The Northwestern Wildcats left Ohio Stadium on Saturday with their tails between their legs.The pregame tension was high in the ‘Shoe as the Buckeyes squared off with the Wildcats for the first time since 1994.In 1995 the Wildcats were outright Big Ten champs. They shared the title with the Buckeyes last year.But Northwestern (3-6, 1-4) hardly looked like champions Saturday as Ohio State (7-1, 3-1) spanked them 49-6 in front of 92,445 screaming fans.One of the only Wildcat successes came when Brian Gowins’ opening onside kick was recovered at the Buckeyes’ 43-yard line by Northwestern’s Rashad Morton.”Brian kicks that little kick pretty well,” Northwestern coach Gary Barnett said. “It looked good for about 30 minutes. After a while, it didn’t make a difference.”OSU coach John Cooper wasn’t happy or surprised by the tricky start.”We worked on that all week, believe it or not,” he said.The Wildcats settled for a 27-yard field goal, putting them on the board 3:13 into the first quarter.The kick was forgotten by the second quarter when the OSU offense stole the momentum.Starting quarterback Stanley Jackson led a 92-yard touchdown drive that ended with a 13-yard run by tailback Pepe Pearson. Pearson celebrated by spiking the ball in the Northwestern end zone and was given a 15-yard penalty for unsportsmanlike conduct.”They were playing a little dirty,” Pearson said. “The four previous plays before my touchdown, they were really getting dirty. There were a couple of late hits and things like that that weren’t necessary. They were overlooked (by the officials).”The call didn’t matter as kicker Dan Stultz converted the 35-yard extra point with 12 minutes to go in the half.OSU had a chance at another touchdown with 1:41 to go, but tailback Michael Wiley fumbled and Northwestern’s Casey Dailey recovered at the Wildcat three.Momentum appeared to have shifted toward the Wildcats, but the OSU defense held Adrian Autry to five yards on two carries. Quarterback Tim Hughes threw an incomplete pass under pressure from linebacker Jerry Rudzinski, forcing Northwestern to punt.With 41 seconds left in the half, quarterback Joe Germaine hooked up with David Boston for 16 yards, followed by a strike to Dee Miller for a 27-yard touchdown just before the half ended.”Scoring before the half gave us the momentum,” Germaine said. “We were controlling the game.” Jackson guided the Buckeyes to two third quarter touchdowns. Pearson earned his second TD on a 6-yard run, and Miller scored again on an 11-yard pass, pushing the Buckeyes ahead 28-6. Germaine, again assuming the backup role, drilled a 35-yard touchdown pass to Boston late in the third quarter.Moments later, Germaine found tight end Tom Hoying for a 29-yard touchdown, Hoying’s first since high school.”Joe made a great throw,” Hoying said. “He was running to his left, but he put it right on the money.”Third-string quarterback Mark Garcia and wide receiver Ken-Yon Rambo teamed up for the last score of the game. Rambo’s first TD as a Buckeye came on a 38-yard pass from Garcia with 5:31 left.”That’s probably the best game we’ve had all year offensively, defensively and in the kicking game,” Cooper said. “Every game’s a showdown for us.”The Buckeyes take on Michigan State (5-2, 2-2) Saturday in Spartan Stadium at 3:30 p.m.