Ohio State did not dominate Nebraska. No one has, really.
The Cornhuskers’ six losses of the season have all been decided by a single score. Ohio State, in the middle of a hunt for the College Football Playoff, came in to Memorial Stadium with every intention of ending that streak, despite the talk of a team that was “better than its record” all week long.
But the Buckeyes had the same result as Oklahoma, Michigan State and Michigan had against Nebraska: it got close.
Nebraska had Ohio State in a one-score game at the beginning of the second quarter…
It was a Cornhuskers team that made Ohio State redshirt quarterback C.J. Stroud force throws to double-covered receivers, recording his first multi-interception game of the season. It was a Cornhuskers team that stopped Ohio State in the red zone, never really developing consistency in the run game. It was a Cornhuskers team that feasted on the middle of Ohio State’s secondary just like Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford did, that made the Buckeyes’ struggles of missed tackles return.
It was a Nebraska team that lost to Ohio State, 26-17, Saturday afternoon, but, in doing so, showcased every flaw that the Buckeyes had and how it’s not just something that was a one-week issue.
Ohio State’s defense had its moments against the Nebraska offense. But the problems remain.
Right out of the locker room to start the second half, the defensive line showed how dominant the Buckeyes could be.
Facing a 2nd-and-9 after a 10-yard completion to wide receiver Zavier Betts, Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez stood in the pocket, looking for a receiver. Ohio State junior defensive end Zach Harrison came barreling from the line of scrimmage to Martinez’s blind side, jarring the ball loose on a sack, which was recovered by the quarterback.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste followed up Harrison’s sack with a sack of his own, hitting Martinez again from his blind side with another seven-yard loss.
After rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries last week. Martinez finished with -X yards — the second time in three games the senior quarterback has recorded negative rushing yards.
Martinez was sacked five times by the Ohio State defense Saturday afternoon, making the quarterback’s life in and around the pocket difficult, leading to a Cornhusker offense that only completed X-of-X attempts on third down.
It was a game in which the defense did most of the dirty work, adding eight tackles-for-loss, four quarterback hits, four pass breakups and an interception by Steele Chambers to secure the win.
That pressure gave the Ohio State defense a much better performance than it had last weekend against Penn State, limiting Nebraska to 17 points and 361 yards of offense, averaging 5.6 yards per play, while Martinez completed 51.6% of his 31 total passes.
But my goodness, the middle of the field was wide open.
Nebraska slot receiver Samori Toure torched the middle of the field for the Cornhuskers, recording 150 yards on four catches, including a 53-yard reception forcing at least three missed tackles to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Martinez and a 72-yard touchdown reception at the end of the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Ohio State defense could not stop a driving Martinez, who evaded and broke tackle after tackle. But, in true Nebraska fashion, was halted in the red zone, leading to a missed 31-yard field goal.
In the absence of Garrett Wilson, someone had to step up.
Julian Fleming started in the junior’s absence, but did not get a lot of attention int he first half of play, garnering one catch for five yards on two targets.
Instead, Jaxon Smith-Njigba shined.
The sophomore wide receiver brought in eight of 10 targets for 148 yards and a touchdown in the first half against the Cornhuskers defense, tying the Nebraska secondary up in knots after taking in a short-yardage curl and weaving his way downfield for a 75-yard score.
And from the first play of scrimmage for the Ohio State offense, the relationship continued. Stroud found Smith-Njigba across the middle for an 18-yard gain.
The sophomore finished with career highs in both receptions (15) — breaking David Boston's team record — and receiving yards (240), leading all receivers with 18 targets.
Olave continued to struggle with consistency in the passing game, but still continued his touchdown streak, bringing in seven receptions, 61 yards, with a long of 12 yards. and a touchdown on 12 targets.
But did Ohio State find its balance?
No it didn’t.
Henderson looked human again, averaging 4.4 yards per touch with 92 rushing yards on 21 carries, ending his touchdown streak with no scores.
