Why Northwestern won’t beat Ohio State:

Justin Fields is a significantly better quarterback than whoever takes the field for Northwestern

This one is no secret. The Georgia transfer leading the Buckeyes has already etched his name into the Heisman race just under halfway into the season. He can punish teams with his legs and his arm, while not even close to the same can be said of Northwestern’s quarterbacks at this point in the season. Few offensive players in the Big Ten can take over a game and beat a high-caliber defense in the conference on their own. Fields, though, is one of those players.

Ohio State has one of the best defensive players in the country

Speaking of players who can take over games on their own, the Buckeyes have another one of those guys! Chase Young! The junior defensive end ranks third in the FBS right now with 8.5 sacks, and will likely be in the backfield all night along given his sheer athleticism and size.

Check out these snapshots of his get-offs:

So many other reasons

There are truly too many to name. The Buckeyes are more talented/athletic at every position, they have better coaching, and this could very well end up being a de-facto home game depending on if NU students decide to show out for this game. To come out on top, Northwestern will have to reach a level of play it’s yet to come close to this year, and the Wildcats will have to catch pretty much every break in this game while also receiving a bit of extra luck in the form of turnovers/an off-day from Ohio State’s stars. Anything can happen in a weird Friday night matchup in the confines of Ryan Field, but an upset like this truly might require some other-worldly forces.

Why Northwestern will beat Ohio State:

The Wildcats refuse to go gentle into that good night

This video is legitimately the only reason I could convince myself that Northwestern wins this game.

Seriously, it’s chilling and it’s awesome. Just remember that when Northwestern loses by 50, we will always, ALWAYS, still have this awesome uniform video reveal that came out of gameweek. If NU sticks to its gameplan by following the words of mid-20th century Welsh poet Dylan Thomas and refusing “not to go gentle into that good night,” the impossible may all of a sudden become possible.