William P. Cannon Maurice Clarett talks to head coach Jim Tressel after Clarett fumbled for the third time in the fourth quarter of Ohio State's 27-16 win at Northwestern.

EVANSTON, Ill. -- Maurice Clarett has to be thankful his first plane trip with the Ohio State Buckeyes is finally over.

A turbulent week found the freshman phenom admitting his fear of flying and then looking just as jittery on the ground in a 27-16 victory at Northwestern.

Clarett overcame three fumbles to score two touchdowns and gain over 100 yards rushing for the fourth time in five starts this season as the fifth-ranked Buckeyes (6-0, 2-0) handed the Wildcats (2-4, 0-2) their 22nd consecutive loss in this series.

A 20-yard TD run by Clarett in the third quarter seemed to put the Buckeyes safely in front 24-9. But it wasn't until a Cie Grant interception negated Clarett's third fumble late in the game that OSU could begin to celebrate.

"Offensively, you always have to be mistake-free on the road," coach Jim Tressel said. "You cannot go on the road, make mistakes and win in the Big Ten -- and we turned it over three times.

"We've got to be better on the road. There is no way we win our next away game if we keep making some of the some mistakes."

Clarett finished with 140 yards on 29 carries. But in a stunning reversal of roles, Northwestern's beleaguered defense came out looking superhuman while Clarett went from looking stupendous so far this season to just plain stupefying at times.

He has now lost four fumbles this season on 113 carries.

"Horrible," Clarett said, describing his performance. "We won, though. I would have basically been the reason we lost if we lost. (The 140 rushing yards) doesn't really mean nothing when you have three fumbles."

Clarett's run to the Heisman Trophy hit an unforeseen roadblock as the nation's second-worst run defense forced him to fumble the ball away twice -- at the OSU 44 and then at the OSU 9 after a punt had pinned the Buckeyes back deep.

Northwestern capitalized only on the second turnover, and even then had to settle for a 26-yard David Wasielewski field goal and a 3-0 lead.

Ohio State had a chance to go in front on the ensuing possession, but was stopped on 4th-and-2 at the NU 26. This time Clarett held on to the ball, but he got stonewalled for no gain by cornerback Hershel Henderson.

The Wildcats made it 6-0 with 58 seconds left in the first quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Wasielewski, but OSU answered with a 66-yard, 6-play drive that featured 51 yards in completions by quarterback Craig Krenzel and his own 12-yard scramble to the NU 7. That set up the 3-yard payoff by Lydell Ross, giving the Buckeyes a 7-6 lead.

Wasielewski's third field goal -- a 37-yarder -- regained the lead for Northwestern, but it could have been worse. That series began with a personal foul for unnecessary roughness negating a 78-yard punt return by Kunle Patrick to the OSU 9.

On that same drive, a 21-yard TD pass from quarterback Brett Basanez to Reynoldsburg, Ohio native Mark Philmore was waved off when the officials ruled that Philmore did not have possession of the ball before falling out of the end zone. TV replays appeared to show otherwise.

OSU went back in front 14-9 on its next possession. Chris Gamble caught a 48-yard bomb from Krenzel that carried to the NU 15 and set up Clarett's 2-yard payoff with 2:37 left in the half.

A goal-line stand by the Buckeyes preserved their lead at halftime. They stopped NU on two cracks from the 1 and the Wildcats were foiled completely when Wasielewski's 18-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.

"Northwestern put together a great scheme on defense," tight end Ben Hartsock. "They had us guessing the whole game.

"I know Maurice is going to be frustrated because he's a competitor like the rest of us. He should be frustrated."

Originally published Sunday, October 6, 2002