Empty seats at The Shoe tell brutal story of Ohio State’s stunning fall
Jordan Mendoza, USA TODAYSat, November 14, 2026 at 5:41 PM UTC
Ohio State's season has gone sideways, and it has led to a rather disappointing sight at "The Shoe."
The Buckeyes host Northwestern in Week 11, and after suffering back-to-back losses, the crowd at one of college football's top stadiums has some notable empty seats.
The scene looked rather rough as the noon kickoff time approached, and when the teams took the field, it was still not the best looking sight inside Ohio Stadium, especially in the south side of the stands.
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There's a good chance the stadium with an official capacity 102,041 doesn't reach six figures, something that rarely happens for one of the sport's blue bloods.
Ohio State is currently having its worst season in more than a decade. At 6-3, its College Football Playoff hopes are all but wrapped up, an extremely disappointing outcome considering the Buckeyes started the season as the No. 1 team in the country in the US LBM Coaches Poll. It came into Week 11 No. 20 in the latest College Football Playoff rankings, its lowest rank since the playoff began in 2014.
Even then, the Buckeyes are one of the biggest brands in college football, and even though Northwestern isn't a major name in the country, the Wildcats are still having a solid season with a 6-3 record.
Ryan Day's team will be trying to avoid a three game losing streak and lose a fourth game, which hasn't happened since that dreaded 6-7 record in 2011.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Empty seats at The Shoe tell brutal story of Ohio State’s stunning fall
Source: Sports
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