Scarlet Sunrise: Sonny Styles named semifinalist for Butkus Award

COLUMBUS — Ohio State linebacker Sonny Styles leads the Buckeyes team with 52 tackles in his first season as a linebacker after making the transition from safety to linebacker.

He’s one of 15 semifinalists for the Butkus Award, given annually to the country’s top linebacker, for his effort so far this season.

Styles had nine tackles for the Buckeyes in the top-five road win over Penn State on Saturday; he has begun playing some of his best football in the last few weeks alongside fellow star linebacker Cody Simon.

Styles is part of a defense that is one of the top units in all of college football in defending both the run and the pass. Now he’s being honored for how well he has played in this defense through eight games. He’s now a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.

Buckeyes game at Northwestern set for early kick on Big Ten Network

Ohio State will play Northwestern at Wrigley Field next weekend in a road trip to Chicago.

In doing so, the Buckeyes will be playing their fourth straight game in the early block of a college football Saturday. Yes, Ohio State and Northwestern will meet for a Noon (11 a.m. local) kickoff game on Nov. 16. But it won’t be in the Big Noon slot on FOX for the first time in three weeks. No, the Buckeyes and Wildcats will square off on Big Ten Network.

Northwestern is coming of an overtime win over Purdue on West Lafayette for its second Big Ten win of the season. The Wildcats are 4-5 with wins over Maryland, Purdue, Miami (OH) and Eastern Illinois. They’ll have an idle week this week before facing the Buckeyes in Wrigley Field as their new stadium is currently being built.

The game against Indiana still doesn’t have a network assignment or a television window yet either. Ohio State will, of course, face Michigan on Nov. 30 in the Big Noon of FOX slot. That Indiana game has massive Big Ten title stakes for both teams.

ICYMI: Players of game for Ohio State against Penn State

Ohio State scored an emphatic 20-13 win over Penn State in State College on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes used a goal-line stand late in the game and then a five-minute, 13-second clock-killing drive to secure a win over a top-five team.

And Sunday, the program released the names of the Players of the Game from that Buckeyes win over the Nittany Lions.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Buckeyes gave the honor to left tackle Donovan Jackson, left guard Carson Hinzman, center Seth McLaughlin and right tackle Josh Fryar. Right guard Tegra Tshabola was the only starting offensive lineman to not be named a player of the game.

The Buckeyes ran the ball 40 times for 176 yards, even though Jackson was making his first career start at left tackle and Hinzman, who started 12 games at center for the Buckeyes last year, was making his first-career start at left guard. 11 of those 40 carries — for 58 yards — came on the last drive of the game, which iced the game for the Buckeyes.

Defensively, Ohio State named safety Caleb Downs and cornerback Davison Igbinosun the defensive players of the game. Downs had the key defense on Penn State’s late fourth-and-goal attempt from the 1-yard line, which preserved the Buckeyes’ seven-point lead. Igbinosun also had a big play that saved the Buckeyes from giving up a touchdown, intercepting a pass in the end zone — barely getting a foot in bounds while taking the ball away from Penn State receiver Trey Wallace.

Counting down

Ohio State vs. Indiana: 19 days
Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 26 days

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