close
close
  • Sun. Oct 27th, 2024
    • '
    How OSU fares after Big Ten win over Nebraska
    News

    How OSU fares after Big Ten win over Nebraska

    author
    4 minutes, 35 seconds Read

    Well, there are several ways to look at Ohio State's 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday.

    You can try to think positively, as coach Ryan Day did afterward when he unconvincingly noted how happy he was that his Buckeyes had found a way to win a close game.

    Or you could see it as a narrow win at home after a bye week against a far less talented team that lost 56-7 to Indiana last week.

    How did the Buckeyes do? Vacation is granted in a ratio of zero to five.

    Ohio State Offense (1 sheet)

    A week ago, Indiana ran for 215 yards and 6.5 yards per carry in a win over Nebraska. On Saturday, Ohio State, which claims to have two of the best running backs in the country, managed 64 rushing yards, and 14 came from quarterback Will Howard. The Buckeyes averaged 2.1 yards per carry and passed out of shotgun formation on a fourth-and-1 in the fourth quarter. Quinshon Judkins had 29 yards on 10 carries while TreVeyon Henderson had 25 yards on 10 attempts.

    The Buckeyes were 1 for 10 on third downs and failed to gain a first down in the third quarter. The offensive line continues to be a massive problem and will likely be reshuffled after new left tackle Zen Michalski appeared to go off the field with a knee injury. Michalski, the replacement for Josh Simmons who is out for the season, was manhandled by the Cornhuskers all day.

    More: Does Ohio State have the best college sports tradition? Vote now!

    The game was saved by two deep touchdown passes from Howard, the first for 40 yards to Carnell Tate (another long pass that was thrown under, by the way) and another for 60 yards to Jeremiah Smith.

    Howard completed 13 of 16 passes for 221 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.

    Howard completed his first 10 pass attempts in three different games (Nebraska, Iowa, Western Michigan) and started 9-for-9 against Michigan State. It is suggested here that the Buckeyes should change into their street clothes at halftime, return to St. John Arena and complete the pregame walk to the stadium again before changing back into uniform and beginning the third quarter.

    Ohio State defense (3 sheets)

    Nebraska had a large lead in time of possession (35:07-24:53) and had chances to win the game. But the Buckeyes made exciting plays, including a goal-line stand, two interceptions and 13 tackles for loss.

    More: Is Ohio State the best college for sports fans? Vote now!

    Ohio State sacked Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola three times and appeared to be more creative in its pass-rush plans a week after Nick Saban called their strategy at Oregon “antiquated.” The Buckeyes also failed on several Nebraska screen passes.

    Ohio State Special Teams (2 sheets)

    No big plays. Brandon Inniss returned two kickoffs for 33 yards. Caleb Downs risked an injury that would devastate the defense by returning a punt 8 yards. Jayden Fielding badly missed his only field goal attempt from 42 yards.

    More: Does Ohio State have the best college sports tradition? Vote now!

    Ohio State Coaching (2 sheets)

    The offense was largely ineffective and Howard later said the Buckeyes were confused by Nebraska's plans.

    After Day promised that the rest of the season would “leave no doubt,” there were doubts throughout the game, and panic broke out on the Ohio State sideline in the fourth quarter.

    Fun Quotient (4 sheets)

    It wasn't just fun for Ohio State fans, who expected a bust and an early exit. But it was a hard-fought, dramatic game on another perfectly sunny day. Fans got a bonus when OSU's 2014 national team was honored.

    Nebraska Cornhuskers (4 leaves)

    It was a great rebound from last week's humiliation against Indiana, but promising freshman quarterback Raiola made a few mistakes common to the inferior Cornhuskers. They also suffered from poor time management at the end of the first half as they ran out of timeouts.

    More: Is Ohio State the best college for sports fans? Vote now!

    Acting (1 sheet)

    Saturday's team will want to forget the final minute of the second quarter, a series of calls that will surely result in the Big Ten office receiving an unkind call from the Cornhuskers' coaches.

    On second-and-2 with 38 seconds left, Nebraska's Dante Dowdell ran for more than 3 yards, but somehow the ball was placed for a 1-yard gain, making it a third-and-1. Everyone on the field and in the television area saw that it was a first down and assumed the clock would stop. No. Precious time passed and Nebraska had to run for first down again and use its last timeout.

    Three plays later, Raiola threw incomplete in the end zone to Isaiah Neyor, who was called for pass interference. This bad call put Nebraska out of field goal range.

    In the first quarter, a review overturned what was called an incompletion for Neyor, giving Nebraska a 30-yard lead, when it turned out the call should have been an incompletion but was an interference for Ohio State's Denzel Burke.

    And then there was a targeted call and ejection of Ohio State University linebacker Arvell Reese late in the fourth quarter. The goal seemed justified because Reese hit Jahmal Banks in the head, but the pass appeared to be incomplete. And according to FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira, Day should have been assessed 15 more penalties for throwing his headset onto the field while contesting the call. That would have put the ball on the OSU 39 with just over two minutes to play.

    Get more Ohio State football news by listening to our podcasts

    Similar Posts

    Leave a Reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *