EVANSTON, Ill. — This just won't cut it for Ohio State. Two weeks after barely holding off Cincinnati, the fifth-ranked Buckeyes found themselves in a close one with Northwestern. Not exactly powerhouse teams, these Bearcats and Wildcats.

        Certainly not the caliber of, say, Penn State, Michigan and Wisconsin — all of whom still loom on Ohio State's schedule. Wisconsin, which hosts the Buckeyes in two weeks, may be the Buckeyes' biggest road challenge.

        “We have a lot of work to do,” linebacker Cie Grant said. “You go to Camp Randall, that's a different story. If we play the way we did against Cincinnati or Northwestern, we're going to be in trouble.

        “I was hoping Cincinnati was going to be a wake-up call,” Grant added. “Hopefully this will show we've got a lot of work to do.”

        Ohio State still beat Northwestern 27-16 Saturday night, improving to 6-0 for the first time since 1998 and holding onto its No. 5 spot in the Top 25.

        But it shouldn't have been that close against the Wildcats, who came into the game as one of the worst teams in the country — not just the Big Ten, the country — in total defense (522 yards), rush defense (309 yards) and scoring (40 points).

        “We came out with the attitude that we were going to be physical because they may have thought, with what our defense was the last couple of games, that they could run all over us,” safety Dominique Price said.

        “We had different ideas.”

        Buckeyes freshman phenom Maurice Clarett rushed for 140 yards and two scores, but he also fumbled three times. His average yards per carry (4.8) was two below his season average.

        Ohio State gained 285 yards on the ground, but 62 came from quarterback Craig Krenzel, who had the game's longest run — 23 yards on a broken play.

        “We never found our rhythm,” Krenzel said. “That's something we need to do a little better.”

        Even the lone bright spot, Ohio State's red-zone defense, was a little troubling. The Wildcats got inside the Ohio State 21 five times, but came away with only three field goals.

        And in perhaps the biggest series of the game, the Buckeyes didn't give up any points with Northwestern on their 1 just before halftime.

        “It was a huge difference in the game,” Grant said. “A lot of people were saying maybe they'll come out with three, and we're saying, "They're getting nothing.”'

        But how did the Wildcats even get there in the first place? Northwestern had three drives of 60 yards or better, and marched 55 yards on another before fumbling at the Ohio State 25.

        On their touchdown drive, the Wildcats appeared to be done after losing 3 yards on the first two plays of the series. But Brett Basanez kept it alive with a 36-yard pass up the middle to Jon Schweighardt.

        “To get a win in the Big Ten is big for us, especially on the road,” linebacker Matt Wilhelm said. “But if we play like this in two weeks, we're not going to come away with the victory. So we've got to make improvements.”

        Part of Ohio State's problem could be road games. The Buckeyes have played only two this year, struggling in both. At Cincinnati on Sept. 21, they trailed for most of the day and needed an interception in the end zone with 26 seconds left to seal their 23-19 victory.

        In addition to Wisconsin, the Buckeyes have road games remaining at Purdue (3-3, 1-1 Big Ten) and Illinois (1-5, 0-2).

        “I don't think we got away with one. Some things we didn't do well, we made up for in other areas,” cornerback Dustin Fox said. “The little things are difference-makers when you play on the road. If we improve on that, we can be a Big Ten championship-caliber team, a national championship-caliber team.”

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