Ohio State football: 3 takeaways from ugly win over Northwestern

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EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – NOVEMBER 05: C.J. Stroud #7 of the Ohio State Buckeyes throws a pass against the Northwestern Wildcats during the first half at Ryan Field on November 05, 2022 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images) /

2. C.J. Stroud needs Hendon Hooker to struggle

The good news for C.J. Stroud is that he ran for a career-high 79 rushing yards. The bad news is that he threw for a career-low 76 yards while completing 38 percent of his passes.

Against a 1-7 Northwestern, this really doesn’t help his case for the Heisman Trophy. Sure, it was windy, but the best players in the country should be able to overcome things like that.

Hooker and Stroud have been 2A and 1B throughout the year for the Heisman race.

Week in and week out, both have excelled, separating themselves from the rest of the pack, save maybe Michigan running back Blake Corum. Hooker is set to square off against Georgia, who could very well limit him. If he plays well though, he will fully pull ahead of Stroud on the leaderboard.

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