1 week Ago By Paul Sullivan
Ohio State receiver Carnell Tate grew up in Chicago and attended Marist High, but had never been to Wrigley Field before playing Northwestern at the Friendly Confines on Saturday afternoon. “I’ve been around in the area, and I’ve been to a White Sox game,” he said. So not a Cubs fan? “I don’t really worry about baseball,” Tate said.
“I’m a Cubs fan today.” After scoring two touchdowns in a 31-7 romp over the Wildcats, it was easy to see why. Tate and the No.
2 Buckeyes overcame a slow start to keep their Big Ten title hopes alive, as well as their national championship dreams. It was an emotional homecoming for the Buckeyes sophomore, whose mother, Ashley Griggs, was killed in a drive-by shooting in July 2023 in West Garfield Park. Around 30-40 family members and friends were on hand Saturday, and many gathered near the visitors dugout after the game to salute him coming off the field.
“The biggest thing is to be playing back in front of my family,” Tate said. “They expected a lot from me, coming back home, wanted me to put on a show. I just had to wait and see if the ball would find my way.
” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said Tate was not someone to talk about himself, nor wants others to talk about him or what he has gone through. “But we all know that he lost his mom, and he does not show that every day he’s here,” Day said. “We say all the time, when you cross that line and go onto the field, the game doesn’t care what you went through, but we do.
His teammates do, his coaches do, the people that know Carnell and care a lot about him. “The way he’s handled himself is an example to everybody. We care a lot about him, and to see him get two touchdown passes in his hometown in front of a big (crowd) of people here to watch him, I know it means a lot to him and it also means a lot to us.
” Photos: Ohio State 31, Northwestern 7 at Wrigley Field Ohio State fans turned Wrigley Field into a sea of red Saturday afternoon, with scattered pockets of purple around the stands, making the crowd of 38,147 resemble an election map. “It ended up being about 90% Buckeye fans to 10%,” OSU center Seth McLaughlin said. “There was only like one section of Northwestern fans.
Scoring, running around in front of your home crowd is fun when you’re so many miles from home.” It was no surprise they’d see the Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1) cruise in what served as an appetizer for next week’s showdown against No. 5 Indiana (10-0, 7-0), a game that figures to decide which team will meet No.
1 Oregon in the Big Ten championship game. “You lose this game here, you’re out of the Big Ten championship,” Day said. “We know that.
We know we’ve got to be playing our best football in November and be consistent in everything we do. Everything you do is hard in the Big Ten.” Ohio State quarterback Will Howard threw for 247 yards and the two touchdowns to Tate, as the Buckeyes overcame a slow start to pull away late in the first half.
After a couple of strong drives, Northwestern began buffering worse than Netflix during the Mike Tyson-Jake Paul fight and completely faded away from view in the second half. The Wildcats (4-6, 2-5) need to win their final two games — at Michigan next week and against Illinois on Nov. 30 at Wrigley — to become bowl-eligible.
They dropped to 0-4 at Wrigley Field since the Friendly Confines began hosting games back in 2010. Maybe the Cubs could give Notre Dame a call next year? A majority Ohio State fan base cheers after a touchdown reception by wide receiver Jeremiah Smith in the first quarter against Northwestern on Nov. 16, 2024, at Wrigley Field.
The reception was overturned after video review. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) Either way, it was a festive atmosphere in Wrigleyville and a beautiful, crisp fall afternoon for college football.
The ballpark looked great, the field didn’t come apart at the seams like it did in last year’s game and Ohio State fans seemed to enjoy the takeover in a faraway venue. “It was an unbelievable experience,” McLaughlin said. “I saw a lot of people complain about the turf and stuff, but it ended up being great.
The groundskeeping crew was awesome. I wasn’t worried about it once we got out here and were walking around. The crowd was awesome, being all Buckeye fans and it being such an historical place.
” Howard said “the 8-year-old kid in me would be giddy, man,” if he knew he would one day play at Wrigley. “I was a baseball fan growing up,” he said. “Baseball, man, I loved it.
This place is one of the most historic places in baseball, in sports. Being able to be out here and play a game on it was awesome.” The biggest disappointment was the nonstop playing of obnoxiously loud music on the PA system.
A college football game should be filled with the sounds of a college marching band instead of sounding like an NBA game. The Northwestern marching band was in the house and played some but was overshadowed by the canned music. Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) leaps over Northwestern defensive back Braden Turner in the fourth quarter on Nov.
16, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) The route the Buckeyes took to Saturday’s win was somewhat circuitous, not that it mattered to anyone other than bettors worried about the massive 281⁄2 point spread.
A first-quarter touchdown on a one-handed catch by OSU tight end Jeremiah Smith was negated after a replay showed the ball touched the ground, and Northwestern responded with a 92-yard drive, taking the lead at 12:34 of the second on an 8-yard run from quarterback Jack Lausch. At that point, Northwestern fans were allowed to dream of a homecoming shocker of all homecoming shockers. The Wildcats had outgained the Buckeyes 151-30 and held the ball for 121⁄2 minutes to OSU’s five minutes.
But it was only a mirage. Ohio State marched 85 yards on its next possession and tied the game on Quinshon Judkins’ 1-yard run, then watched the Wildcats self-destruct in living color. A snap over the head of NU punter Hunter Renner forced him to run back toward the end zone, avoid a sack and ultimately get his kick blocked sideways into the right-field corner.
The crowd on the first-base side couldn’t see where the ball landed, like Cubs fans missing a right fielder missing a ball in the corner. But when the smoke cleared, Ohio State was awarded the ball on the 1-yard line, where Judkins promptly scored to give the Buckeyes their first lead with 4:19 left in the half. Ohio State wide receiver Carnell Tate (17) makes a reception in front of Northwestern defensive back Evan Smith in the first quarter on Nov.
16, 2024, at Wrigley Field. (John J. Kim/Chicago Tribune) After a Northwestern three-and-out, Ohio State went 77 yards in six plays to take a 21-7 lead on a 25-yard pass from Howard to Tate with 47 seconds left.
Howard hit Tate for an 8-yard score less than three minutes into the third, and the rout was on. The only thing left for OSU fans was making dinner arrangements and hitting the Lodge. They definitely left their mark on Chicago.
“You’re driving through Wrigleyville and see all the red and scarlet,” Day said. “People were fired up early on. You could tell they were just coming out of the bars opening at 7 a.
m. and were fired up. Kind of got us fired up too.
” Now they’ll have to refuel next Saturday for the big game against unbeaten Indiana at the Horseshoe in Columbus, Ohio, and again on Nov. 30 for “The Game” against Michigan. From here on out, every week will be a playoff game for the Buckeyes.
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