No. 2 Ohio State struggles early but manages to get ugly win against Northwestern

With wind gusts up to 49 mph, Ohio State's passing game was rendered ineffective. But the No. 2 Buckeyes beat Northwestern 21-7 to remain unbeaten.

USA TODAY Sports' Paul Myerberg and Dan Wolken break down who could be the next Auburn Tigers' head football coach.EVANSTON, Ill. – The wind and rain whipped across Ryan Field on Saturday, forcing whatever game plan coaches devised to be altered.

But the weather was no excuse for the Buckeyes' running game struggling for most of the game for the third straight week. Northwestern's run defense ranked 111Ohio State gained only 283 yards, its fewest since the Cotton Bowl over Southern California in 2017. The Buckeyes' run defense also buckled at times against the Wildcats, who often used direct snaps to a running back. Northwestern took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 75-yard drive that included runs of 13, 10, 8, 8 and a 16-yarder by Evan Hull in which he cut inside of JK Johnson for the score. Hull finished with 30 carries for 122 yards.

The Buckeyes finally scored after taking over at the Wildcats' 46 on a short punt with just under 5 minutes left. Stroud converted a fourth-and-1 when he faked a handoff to Williams and ran for 16 yards. Two plays later, Emeka Egbuka scored on a 15-yard sweep to tie the game with 2:26 left before halftime.

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