COLLEGE FOOTBALL RECAP

No. 1 Buckeyes hold off scrappy Huskies 20-10

The Sports Xchange

September 19, 2015 at 7:08 pm.

Sep 19, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16)gets free for a gain versus the Northern Illinois Huskies during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. The game is tied 10-10 at half.  Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

Sep 19, 2015; Columbus, OH, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback J.T. Barrett (16)gets free for a gain versus the Northern Illinois Huskies during the second quarter at Ohio Stadium. The game is tied 10-10 at half. Mandatory Credit: Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State linebacker Darron Lee returned an interception 41 yards for a touchdown late in the third quarter to spark the struggling top-ranked Buckeyes to a 20-13 win over Northern Illinois on Saturday.

Lee’s score came on the first play after Northern Illinois linebacker Sean Folliard got the Huskies’ third interception of the game. Lee jumped in front of tight end Desroy Maxwell on the pass by quarterback Drew Hare to put Ohio State ahead 20-10.

Northern Illinois (2-1), a five-touchdown underdog, pulled to within 20-13 when Christian Hagan kicked a 31-yard field goal with 7:46 left in the game.

The Huskies had a chance to tie when linebacker Bobby Jones recovered a fumble by running back Curtis Samuel at the Northern Illinois 29 with 4:05 remaining, but the Huskies could not get a first down and punted.

Northern Illinois forced an Ohio State punt and got the back with 94 seconds left and 80 yards to go for a touchdown, but Hare threw four incomplete passes.

Earlier, Ohio State kicker Jack Willoughby made a 24-yard field goal with 8:27 left in the third quarter for a 13-10 lead, the Buckeyes’ first of the game.

Ohio State (3-0) won its 16th straight.

Northern Illinois shocked the Buckeyes with a 10-10 halftime tie by taking advantage of two Cardale Jones interceptions, both by cornerback Shawun Lurry.

Jones was replaced by J.T. Barrett after the second one led to a Hagan 38-yard field goal with 12:20 left before the half and a 10-3 lead for the Huskies.

Barrett led Ohio State to the tying score on his second series, completing a four-play, 44-yard drive with a toss into the left corner of the end zone to wide receiver Michael Thomas with 8:21 to go in the quarter.

Northern Illinois only had 92 total yards in the first half but did need to go far for its two scores.

After Lurry’s first pick, the Huskies went 22 yards to go ahead 7-0 less than four minutes into the game when Aregeros Turner ran in from 5 yards.

The drive that led to Hagan’s field goal started at the Ohio State 29.

The Buckeyes made it 7-3 on a Willoughby 31-yard field goal with 6:21 left in the first half.

NOTES: Ohio State CB Damon Webb was suspended before the game for violating athletics department policy. … The previous meeting between the schools was in 2006 when Ohio State was also No. 1. The Buckeyes won 35-12. … Former Ohio State coach Jim Tressel was formally inducted into the school’s athletic hall of fame this weekend. Tressel led the Buckeyes to the 2002 BCS national championship and title games in the 2006 and ’07 seasons. He was forced out in 2011 because of NCAA violations. Tressel is also part of this year’s College Football Hall of Fame class.

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