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Northwestern Wildcats |
Ohio State Buckeyes © |
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Played September 27, 2003 at Ohio Stadium Columbus, Ohio |
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Teams' Belt Records
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Team |
Belt Reigns |
Overall Record |
Home Record |
Away Record |
Neutral Record |
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W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
W |
L |
T |
PCT |
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| Northwestern | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | ||||||||
| Ohio State © | 4 | 18 | 6 | 1 | .740 | 10 | 1 | 1 | .875 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 5 | 0 | .286 |
Previous Belt Meetings: None
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1st |
2nd |
3rd |
4th |
Final |
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Northwestern |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
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Ohio State |
10 |
0 |
7 |
3 |
20 |
The 4th ranked, 4-0 Ohio State Buckeyes of coach Jim Tressel opened their Big Ten season against the 2-2 Northwestern Wildcats of coach Randy Walker. Ohio State played without starting QB Craig Krenzel out due to an elbow injury & the defense would again be in the spotlight as the Buckeyes tried to defend their 4-game Belt reign. The Buckeyes defense held the Wildcats spread offense to 64 yards passing & 185 total yards on their way to a 20-0 shutout win. Ohio State's QB Scott McMullen threw for 166 yards with a touchdown as well as an interception but it was the Buckeyes' defense that starred. Ohio State's All-Big Ten LB A.J. Hawk had 13 total tackles including 2 for loss & All-American DE Will Smith had 1 ½ sacks in the shutout. Northwestern only got into Ohio State territory twice & both resulted in missed field goals. The Buckeyes scored on their opening posession following a 10-play, 59-yard drive with RB Lydell Ross scoring on a 12-yard touchdown run giving Ohio State a 7-0 lead. After Buckeyes' LB Robert Reynolds recovered a Wildcats' fumble, the Buckeyes got a 32-yard field goal from PK Mike Nugent pushing the lead to 10-0 late in the 1st quarter. Neither team threaten again in the opening half as Ohio State's defense continue to shutdown the Northwestern offense. McMullen drove the Buckeyes 80 yards to open the 2nd half capping the scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown pass to TE Ryan Hamby for a 17-0 lead. Nugent's 42-yard field goal midway through the 4th quarter completed the scoring. Northwestern's QB Brett Basanez was held to just 64 yards passing & was sacked twice in the loss. Ohio State finished the season 11-2; ranked 4th nationally while the Wildcats finished 6-7. Northwestern would play for The Belt again in 6 weeks.
