Dwayne Haskins continues to rewrite record books. The Ohio State quarterback threw for a Big Ten Championship Game record 499 yards and 5 touchdowns, leading the Buckeyes to a second consecutive conference title with a 45-24 win over Northwestern.
The Buckeyes led 24-7 at the half, but the Wildcats rallied, closing to within 24-21 in the third quarter. From that point on, Ohio State outscored Northwestern 21-3 thanks to Haskins right arm. He found Chris Olave for a 29 yard score in the third quarter to make it 31-21. After Northwestern kicked a field goal to close to within a touchdown, Haskins led the Buckeyes on a 4-play 75 yard drive, capped off by a 9-yard touchdown pass to Johnnie Dixon and later hit running back J.K. Dobbins for a 17-yard score to put the game away.
Dobbins also had a touchdown run in the first half and Haskins threw two first half T.D's to Terry McLaurin. Haskins, who has played his way into the Heisman Trophy conversation, set Big Ten Championship Game records for completions (34), yards (499), completion percentage (.829) and touchdowns (5).
Now the Buckeyes (12-1) wait to see where they will play in the post season. Despite the victory, Ohio State, No. 6 in last weeks playoff poll, may be on the outside looking in because No. 5 Oklahoma won the Big 12 title with a win over Texas. No. 4 Georgia is also in the mix, despite losing to top-ranked Alabama in the SEC title game.
Urban Meyer, on Fox after the game, lobbied for the Buckeyes.
"I think all you have to do is look is at the body of work. We went on the road and won some tough games -- TCU, Penn State and Michigan State," Meyer said. "The way we played against our rival (Michigan) and the way we played tonight, I think we deserve a shot."