Northwestern DB AJ Hampton confident in slowing down Ohio State's passing game

There’s a certain confidence you have to have as an underdog. With Ohio State favored by 36 points at Northwestern this weekend, it’s safe to say the Wildcats will need that exact confidence in their attempt to pull the upset on the Buckeyes. AJ Hampton appears to have it at least based on his comments this week.

AJ Hampton says the Ohio State pass game hasn’t faced their secondary yet. He means no disrespect but he says the Buckeyes still need to face them head-on in order to win.

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“Everybody’s praising these guys, everybody wants these guys to do good. But they haven’t faced us yet,” said Hampton. “They haven’t faced me, they haven’t faced Cam Mitchell. They haven’t faced any of our secondary…I’m not disrespecting them. But, I mean, it starts with us.”

The Ohio State offense is averaging 317.8 passing yards per game and just under four touchdowns through the game. That aspect of their game, led by CJ Stroud and paired with elite wideout talent like Marvin Harrison Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming, is a big part of what is the nation’s second-best offense.

Hampton and the Northwestern defense are giving up 220.8 passing yards per game. However, that won’t mean anything by the time both teams hit the field this weekend. While the Buckeyes may roll their eyes at this commentary, you can’t blame Hampton for the confidence. If Northwestern is going to get the job done on Saturday, this is the exact attitude Hampton and the Wildcats need to have.

Report: Big Ten will keep divisions for 2023 season, restructure in 2024

The Big Ten is solidifying its plans for the future amid the addition of USC and UCLA to the conference, and the topic of divisions has been one of the most contested debates.

Alas, answers are being given, as Scott Dochterman of The Athletic revealed the conference is planning of keeping their divisions for next season, restructuring in 2024.

“The Big Ten is planning to run it back one more time with the East-West divisions and then configure a new model when USC and UCLA arrive in 2024, multiple sources confirmed to The Athletic on Monday,” wrote Dochterman. “The league also plans to introduce the 2023 schedule this week.

“There was strong consideration to revamp from geographic divisions to a single-conference entity for 2023 but there were too many issues to implement for next season. Among the most discussed issues for Big Ten administrators and school officials include the desire to unveil one new system for USC and UCLA rather than in consecutive years, the number of protected games and television concerns.”

Alas, the future of the Big Ten could look completely different from the conference we now know, but the structure will remain the same for 2023. However, it’s evident 2024 is going to be a season where the winds of change blow for the Big Ten in many ways.