Fahey Throws 3 TDs, Smith Breaks Big Ten Record as Ohio State Tops Northwestern 28-19

Ohio State finally finished one. The No. 20 Buckeyes beat Northwestern 28-19 at Ohio Stadium on Saturday, Nov. 14, snapping a two-game losing streak behind freshman quarterback Luke Fahey’s three touchdown passes and a record-breaking afternoon from wide receiver Jeremiah Smith, according to The Columbus Dispatch’s coverage of the game.

Fahey, making his third start in place of the injured Julian Sayin, completed 21 of 32 passes for 201 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and the win was the first of his career as a starter, the Dispatch reported. Ohio State (7-3, 5-2 Big Ten) had returned from its off week with losses to USC and Oregon, each by more than 10 points, and could not afford a third straight stumble at home.

Smith supplied the day’s history. Needing 31 yards to pass Purdue’s John Standeford, who set the Big Ten career receiving record at 3,788 yards in 2003, Smith broke it on a 22-yard catch near the end of the first quarter, the Dispatch reported. He finished with 11 catches for 117 yards and a touchdown on 17 targets, and he now holds the record at 3,874 yards with two regular-season games remaining.

The ground game carried its share, too. Sophomore running backs Bo Jackson and Isaiah West combined for 159 of Ohio State’s 168 rushing yards and each scored, the Dispatch reported: Jackson ran 20 times for 114 yards, including a 2-yard second-quarter touchdown, and West added 45 yards on 10 carries. Ohio State finished with 369 yards of total offense, according to Ohio State Athletics.

Northwestern (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) arrived with a familiar face on its sideline. Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, who won the 2024 national championship with the Buckeyes, faced his old program for the first time, and his offense produced 278 total yards, two touchdowns and two field goals, the Dispatch reported.

The game stayed uncomfortable deep into the second half. Ohio State led just 21-13 in the fourth quarter before Fahey rolled left and found Devin McCuin for a touchdown on fourth-and-1 from the Northwestern 8, according to the Dispatch’s analysis of the game. A recovered muffed punt then set up Smith’s sealing touchdown catch with 7:25 left, pushing the lead to 28-13 before Northwestern scored as time expired after an Ohio State fumble.

The Buckeyes’ defense did its part with its best pass rush in weeks. After recording just two sacks across the previous four games, Ohio State sacked Northwestern quarterback Nicco Marchiol five times, led by Kenyatta Jackson Jr. with two, and held the Wildcats to 6-for-15 on third down, the Dispatch reported.

Special teams were a mix of rescue and relapse in the unit’s first game since Ohio State fired special teams coordinator Robby Discher on Monday. Brandon Inniss opened with a 17-yard punt return, but a squib kick pinned the offense at its own 17 and a punt bounced off Devin Sanchez’s shoulder for a Northwestern recovery; long snapper Dalton Riggs then recovered Northwestern’s muffed punt inside the red zone to set up Smith’s touchdown, the Dispatch reported.

What we know — and what we’re still waiting on

What is confirmed: Ohio State is 7-3 with its losing streak over, Fahey is the starter while Sayin is hurt, and Smith owns the Big Ten’s career receiving record as a junior the Dispatch notes is likely in his final college season before the 2027 NFL Draft. What is not yet known: when Sayin might return, and whether a two-loss November leaves the Buckeyes any realistic path back into the Big Ten title race.

It was a full weekend for Ohio State’s other headline teams as well: the women’s hockey team knocked off a top-ranked opponent in the game NewsForce247 covered in our report on the win over No. 1 Wisconsin, while Columbus’s pro club fought its own losing streak in our recap of the Blue Jackets’ 4-3 loss to Philadelphia.

What happens next is the Buckeyes’ final road trip of the regular season: Ohio State plays at Nebraska on Saturday, Nov. 21, in a noon kickoff at Memorial Stadium — the program’s first trip to Lincoln since 2021, according to Ohio State Athletics — before closing the regular season at home against Michigan on Nov. 28.

Photo: Lectrician2, CC BY-SA