Ohio State Won't be Distracted by Looming Wisconsin Game
When what you see out the window doesn't grab your interest, you look to the horizon beyond for something that does.
That's the natural human tendency, but an inclination Ohio State coach Ryan Day will battle staunchly this week should his fourth-ranked Buckeyes be similarly tempted.
OSU (6-0) faces an 8:30 p.m. kickoff Friday at Northwestern (1-4) in advance of an Oct. 26 home game against unbeaten, sixth-ranked Wisconsin (6-0).
Sure, the game in Evanston is a rematch of last season's Big Ten Championship Game, but beyond that and the FS1 money grab that forced the kickoff opposite a night typically reserved for high school football, there's very little intrigue about what's in store at Ryan Field.
Ohio State averages 49 points per-game. Northwestern has scored 42 points against its four Power 5 opponents combined, all losses.
Likewise, Wisconsin is unlikely to break a sweat this weekend, playing at woeful Illinois, which has lost four straight.
"All we're worried about is this game right here," Day said. "We all know what happens if you start losing focus, and we cannot do that. So this week we’ve talked about having a white belt mentality, which is a mentality that you’re starting right from scratch and that you don’t take anything for granted, you don’t make any assumptions.
"If we do that, then we’ll be fine. If we start to look ahead or start to let our egos get in the way, then we’re in trouble.”
Northwestern is 125th in the nation in total offense, averaging less than 4 yards per-play, having scored only eight touchdowns, with four coming against UNLV
Ohio State has won every game by 24 or more points, including four by 40 or more, and averages 7.3 yards per-play.
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