Each week, we’ll analyze the Ohio State game (and occasionally other games as well) through the lens of a sports movie. If this game were the next “Remember the Titans,” “Space Jam” or “The Sandlot,” what storylines would keep us talking? What would make us laugh, reach for the box of tissues, or have us on the edge of our seats? Grab your popcorn and get ready for pop culture references, a hint of snark, and a trip back in time to the Blockbuster Video days.

It wasn’t exactly a day off for the Buckeyes, but much like the titular character in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off,” they certainly wreaked some havoc in the city of Chicago yesterday in their 31-7 routing of Northwestern at Wrigley Field, the home of baseball’s (and my) Chicago Cubs.

In the classic John Hughes film from the 80s starring Matthew Broderick, Ferris wakes up on a perfect spring day in Chicago (the kind that is a welcome reprieve from the city’s miserable winters) and decides to play hooky, crafting an elaborate plan to cut class so he and his friends can go on adventures throughout the city.

The Buckeyes seemed to take a page out of Ferris’ book in the first quarter, in that they didn’t look quite like themselves (faking sick, some might say). They got off to a slow start against a 4-6 Wildcats team they should have been beating handily. The game remained scoreless through the first quarter before the Wildcats took a 7-0 lead, enough to convince even the most wary of parents, sisters, and principals that in fact, something might actually be off with the Buckeyes.

It was all an act.

After the Wildcats put up that touchdown, they wouldn’t score again all day. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, were just getting started, scoring touchdowns on four straight drives. It was the football equivalent of borrowing your best friend’s dad’s 1961 Ferrari and taking it out for a joy ride—only for the Buckeyes, it was more of a joy run (or a joy catch-and-run).

Ferris kicked off his day off with a little fine dining and a trip to the Art Institute of Chicago; the Buckeyes kicked off theirs with two consecutive 1-yard touchdown runs from Quinshon Judkins.

Ferris headed to Wrigley Field to take in a Cubs game. Buckeye wide receiver Carnell Tate headed to Wrigley Field to take the ball into the endzone – twice. Tate, a Chicago native, had a spectacular game in his hometown, with a 25-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Will Howard in the final minute of the first half, followed by an 8-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

In one of the film’s most famous scenes, Ferris jumps on a float in the Von Steuben Day Parade and lip-syncs to “Twist and Shout” by the Beatles to cap his day of shenanigans. The Buckeyes topped it all off with a 28-yard field goal from Jayden Fielding at the end of the third, which was followed by a nice moment in which fans sang “Take Me Out to the Ballgame”—traditionally sung halfway through the seventh inning in baseball games—between the third and fourth quarters.

In the end, the Buckeyes didn’t look so sick after all. Once the offense got going, they did as much damage as Ferris, and in about half the time. Judkins had the two aforementioned touchdown runs. Howard threw for 247 yards and those two touchdown passes to Tate. Wide receiver Jeremiah Smith averaged 25 yards a reception with 4 catches for 100 yards.

The only real difference between Ferris and the Buckeyes is that Ferris’ principal comes much closer to catching him than the Wildcats did to Ohio State.