← The College Football Belt
Reign #302 · Game 1,547 of 1,634
October 18, 2019 Week 8 · Regular Season Belt defended

Ohio State defends the belt, 52–3, on the road at Northwestern.

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Northwestern 3
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Ohio State 52
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Recap

Ohio State's dominant defensive performance and efficient offensive execution resulted in a convincing 52-3 victory over Northwestern to retain the belt. The Buckeyes struck early with Justin Fields connecting with Chris Olave for a touchdown on their opening drive, then methodically built their lead throughout the first half with three more scoring drives capped by Fields' touchdown passes and J.K. Dobbins' short touchdown run. Northwestern managed only a field goal in the first half as their offense struggled to generate momentum, totaling just 42 passing yards for the entire game. Ohio State's relentless attack continued in the second half, with Fields and backup Chris Chugunov combining to add three more touchdowns, including an impressive 73-yard rushing touchdown by Master Teague III in the fourth quarter, while Northwestern's two interceptions in the final quarter sealed their inability to mount any meaningful comeback.

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.

Full Box Score

Team stats

CFBD box score
 NorthwesternOhio State
Total yards199480
Rushing yards157279
Passing yards42201
First downs1422
3rd down conv.5/188/14
Turnovers20
Penalties–yards8–765–58
Time of possession32:2227:38

Full 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.

Play By Play

Key plays

CFBD play-by-play
WhenTeamYardsPlay
Q1 10:42Ohio State+20 ydJustin Fields pass complete to Chris Olave for 20 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q1 15:00Northwestern+59 ydTrey Finison kickoff for 64 yds for a touchback NORTHWESTERN Penalty, Illegal Procedure (-5 Yards)
Q1 3:05Northwestern+33 ydCharlie Kuhbander 33 yd FG GOOD
Q2 12:44Ohio State+19 ydJustin Fields pass complete to J.K. Dobbins for 19 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q1 0:00Ohio State+20 ydJustin Fields pass complete to K.J. Hill for 20 yds to the 50 yard line for a 1ST down
Q2 10:16Northwestern+38 ydDaniel Kubiuk punt for 38 yds , Demario McCall returns for a loss of 1 yard to the OhSt 27
Q2 9:36Ohio State+5 ydJ.K. Dobbins run for 5 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q2 10:16Ohio State+68 ydJ.K. Dobbins run for 68 yds to the Nwest 5 for a 1ST down
Q2 6:36Ohio State-5 ydJustin Fields run for a loss of 5 yards to the OhSt 12 Justin Fields fumbled, recovered by OhSt Justin Fields
Q2 4:10Northwestern-9 ydTyler Gillikin run for a loss of 9 yards to the Nwest 15 Tyler Gillikin fumbled, recovered by Nwest Daniel Kubiuk
Q2 3:45Ohio State+8 ydJustin Fields pass complete to Chris Olave for 8 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q2 0:31Northwestern+33 ydDaniel Kubiuk punt for 33 yds , Garrett Wilson returns for a loss of 1 yard to the Nwest 36
Q2 0:00Ohio State+55 ydBlake Haubeil 55 yd FG GOOD
Q3 12:05Northwestern+21 ydDaniel Kubiuk punt for 36 yds, punt out-of-bounds at the NORTHWSTRN 20 NORTHWESTERN Penalty, Kick Catching Interference (Joe Bergin) to the OhSt 35
Q3 9:45Ohio State+23 ydJustin Fields pass complete to Austin Mack for 23 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q4 15:00Ohio State-7 ydJustin Fields sacked by Joe Gaziano for a loss of 7 yards to the Nwest 46 Justin Fields fumbled, forced by Joe Gaziano, recovered by OhSt Justin Fields , return for 0 yards
Q4 10:34Ohio State+45 ydDrue Chrisman punt for 39 yds, fair catch by Riley Lees at the NORTHWSTRN 13 NORTHWESTERN Penalty, Offensive Holding (Greg Newsome II) to the Nwest 7
Q4 9:46Northwestern+0 ydAidan Smith pass intercepted Sevyn Banks return for no gain to the Nwest 11
Q4 9:20Ohio State+7 ydChris Chugunov pass complete to Jeremy Ruckert for 7 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q4 7:46Ohio State+73 ydMaster Teague III run for 73 yds for a TD, (Blake Haubeil KICK)
Q4 2:38Northwestern+0 ydAndrew Marty pass intercepted Amir Riep return for no gain to the OhSt 16
Q4 1:58Ohio State+53 ydMarcus Crowley run for 53 yds to the Nwest 31 for a 1ST down

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).

