Ohio State defends the belt, 54–10, on the road at Northwestern.
AP poll, week 11: Ohio State No. 1 at Northwestern unranked · No. 1 that week: Wisconsin. The belt vs. the polls →
Where this game sits in the lineage
Ohio State came in 63 days into reign #260, which began with a win over Texas, with 8 defenses already behind it; this was its 9th defense. Ohio State went on to defend it 1 more time before Florida took it on January 9, 2007, 122 days after the reign began.
For Northwestern this was its 12th shot at the belt; it had held the belt once before.
It was the 5th of 7 belt games between the two; going in, Ohio State led the belt series 3–1; all-time Ohio State leads 6–1. Every meeting →
Recap
Ohio State's defense set the tone early, with Brandon Mitchell returning an interception for a touchdown just 9 minutes into the first quarter to give the Buckeyes a commanding 21-0 lead. Northwestern struggled to move the ball consistently, turning it over five times throughout the game, but managed to stay somewhat competitive in the first half with a field goal and a touchdown pass to Tyrell Sutton that made it 21-10 by halftime. Troy Smith and the Ohio State offense proved too much to handle, with Smith connecting with Brian Hartline twice for touchdowns and Ted Ginn Jr. for another score as the Buckeyes methodically pulled away. By the third quarter, Ohio State had essentially put the game out of reach, with Smith finding Anthony Gonzalez for another touchdown to extend the lead to 54-10. The belt stayed in Columbus as Ohio State's defense and balanced offensive attack proved dominant against a Northwestern team that couldn't overcome the early deficit and turnover margin.
- Brandon Mitchell's 46-yard interception return for a touchdown in Q1 gave Ohio State a 21-0 lead and deflated Northwestern's early momentum
- Ted Ginn Jr.'s 34-yard touchdown reception with 0:03 left in the half extended Ohio State's advantage to 31-10 and essentially clinched the game
- Northwestern's five turnovers, including two interceptions and a fumble forced by James Laurinaitis, prevented any comeback possibility
- Troy Smith's four total touchdown passes demonstrated Ohio State's offensive firepower and ability to attack Northwestern's struggling defense
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.
Team stats
CFBD box scoreFull team box score from CFBD’s /games/teams data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have team-level stats that far back.
Key plays
CFBD play-by-play| When | Team | Yards | Play |
|---|---|---|---|
| Q1 13:37 | Northwestern | +22 yd | C.J. Bacher pass complete to Shaun Herbert for 22 yards, fumbled at the OSU 45, forced by James Laurinaitis, recovered by Brandon Mitchell at the OSU 45, tackled by James Laurinaitis. |
| Q1 13:28 | Ohio State | +29 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 29 yards to the NWest 26 for a 1ST down. |
| Q1 11:28 | Ohio State | +14 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Brian Hartline for 14 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 11:28 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 9:25 | Ohio State | +1 yd | Antonio Pittman rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 9:25 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q1 8:55 | Northwestern | +34 yd | C.J. Bacher pass complete to Tyrell Sutton for 34 yards to the OSU 46 for a 1ST down. |
| Q1 3:38 | Northwestern | +46 yd | C.J. Bacher pass intercepted by Brandon Mitchell at the NWest 46, returned for 46 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q1 3:38 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 13:59 | Northwestern | +29 yd | Joel Howells 29 yard field goal GOOD. |
| Q2 13:46 | Northwestern | +22 yd | Joel Howells kickoff for 68 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 22 yards to the OSU 19. |
| Q2 10:53 | Ohio State | +24 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Brian Hartline for 24 yards to the NWest 35 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 4:35 | Ohio State | +9 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Brian Hartline for 9 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 4:04 | Northwestern | +26 yd | C.J. Bacher pass complete to Erryn Cobb for 26 yards to the OSU 49 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 3:20 | Northwestern | +23 yd | C.J. Bacher pass complete to Rasheed Ward for 23 yards to the OSU 14 for a 1ST down. |
| Q2 2:10 | Northwestern | +8 yd | C.J. Bacher pass complete to Tyrell Sutton for 8 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q2 1:58 | Northwestern | +26 yd | Joel Howells kickoff for 65 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 26 yards to the OSU 26. |
| Q2 2:10 | Northwestern | +0 yd | Joel Howells extra point GOOD. |
| Q2 0:44 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Troy Smith pass intercepted by Sherrick McManis at the NWest 24, returned for no gain to the NWest 24. |
| Q2 0:03 | Ohio State | +34 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Ted Ginn Jr. for 34 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 14:49 | Northwestern | +37 yd | Joel Howells kickoff for 65 yards returned by Ted Ginn Jr. for 37 yards to the OSU 37. |
| Q3 12:02 | Ohio State | +21 yd | A.J. Trapasso punt for 36 yards, returned by Brendan Smith for 21 yards to the NWest 31. |
| Q3 11:02 | Northwestern | +5 yd | C.J. Bacher pass intercepted by Ross Homan at the NWest 44, returned for 5 yards to the NWest 39. |
| Q3 8:52 | Ohio State | +6 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Anthony Gonzalez for 6 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 8:52 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 1:43 | Ohio State | +25 yd | Troy Smith pass complete to Maurice Wells for 25 yards to the NWest 3 for a 1ST down. |
| Q3 0:15 | Ohio State | +1 yd | Chris Wells rush for 1 yard for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q3 0:15 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Aaron Pettrey extra point GOOD. |
| Q3 3:59 | Ohio State | +33 yd | Chris Wells rush for 33 yards to the NWest 21 for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 4:08 | Ohio State | +25 yd | Chris Wells rush for 25 yards to the NWest 8 for a 1ST down. |
| Q4 2:29 | Ohio State | +4 yd | Todd Boeckman rush for 4 yards for a TOUCHDOWN. |
| Q4 2:29 | Ohio State | +0 yd | Ryan Pretorius extra point GOOD. |
Scoring plays, turnovers, and gains of 20+ yards, pulled from CFBD’s play-by-play. This section only appears for belt games with play-by-play on file (2003 onward).