Ohio State's longest rush of the day was a 22-yard carry by Henderson with less than four minutes left in the game, recording two carries for more than 10 yards against the Cornhuskers defense.
Ohio State finished with 30 rush attempts compared to 54 pass attempts.
Stroud put the offense on only his shoulders, something he did in the first three weeks of the season, something that led to an 11-yard loss on a sack late in the fourth quarter where he coughed up the ball and nearly gave Nebraska a chance to win with under two minutes left in the game.
This is not an offense that can have success because of one player. And that's exactly what Stroud and, mostly, head coach Ryan Day and his offensive play calls, is doing.
And really it didn’t find success in the red zone either.
After scoring one touchdown in six chances inside Penn State’s red zone last Saturday, Ohio State spent all week saying it was something that would be fixed against Nebraska, saying it was a primary focus throughout the week before its trip to Lincoln.
The Buckeyes did not have a chance to test out their revitalized red zone offense in the first 15 minutes, but had a drive going into the first part of the second quarter, as C.J. Stroud — throwing his first interception since Week 3 against Tulsa — mixed and matched his targets: an 11-yard completion to freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson, a 14-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., all culminating to a 1st-and-10 at the Nebraska 12-yard line.
After handing the ball off to Henderson for a four-yard gain, Stroud tried to make things happen for himself, missing senior Chris Olave in the endzone and checking down to Henderson for a one-yard loss.
Another red zone appearance. Another field goal, giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead. It was Ohio State’s fifth field goal in its last seven red zone trips.
Was it balanced? Not really, attempting six passes compared to three runs.
Ohio State regrouped in its next red zone series, relying on Henderson inside the 20-yard line for three carries for 11 yards before Stroud found Olave in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown.
The struggles continued into the second half, with Ruggles converting on a 35-yards field goal in Ohio State's only red zone appearance in the third quarter.
Ohio State didn't have a red zone chance in the fourth quarter.
The Cornhuskers’ six losses of the season have all been decided by a single score. Ohio State, in the middle of a hunt for the College Football Playoff, came in to Memorial Stadium with every intention of ending that streak, despite the talk of a team that was “better than its record” all week long.
But the Buckeyes had the same result as Oklahoma, Michigan State and Michigan had against Nebraska: it got close.
Nebraska had Ohio State in a one-score game at the beginning of the second quarter…
It was a Cornhuskers team that made Ohio State redshirt quarterback C.J. Stroud force throws to double-covered receivers, recording his first multi-interception game of the season. It was a Cornhuskers team that stopped Ohio State in the red zone, never really developing consistency in the run game. It was a Cornhuskers team that feasted on the middle of Ohio State’s secondary just like Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford did, that made the Buckeyes’ struggles of missed tackles return.
It was a Nebraska team that lost to Ohio State, 26-17, Saturday afternoon, but, in doing so, showcased every flaw that the Buckeyes had and how it’s not just something that was a one-week issue.
Ohio State’s defense had its moments against the Nebraska offense. But the problems remain.
Right out of the locker room to start the second half, the defensive line showed how dominant the Buckeyes could be.
Facing a 2nd-and-9 after a 10-yard completion to wide receiver Zavier Betts, Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez stood in the pocket, looking for a receiver. Ohio State junior defensive end Zach Harrison came barreling from the line of scrimmage to Martinez’s blind side, jarring the ball loose on a sack, which was recovered by the quarterback.
Javontae Jean-Baptiste followed up Harrison’s sack with a sack of his own, hitting Martinez again from his blind side with another seven-yard loss.
After rushing for 18 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries last week. Martinez finished with -X yards — the second time in three games the senior quarterback has recorded negative rushing yards.
Martinez was sacked five times by the Ohio State defense Saturday afternoon, making the quarterback’s life in and around the pocket difficult, leading to a Cornhusker offense that only completed X-of-X attempts on third down.