Box Score

Player stats

CFBD player stats

Passing

PlayerC/ATTYDSAVGTDINTQBR
Aidan SmithNorthwestern6/20422.1018.6
Andrew MartyNorthwestern0/100.00172.9
Justin FieldsOhio State18/231948.44091.6
Chris ChugunovOhio State1/273.51099.5
TeamOhio State0/100.0000.0

Rushing

PlayerCARYDSAVGTDLONG
Isaiah BowserNorthwestern16654.1016
Drake AndersonNorthwestern13393.009
Aidan SmithNorthwestern11333.0010
Andrew MartyNorthwestern2168.0016
Kyric McGowanNorthwestern2147.0013
John Moten IVNorthwestern2-1-0.502
Tyler GillikinNorthwestern1-9-9.000
J.K. DobbinsOhio State181216.7168
Master TeagueOhio State79613.7173
Marcus CrowleyOhio State25326.5053
Justin FieldsOhio State681.3010
Demario McCallOhio State177.007
TeamOhio State3-6-2.000

Receiving

PlayerRECYDSAVGTDLONG
Riley LeesNorthwestern3196.309
Kyric McGowanNorthwestern11313.0013
Jace JamesNorthwestern2105.005
Chris OlaveOhio State56012.0220
Austin MackOhio State45012.5123
J.K. DobbinsOhio State33010.0119
Garrett WilsonOhio State3289.3013
K.J. HillOhio State2199.5020
Jeremy RuckertOhio State177.017
Binjimen VictorOhio State177.007
Show more stats (7 more categories)

Defense

PlayerTOTSOLOSACKSTFLPDQB HURTD
Paddy FisherNorthwestern8601000
Chris BerginNorthwestern5200010
Sam MillerNorthwestern5100000
Andrew LeotaNorthwestern3100.5000
Bryce JacksonNorthwestern1100000
Brandon JosephNorthwestern1100000
Blake GallagherNorthwestern11200.5010
Greg Newsome IINorthwestern7700100
Joe GazianoNorthwestern5311000
Cameron RuizNorthwestern3300000
Travis Jack WhillockNorthwestern3100000
JR PaceNorthwestern3000000
Kyric McGowanNorthwestern1100000
A.J. HamptonNorthwestern1100100
Raymond Niro IIINorthwestern1100000
Cameron MitchellNorthwestern1100000
Joe SpivakNorthwestern1000000
Alex MillerNorthwestern0000010
Jordan FullerOhio State5500000
Dallas GantOhio State4200000
Javontae Jean-BaptisteOhio State4200000
Damon ArnetteOhio State3300000
Robert LandersOhio State2100.5000
Haskell GarrettOhio State2100000
Craig YoungOhio State1100000
Shaun WadeOhio State1000200
Tyler FridayOhio State1000000
Malik HarrisonOhio State9700.5010
Tuf BorlandOhio State5501000
Pete WernerOhio State4200000
Tommy TogiaiOhio State4100000
Brendon WhiteOhio State3100000
K'Vaughan PopeOhio State3000100
Chase YoungOhio State2211010
Jashon CornellOhio State2200010
Antwuan JacksonOhio State2201000
Davon HamiltonOhio State2000010
Justin HilliardOhio State1101000
Jonathon CooperOhio State1100100
Tyreke SmithOhio State1100110
Josh ProctorOhio State1100000

Fumbles

PlayerRECFUMLOST
Tyler GillikinNorthwestern010
Justin FieldsOhio State020

Interceptions

PlayerINTYDSTD
Amir RiepOhio State100
Sevyn BanksOhio State100

Kick Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Riley LeesNorthwestern4184.5180
Demario McCallOhio State100.000

Kicking

PlayerFGPCTLONGXPPTS
Charlie KuhbanderNorthwestern1/1100.0330/03
Blake HaubeilOhio State1/1100.0557/710

Punt Returns

PlayerNOYDSAVGLONGTD
Riley LeesNorthwestern2126.060
Garrett WilsonOhio State231.540
Demario McCallOhio State1-1-1.000

Punting

PlayerNOYDSAVGTBIn 20LONG
Daniel KubiukNorthwestern726237.40045
Andrew DavidNorthwestern14242.00042
Drue ChrismanOhio State523747.40056

Full player stats from CFBD’s /games/players data. This section only appears for belt games from 2003 onward — CFBD doesn’t have player-level stats that far back.