCats scored on back-to-back possessions coming out of halftime to cut the Ohio State lead to 24-21 in the third quarter. The Wildcats' offense finished with 418 total yards on the night.

Junior running back John Moten IV had a 77-yard touchdown rush, which was the third of the season and the fifth of his career. The run was not only the longest of Moten's career but also tied for the second longest run in Big Ten Championship history with J.K. Dobbins' effort last season against Wisconsin.

Senior wide receiver Flynn Nagel broke into the NU record book with a nine-yard reception in the first half, moving into tenth place on the all-time catches list with his 157th career reception.

Senior Montre Hartage also climbed into the top five in program history on the career interceptions list. He made the tenth interception of his career after picking off Haskins early in the second quarter to give the 'Cats the ball on their own 16.

To start off the second half, senior Clayton Thorson rushed for an 18-yard touchdown to cut the OSU lead to seven. The effort marked his ninth touchdown of the season and and moved him into a tie for seventh place in program history for rushing touchdowns with Noah Herron.

An early third quarter sack by junior defensive end Joe Gaziano and sophomore Earnest Brown IV forced the Buckeyes to punt it away on fourth and long and gave the Wildcats position to put together a scoring drive. It was Gaziano's 6.5th career sack and it moved him to fourth on the all-time sack list, passing Corey Wootton. Brown also set career highs with four tackles and 2.5 TFL.

After putting together a strong series, a 2-yard touchdown by junior superback Cameron Green brought the 'Cats within three with 8:03 left to play in the third. Senior Jordan Thompson kept the momentum going with a first-down sack on the next series to put the Buckeyes in a second and long position. It was Thompson's third sack of the season and led to another Buckeyes' punt.

The duo of Thompson and sophomore safety Travis Whillock were responsible for an Ohio State turnover late in the third which gave the Wildcats the ball back with 2:50 left in the quarter. Thompson forced his second fumble of the season, which was quickly recovered by Whillock to begin an NU drive.

Senior wide receiver Jelani Roberts kept the Wildcats' in the game while also securing his longest career reception with a 33-yard catch in the fourth quarter. Roberts' effort was followed by a 21-yard field goal from sophomore kicker Charlie Kuhbander that brought the Wildcats within one score at 31-24 with 10:34 left in the fourth quarter.

Trey Pugh and Riley Lees both recorded career-longs with a 15-yard catch and a 18-yard rush, respectively.

A blocked field-goal attempt by Fred Wyatt early in the fourth quarter was the first by a Wildcat since 2014. In the fourth, sophomore Samdup Miller recorded the seventh sack of his career and his second tackle for a loss in the game.

The Northwestern defense finished with a season-high 10 tackles for loss, led by 11 total tackles from sophomore linebacker Paddy Fisher. Northwestern's offense finished the game averaging 6.1 yards per play, which was the most in a game this season.

Chicago's Big Ten team will be back on the field for a bowl game which will be announced on Sunday.

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