GAME NOTES: The eighth-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes begin defense of their Big Ten title this Saturday, as they take on the Northwestern Wildcats in the conference opener for both schools. The Buckeyes enter the contest with an unblemished mark of 3-0, and that includes a hard fought 33-14 triumph at Washington last weekend. With that outcome, OSU tied a school record for consecutive regular-season wins with 21. The Buckeyes now turn their focus to Big Ten play, where they have won the last two league titles. Another thing OSU has working for it, is a home-winning streak that is currently at 14 games and includes two victories this season. Saturday's contest will represent the Buckeyes' 500th home game at Ohio Stadium, where they have gone 375-104-20 lifetime. As for Northwestern, it comes into the contest on a real low note, dropping a 20-14 decision to Duke, which had lost 22 straight games prior to the last weekend's victory. The setback even came at home, where the Wildcats opened the season with back-to-back victories over Northeastern (27-0) and Nevada (36-31). Northwestern now heads into Big Ten action, where it went just 2-6 a year ago. As far as the all-time series goes, OSU owns a commanding 57-14-1 advantage over Northwestern and it has won 26 of the last 27 meetings, including a 54-10 romp in Evanston last season.

The Wildcats appeared to be headed for their second straight come-from-behind victory, but they simply got ahead of themselves, as they were stopped on four straight plays on the Duke seven-yard line in the closing moments of a 20-14 setback last weekend. Northwestern, which scored with 21 seconds left to beat Nevada the previous week, rolled up 507 yards of total offense last weekend, but converted just 2-of-5 red zone chances. The team made only 1-of-5 fourth down attempts in the game and committed two turnovers. Quarterback C.J. Bacher accounted for both miscues on interceptions, but he did throw for a career- high 368 yards on 30-of-50 pass attempts. Bacher, who has thrown for 838 yards and four scores this season, also rushed for 35 yards and a touchdown in the losing cause. Ross Lane was his main target against Duke, pulling down nine balls for 128 yards. It was the best effort of the season by Lane, who leads the club with 14 catches, 179 yards and two scores on the year. As for the ground game, it racked up 138 yards last weekend and that is slightly less than the team's season average of 168.3 ypg. Brandon Roberson led the way with 80 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries and he now leads the team with 252 yards and two scores. Roberson however, will hand back the starting duties this weekend to Tyrell Sutton, who missed last game with an ankle injury. Sutton, a 1,000-yard rusher a year ago, has been slowed by the injury, but he has still rushed for 122 yards and a score thus far.

The Wildcats have done a decent job on the defensive side of the ball in two of their three games this season and they come into the contest allowing 17.0 ppg and 366.0 total ypg. The one area this unit has really struggled in is against the pass, surrendering 244.7 ypg through the air. Last weekend, Northwestern gave up just 309 yards of total offense to Duke, but 246 of those yards came via the pass. The team had very little success, as Duke converted 19-of-23 throws. Kevin Mims paced the defense in the loss with 10 tackles and two TFLs. He currently leads the club with 4.5 TFLs and two sacks, to go along with his 19 stops.

Offensively, the Buckeyes have displayed a balanced attack after three games, averaging 202.0 ypg on the ground and 218.3 ypg through the air. The team's ability to move the ball effectively by ground or by air is the main reason it is scoring a solid 30.3 ppg. In last weekend's win over Washington, OSU rolled up 481 yards of total offense, including 263 on the ground. Chris Wells led the charge with 135 yards and a score on 24 totes, while Brandon Saine added 83 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts. On the season, Wells has seen a majority of the carries and because of that he leads the squad with 324 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Another player that has enjoyed a good start to the season is quarterback Todd Boeckman, who has completed 63.4 percent of his throws for 574 yards. The first-year starter, who has thrown six touchdowns against two interceptions, put forth a solid effort last weekend, passing for 218 yards and two scores on 14-of-25 tosses. Brian Hartline pulled in six of those passes for 88 yards and a score, while Brian Robiskie added four catches for 107 yards and a touchdown of his own. In just three games, Robiskie has already caught 17 balls for 342 yards and two scores.

On the defensive side of the ball, OSU has been simply dominant in the early going, surrendering a mere 7.3 ppg and only 197.0 total ypg. The unit has given up only two touchdowns and is limiting its opponents to just 76.7 rushing ypg. Getting to opposing quarterbacks hasn't been a problem for this unit either, as the Buckeyes have recorded seven sacks thus far. Last weekend, OSU surrendered a season-high 346 total yards to Washington, but it made up for those yards by forcing four turnovers, including three interceptions. Prior to that game, the Buckeyes had forced just one turnover despite their overall dominance. James Laurinaitis accounted for two of those interceptions last weekend and he finished with eight stops and a sack. The All-American linebacker currently leads the team in tackles (22), sacks (two) and interceptions (two).

OSU has proven to be a complete team after three games and it should have no trouble continuing its success against a Northwestern team that is coming off a bad loss. The Buckeyes should be able to pound the ball on the ground and dominate on defense, as they break the school record for most consecutive regular-season wins.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Ohio State 42, Northwestern 13