Scarlet Sunrise: Buckeyes reveal players of game from Northwestern victory

Good morning, Ohio State fans, and welcome to the Scarlet Sunrise. Football will always be our focus, but every day we’ll cover news, notes and analysis from across Buckeyes sports. Join us each morning to get caught up on everything you missed in the world of Buckeyes football, recruiting, basketball and more in Scarlet Sunrise.

Buckeyes reveal players of game from Northwestern victory

Ohio State relied on a strong second-half defensive performance and timely breakthroughs in an otherwise concerning run game to get out of Ryan Field with a 21-7 win Saturday. The program honored its players of the game from the weather-affected matchup.

Safety Ronnie Hickman and defensive tackle Taron Vincent were each named co-defensive player of the game. Hickman made 10 tackles, including six solos, perhaps most notably bringing down Northwestern wide receiver Malik Washington on a 4th-and-8 from the Ohio State 25-yard line in the second quarter. Vincent, meanwhile, registered four solos and one assisted tackle. It was his second straight game with 50 or more snaps after he had played no more than 35 in the first seven outings. Vincent also logged a pair of pressures in the win, per Pro Football Focus.

Punter Jesse Mirco was tabbed as Ohio State’s special teams player of the game. While Northwestern punter Hunter Renner was having a hard time driving the ball (34.25 punt average), Mirco was averaging 50.3 yards per punt. Two of those landed inside the Northwestern 20-yard line, including a 45-yard boot in the fourth quarter that preceded a Northwestern three-and-out and, subsequently, the Buckeyes’ final touchdown. Mirco also had a 77-yard punt, granted a touchback came with it, but it was head turning nonetheless.

As of Sunday night, no Buckeyes offensive players were named players of the game.

Buckeyes open as heavy favorites against Indiana

The Buckeyes have opened as 38-point favorites against Indiana, according to the folks at Circa Sport. This is the second week in a row Ohio State has been a 38-point favorite. Of course, ugly Evanston weather disrupted a potential blowout at Northwestern, and the Buckeyes escaped the cross-divisional matchup with a two-touchdown win. Ohio State will try to get back on track in the passing game against an Indiana team that’s allowing 264.4 yards per game through the air — that’s the 107th most in the FBS.

Circa Sport has set the total for next weekend’s game at 54.5 points. Keep in mind, since Ryan Day took over as Ohio State head coach, the Buckeyes are 3-0 against Indiana, and two of those three games were decided by at least 41 points. Ohio State will be back at home after a two-game road trip, and Noon on FOX will be in Columbus for the second time this season.

Buckeyes don’t budge in latest AP Poll

Ohio State stayed put at No. 2 in the Week 11 AP Top 25. The Buckeyes’ underwhelming win at Northwestern was overshadowed by a trio of losses by top-10 teams. No. 1 Georgia beat No. 3 Tennessee, 27-13; Notre Dame blew out No. 5 Clemson, 35-14; and No. 15 LSU upset No. 6 Alabama, 32-31, in overtime.

The Buckeyes received one first-place vote this week. It was the only one that didn’t go to Georgia, which collected 62 in total.

There are four remaining undefeated teams: Georgia, Ohio State, Michigan and TCU. Not so coincidentally, they make up the top-four teams — in that order, too.

Lettermen Row has the entire poll breakdown (Nov. 6) here, but this is a snippet:

1. Georgia
2. Ohio State
3. Michigan
4. TCU
5. Tennessee

Counting Down

Buckeyes vs. Indiana: 5 days

Buckeyes vs. Michigan: 19 days

Are you subscribed yet?

Are you ready to get all your latest Ohio State news in one place? Become a member of Lettermen Row today. With your Lettermen Row/On3+ membership, you’ll not only have access to the everything that’s happening with the Buckeyes, but you’ll also be able to peruse other fan sites within the network to hear just how rivals are feeling about Ohio State, as well. Make sure to follow along on Twitter, Instagram and on Youtube for all the latest Buckeyes news you need to know.

Already signed up? Don’t forget to join us in the Lettermen Lounge to talk about the latest Ohio State sports news.