Countdown To Kickoff 2022: Ohio State Runs By Northwestern, 22-10

We’re counting the days until the 2022 season by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Aug 12, 2022 1:46 PM EDT

In this story:

Ohio State Buckeyes

There are many ways to countdown to the upcoming college football season, though none may be more popular than naming the best player in school history by jersey number.

We've decided to do something a little different, though, and will be counting the days until Ohio State's season opener against Notre Dame on Sept. 3 by the number of points the Buckeyes scored in some of their greatest victories.

For example, Ohio State scored 48 points in its win over Utah in the Rose Bowl back in January. That game was highlighted when there was 48 days remaining in the offseason.

We understand that this approach won't allow us to do a daily countdown, especially with higher point totals, but we're hopeful that looking back at some of the more notable games in school history will build anticipation for the upcoming season.

With that said, let's continue the countdown...

Ohio State 22, Northwestern 10 - Dec. 19, 2020

Running back Trey Sermon rushed for a school single-game record 331 yards and two touchdowns to lead fourth-ranked Ohio State to a 22-10 victory over No. 14 Northwestern in the 2020 Big Ten Championship Game.

The Buckeyes trailed by four points at halftime, as quarterback Justin Fields was nursing a sprained right thumb and wide receiver Chris Olave was among the 22 players sidelined by COVID-19. That’s when they turned to Sermon, who rushed for 271 yards and both scores in the second half.

“He ran with a different look in his eye,” head coach Ryan Day said of Sermon, who was still working his way back from an ACL injury when the season began. “There was a time, probably after Week 2 or Week 3, that we really weren’t sure. You know, what’s going on? Just not hitting the hole right, didn’t have a lot of confidence.

“We didn’t know Trey, so weren’t sure exactly what we had there. To see him persevere again through all that to play the way he did in this game and break records like that, it’s tremendous.”

Sermon broke Eddie George’s school record of 314 yards in a 41-3 win over Illinois in 1995 to take home the game’s Most Valuable Player honors. It was also the most rushing yards by a player in any conference championship game in Football Bowl Subdivision history.

“Our mentality was just to make the most of every opportunity and execute,” Sermon said. “I feel like we came out and did that in the second half.”

The win gave Ohio State its fourth straight and 39th overall Big Ten title, not including the vacated 2010 season, and clinched a spot in the College Football Playoff for the second consecutive year.

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