Ohio State snapped a two-game losing streak Saturday, beating Northwestern 28-19 at Ohio Stadium behind three touchdown passes from quarterback Luke Fahey, in a win the Buckeyes badly needed to keep any realistic shot at the College Football Playoff alive.

Fahey went 21-for-32 for 201 yards, connecting with Isaiah West on a 4-yard score, Devin McCuin on an 8-yarder, and star receiver Jeremiah Smith on a 10-yard touchdown that put the game away, according to the official box score. Smith finished with 11 catches for 117 yards, and running back Bo Jackson added 114 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries as Ohio State out-rushed the Wildcats 168 yards to 53. Northwestern quarterback Nicco Marchiol kept it competitive, throwing for 225 yards and accounting for two touchdowns, but the Wildcats now sit at 6-4 and have lost three straight.

A Season That Nearly Slipped Away

The win moves Ohio State to 7-3 overall and 5-2 in the Big Ten, pulling the Buckeyes back from the brink after a brutal stretch. Ohio State lost to unranked USC earlier this season before falling 41-28 to Oregon on November 7 — a defeat that, per Eleven Warriors, marked the program's first three-loss regular season in 15 years and left its playoff hopes on life support.

OHIO STATE NEEDS TO WIN OUT JUST TO HAVE A CASE.

The selection committee had Ohio State at No. 12 in its first College Football Playoff rankings, a spot that realistically requires the Buckeyes to win their final three games and lean on a strong strength-of-schedule argument, since Yahoo Sports noted that only three teams — Miami, UCLA and Utah — remain unbeaten entering the season's final stretch. Beating Northwestern was step one of three.

For a program that opened the year ranked among the nation's elite, the margin for error is now zero. Ohio State has two regular-season games left, and anything short of winning both will almost certainly end the Buckeyes' playoff push before it ever reaches Columbus's biggest stage.