It was a game in which the defense did most of the dirty work, adding eight tackles-for-loss, four quarterback hits, four pass breakups and an interception by Steele Chambers to secure the win.
That pressure gave the Ohio State defense a much better performance than it had last weekend against Penn State, limiting Nebraska to 17 points and 361 yards of offense, averaging 5.6 yards per play, while Martinez completed 51.6% of his 31 total passes.
But my goodness, the middle of the field was wide open.
Nebraska slot receiver Samori Toure torched the middle of the field for the Cornhuskers, recording 150 yards on four catches, including a 53-yard reception forcing at least three missed tackles to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Martinez and a 72-yard touchdown reception at the end of the second quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Ohio State defense could not stop a driving Martinez, who evaded and broke tackle after tackle. But, in true Nebraska fashion, was halted in the red zone, leading to a missed 31-yard field goal.
In the absence of Garrett Wilson, someone had to step up.
Julian Fleming started in the junior’s absence, but did not get a lot of attention int he first half of play, garnering one catch for five yards on two targets.
Instead, Jaxon Smith-Njigba shined.
The sophomore wide receiver brought in eight of 10 targets for 148 yards and a touchdown in the first half against the Cornhuskers defense, tying the Nebraska secondary up in knots after taking in a short-yardage curl and weaving his way downfield for a 75-yard score.
And from the first play of scrimmage for the Ohio State offense, the relationship continued. Stroud found Smith-Njigba across the middle for an 18-yard gain.
The sophomore finished with career highs in both receptions (15) — breaking David Boston's team record — and receiving yards (240), leading all receivers with 18 targets.
Olave continued to struggle with consistency in the passing game, but still continued his touchdown streak, bringing in seven receptions, 61 yards, with a long of 12 yards. and a touchdown on 12 targets.
But did Ohio State find its balance?
No it didn’t.
Henderson looked human again, averaging 4.4 yards per touch with 92 rushing yards on 21 carries, ending his touchdown streak with no scores.
Ohio State's longest rush of the day was a 22-yard carry by Henderson with less than four minutes left in the game, recording two carries for more than 10 yards against the Cornhuskers defense.
Ohio State finished with 30 rush attempts compared to 54 pass attempts.
Stroud put the offense on only his shoulders, something he did in the first three weeks of the season, something that led to an 11-yard loss on a sack late in the fourth quarter where he coughed up the ball and nearly gave Nebraska a chance to win with under two minutes left in the game.
This is not an offense that can have success because of one player. And that's exactly what Stroud and, mostly, head coach Ryan Day and his offensive play calls, is doing.
And really it didn’t find success in the red zone either.
After scoring one touchdown in six chances inside Penn State’s red zone last Saturday, Ohio State spent all week saying it was something that would be fixed against Nebraska, saying it was a primary focus throughout the week before its trip to Lincoln.
The Buckeyes did not have a chance to test out their revitalized red zone offense in the first 15 minutes, but had a drive going into the first part of the second quarter, as C.J. Stroud — throwing his first interception since Week 3 against Tulsa — mixed and matched his targets: an 11-yard completion to freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson, a 14-yard pass to freshman wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., all culminating to a 1st-and-10 at the Nebraska 12-yard line.
After handing the ball off to Henderson for a four-yard gain, Stroud tried to make things happen for himself, missing senior Chris Olave in the endzone and checking down to Henderson for a one-yard loss.
Another red zone appearance. Another field goal, giving Ohio State a 3-0 lead. It was Ohio State’s fifth field goal in its last seven red zone trips.
Was it balanced? Not really, attempting six passes compared to three runs.
Ohio State regrouped in its next red zone series, relying on Henderson inside the 20-yard line for three carries for 11 yards before Stroud found Olave in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown.
The struggles continued into the second half, with Ruggles converting on a 35-yards field goal in Ohio State's only red zone appearance in the third quarter.
Ohio State didn't have a red zone chance in the fourth quarter.
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