No. 3 Ohio State beats Northwestern in Big Ten title game

Trey Sermon ran for a school-record 331 yards and two second-half touchdowns, helping No. 3 Ohio State rally for a 22-10 victory over Northwestern on Saturday for the Buckeyes' fourth consecutive Big Ten championship.

The Buckeyes (6-0) will find out Sunday if they’ve done enough to receive one of four spots in the College Football Playoff. It’s the first time Ohio State has won four consecutive outright conference crowns.

Northwestern (6-2) heads into the bowl season with two losses in its last three games and a second runner-up finish to the Buckeyes in three years.

It was a struggle for Ohio State. After the Buckeyes settled for a field goal on the game’s first possession, Northwestern running back Cam Porter answered with a 9-yard TD run late in the first quarter. The Buckeyes trailed from that moment until Sermon’s 9-yard run with 2:41 left in the third period.

Ohio State added a 26-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter, and Sermon, who had 29 carries, sealed the win with a 3-yard scoring run with 4:03 to go.

Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields was 12 of 27 with 114 yards and ran 12 times for 35 yards.

Porter finished with 16 carries and 61 yards. Northwestern quarterback Peyton Ramsey was 24 of 37 with 224 yards but was picked off twice and lost a fumble — all in the second half.

(IMAGE CREDITS:Twitter/@treyera)