The first two games for Ohio State without Julian Sayin as the starting quarterback were far from what anyone expected. The Buckeyes looked unprepared, sloppy, and undisciplined en route to a 30-18 loss in L.A., and followed that up with an uninspiring beatdown at the hands of Oregon in Columbus to the tune of 41-28. Now, the Buckeyes will need to win their last three games and hope for some significant help to get back into the picture for the Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff.
In fact, Ohio State checked in at No. 20 in the second release of the College Football Playoff rankings just released on Tuesday, and that brings with it a cruel reality check. But first things first, we do like to follow what the ESPN "matchup
predictor" says about OSU winning its game each week, and we're interested to see what it says about the Buckeyes' chances against an upstart Northwestern team that's had a better year than many expected.
According to the analytics ESPN uses to predict the chances of victory, Ohio State has an 85.5% chance of beating the Wildcats. That's good and fine, but we have to remember that this same model had the Buckeyes with a significant chance of beating the Trojans on the road, and then the Ducks at home, and neither of those turned out so well.
Hopefully, the worldwide leader has this one right, and we can be celebrating a much-needed win to get things somewhat back on track.
ESPN updates remaining Ohio State game predictions after Oregon loss
— Buckeyes Wire (@BuckeyesWire) November 8, 2026
📸 Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch, USA TODAY Network via Reuters Co https://t.co/8sFlMAfbOz pic.twitter.com/uyt7LGs7DW
Since these analytics are updated by game results only, there's no chance of this percentage changing, but the Buckeyes will still need to execute at a high level, help out freshman quarterback Luke Fahey, and play much better on the defensive side of the ball.
The game is set to kick off at Noon ET on Fox, and we'll have more on the game leading up to Saturday, and be around during and after as well for extensive coverage. Hopefully, it all has a positive vibe.
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This article originally appeared on Buckeyes Wire: ESPN predicts winner of Ohio State football vs Northwestern Saturday
