Our side
MoneylineOSU to win
ours 89%
Projected score
12–33
NU – OSU
2026-11-14 · kickoff TBD
Ohio Stadium · Columbus, OH
B1G game
Early season
The books
No book has priced this game. Nothing to compare, and no ticket to build.
Series
Ohio State lead
66–14–1
· 81 meetings since 1913
2025 unit ranks —
last completed season, from games actually played
Run game
edge Ohio State Buckeyes
75 ranks
Northwestern Wildcats #79 rush offense
Ohio State Buckeyes #4 run defense
Pass game
edge Ohio State Buckeyes
161 ranks
Northwestern Wildcats #170 pass offense
Ohio State Buckeyes #9 pass defense
Run game
edge Ohio State Buckeyes
96 ranks
Ohio State Buckeyes #117 rush offense
Northwestern Wildcats #213 run defense
Pass game
edge Ohio State Buckeyes
101 ranks
Ohio State Buckeyes #7 pass offense
Northwestern Wildcats #108 pass defense
Northwestern Wildcats
Balanced · 56% run
Ball-control
Ohio State Buckeyes
Balanced · 52% run
Ball-control
David Braun · 19-19
Ryan Day · 82-12
Ranked by team-unit strength
(rush & pass offense vs. run & pass defense) across all 265
D1 teams, not by individual players. Identity, tempo and unit strength are measured from the
2025 season.
The evidence 2025 production and power ratings · supporting the number above
Who carried each team in 2025
Northwestern Wildcats
DB
Braden Turner
7 tkl · 3 PD
#97 DB
DB
Robert Fitzgerald
14 tkl · 1 PD
#113 DB
DB
Damon Walters
9 tkl · 1 PD · 1 INT
#114 DB
DL
Brendan Flakes
4 tkl · 1.0 sacks · 1.0 TFL
#225 DL
Ohio State Buckeyes
WR
Jeremiah Smith
16 rec · 315 yds · 3 TD
#7 WR
QB
Julian Sayin
598 pass yds · 4 TD · 1 INT
#32 QB
RB
Bo Jackson
157 rush yds · 1 TD · 5 rec
#73 RB
DB
Earl Little Jr.
15 tkl · 1 PD
#175 DB
Top-rated players from last season, ranked within their
position across D1. A grade measures what a player produced, and no
2026 game has been played yet — so this is who produced for
these programs in 2025, not a claim about who is on the field this year.
Power breakdown
Def is higher = better. The projection assumes a 2.4-pt home edge (0 at neutral sites).
Where the number comes from
Northwestern offense vs Ohio State defense-16.1 pts
Ohio State offense vs Northwestern defense+1.8 pts
An efficiency adjustment from season-to-date EPA and success rate applies once teams have
played enough games; before then it is 0 and the number is the power rating alone.