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    Ohio State football run game, offensive line going nowhere against Nebraska
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    Ohio State football run game, offensive line going nowhere against Nebraska

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    3 minutes, 32 seconds Read

    Ohio State could have easily gotten rid of Nebraska, but instead the Cornhuskers responded like a buried tire that keeps rising to the surface.

    The Buckeyes' running game was non-existent in their risky 21-17 win at the Horseshoe. The defense came under some pressure on Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola (three sacks) and made stops when needed in the final minutes, sealing the deal with a Jordan Hancock interception.

    Still, Buckeye Nation can't be thrilled with the end result. A plus point? Will Howard completed two long touchdown passes. Finally.

    The Buckeyes are enjoying success for a change

    Ohio State finally found its nerf passing game against Nebraska. You know, “Go deep and I’ll throw it down.”

    Result? Two touchdowns in the first half showed that the Buckeyes can actually throw more than 20 yards down the field. The long ball also proved Will Howard is capable of hitting a wide receiver on a deep route with ease, although not as effortlessly as OSU fans would like.

    Howard connected with Carnell Tate on a 40-yard touchdown in the first quarter – Tate made a nice play on a slightly underthrown ball – and then quickly hit Jeremiah Smith up the middle for a 60-yard score that gave OSU a 14- 3 gave them the lead with 8:21 left in the half.

    Coach Ryan Day clearly wasn't kidding on Tuesday when he said that day's practice would include “dropping balls,” which sounded like an acknowledgment that OSU's downfield passing game was disappointing. Day said Saturday that his comments were more about using the deep ball in practice to test a secondary that was burned by Oregon, but added that part of the game plan against Nebraska was to pass the ball to throw across the field. Mission accomplished. The Buckeyes averaged 9.3 yards per attempt and averaged 13.9 against the Cornhuskers.

    Zen Michalski still has a lot to do

    When left tackle Josh Simmons suffered a season-ending knee injury against Oregon two weeks ago, the question was how well senior Zen Michalski could step in as a capable replacement.

    An early answer came against Nebraska, and it wasn't what the Buckeyes wanted.

    Michalski had a lot of trouble, allowing an early sack and later attacking a rusher, but fortunately was able to avoid a penalty. He generally failed to get his work done in the running game before exiting due to injury late in the fourth quarter. It's unclear what OSU will do with Michalski, but a solution must be found quickly.

    After Michalski was injured, the Buckeyes moved guard Donovan Jackson to tackle and used Luke Montgomery at guard.

    How the Buckeyes find themselves in this position has as much to do with subpar recruiting and their inability to penetrate the transfer portal to find capable and proven talent to give them depth.

    Why does Caleb Downs return punts?

    Two ways to look at the safety Caleb Downs assigned to punt duty: 1. Get your best players on the field, regardless of risk; 2. If you're already inept at safety, there's no point in risking an injury to Downs.

    You can argue that Downs is the best man for the job (see his physics-defying 8-yard return), but if Brandon Inness has already done an adequate job on returns, why pair him with Downs ?

    Davison Igbinosun is a mixed bag

    The OSU cornerback is what you'd call a “handy” defender – he's been called for two pass interference penalties and had another dismissed – but he also makes so many big plays that his overly aggressive passing Protection can almost be forgiven.

    Almost. Igbinosun came up big on fourth-and-2 when he stopped a leaping Dante Dowdell short of the end zone in the third quarter. However, one has to wonder if these interference calls will eventually cost the Buckeyes a game.

    So much for Ohio State's running game

    The Buckeyes have a problem. It's called failing to impose your will in the running game. They rushed for just 64 yards (2.1 per carry) against a Nebraska defense that allowed 215 rushing yards (6.5 yards per carry) against Indiana. That's not enough in the long run.

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