Player stats
CFBD player statsPassing
Northwestern
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C.J. Bacher | 17/28 | 212 | 7.6 | 1 | 2 | 27.8 |
| Mike Kafka | 4/8 | 17 | 2.1 | 0 | 0 | 2.2 |
Ohio State
| Player | C/ATT | YDS | AVG | TD | INT | QBR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Troy Smith | 12/19 | 185 | 9.7 | 4 | 1 | 96.0 |
| Justin Zwick | 2/4 | 9 | 2.3 | 0 | 0 | 6.9 |
| Todd Boeckman | 0/1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 77.9 |
Rushing
Northwestern
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrell Sutton | 12 | 57 | 4.8 | 0 | 13 |
| Omar Conteh | 4 | 17 | 4.3 | 0 | 9 |
| Terrell Jordan | 2 | 8 | 4.0 | 0 | 5 |
| C.J. Bacher | 3 | -2 | -0.7 | 0 | 7 |
| Mike Kafka | 3 | -12 | -4.0 | 0 | 0 |
Ohio State
| Player | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Wells | 11 | 99 | 9.0 | 1 | 33 |
| Antonio Pittman | 19 | 80 | 4.2 | 1 | 14 |
| Maurice Wells | 7 | 32 | 4.6 | 0 | 15 |
| Troy Smith | 5 | 15 | 3.0 | 0 | 11 |
| Todd Boeckman | 2 | 5 | 2.5 | 1 | 4 |
Receiving
Northwestern
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tyrell Sutton | 7 | 75 | 10.7 | 1 | 34 |
| Shaun Herbert | 4 | 57 | 14.3 | 0 | 21 |
| Rasheed Ward | 4 | 38 | 9.5 | 0 | 23 |
| Ross Lane | 4 | 28 | 7.0 | 0 | 14 |
| Erryn Cobb | 1 | 26 | 26.0 | 0 | 26 |
| Eric Peterman | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
Ohio State
| Player | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brian Hartline | 3 | 47 | 15.7 | 2 | 24 |
| Ted Ginn Jr. | 2 | 40 | 20.0 | 1 | 34 |
| Anthony Gonzalez | 2 | 34 | 17.0 | 1 | 28 |
| Rory Nicol | 2 | 27 | 13.5 | 0 | 18 |
| Maurice Wells | 1 | 25 | 25.0 | 0 | 25 |
| Antonio Pittman | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Brian Robiskie | 1 | 6 | 6.0 | 0 | 6 |
| Roy Hall | 1 | 5 | 5.0 | 0 | 5 |
| Jake Ballard | 1 | 4 | 4.0 | 0 | 4 |
Show more stats (4 more categories)
Interceptions
Northwestern
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sherrick McManis | 1 | 0 | 0 |
Ohio State
| Player | INT | YDS | TD |
|---|---|---|---|
| Brandon Mitchell | 1 | 46 | 1 |
| Ross Homan | 1 | 5 | 0 |
Kicking
Northwestern
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Joel Howells | 1/1 | 100.0 | 29 | 1/1 | 4 |
Ohio State
| Player | FG | PCT | LONG | XP | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aaron Pettrey | 0/0 | 0.0 | 0 | 5/6 | 5 |
| Ryan Pretorius | 0/0 | 0.0 | 0 | 1/1 | 1 |
Punt Returns
Northwestern
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brendan Smith | 1 | 21 | 21.0 | 21 | 0 |
Ohio State
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | LONG | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Larry Grant | 1 | 9 | 9.0 | 9 | 0 |
| Brian Robiskie | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 |
Punting
Northwestern
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Slade Larscheid | 3 | 101 | 33.7 | 0 | 0 | 45 |
Ohio State
| Player | NO | YDS | AVG | TB | In 20 | LONG |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AJ Trapasso | 2 | 77 | 38.5 | 0 | 0 | 41 |
Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data, split out by team. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back. Linked player names go to that player’s stat line in every other belt game they’ve appeared in.
Sources Box score at ESPN · Game record: College Football Data (id 263150077) · This game in the downloadable dataset