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    How OSU ranks after Big Ten win over Nebraska

    Vaseline Posted on

    Well, there are a few ways you can watch Ohio State’s 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday.

    You can try to be positive, as coach Ryan Day did afterward, unconvincingly noting how happy he was that his Buckeyes found a way to win a close game.

    Or you can look at it as a narrow victory at home, after a bye week, against a much less talented team that lost 56-7 to Indiana last week.

    How did the Buckeyes score? Leave is awarded on a zero to five basis.

    Ohio State Offense (1 sheet)

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

    The Buckeyes were 1 of 10 on third downs and failed to get a first down in the third quarter. The offensive line remains a huge problem and will likely be reshuffled after new left tackle Zen Michalski was carted off the field with what appears to be a knee injury. Michalski, Josh Simmons’ offseason replacement, was battered all day by the Cornhuskers.

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

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

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

    Howard has completed his first 10 pass attempts in three different games (Nebraska, Iowa, Western Michigan) and started 9 for 9 against Michigan State. The suggestion here is that at halftime for the Buckeyes he should change into street clothes, go back to St. John Arena and do the pregame walk to the stadium all over again before donning his uniform again and starting the third quarter starts.

    Ohio State Defense (3 leaves)

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

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

    Ohio State sacked Cornhuskers quarterback Dylan Raiola three times and appeared more creative in its pass-rush schemes, a week after Nick Saban called their Oregon strategy “outdated.” The Buckeyes also shut down several Nebraska screen passes.

    Ohio State special teams (2 leaves)

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

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

    Ohio State coaching (2 leaves)

    The offense was largely ineffective, and Howard said the Buckeyes were confused by Nebraska’s plans afterward.

    After Day promised that the rest of the season would be a “leave no doubt” affair, there was doubt all game long and panic ensued on the Ohio State sideline in the fourth quarter.

    Fun quotient (4 leaves)

    It wasn’t all fun for Ohio State fans who expected a blowout and an early exit. But it was a closely contested, dramatic match on another perfectly sunny day. Fans got a bonus when the 2014 OSU national championship team was honored.

    Nebraska Cornhuskers (4 leaves)

    It was a great bounce back from last week’s humiliation against Indiana, but promising freshman quarterback Raiola made a few mistakes that did the same to the outwitted Cornhuskers. They were also hurt by poor clock management at the end of the first half when they ran out of timeouts.

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

    Officiant (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 unfriendly call from the Cornhuskers coaches.

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

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

    In the first quarter, a review overruled what was called an incompletion for Neyor, giving Nebraska a 30-yard gain when it appeared the call should have been an incompletion, but called interference on Ohio State’s Denzel Burke.

    And then there was a targeted call and ejection of Ohio State linebacker Arvell Reese late in the fourth quarter. The goal seemed justified, as Reese did hit Jahmal Banks in the head, but the pass seemed incomplete. And according to FOX rules analyst Mike Pereira, Day should have received 15 more penalties for throwing his headphones on the field while disputing the call. That would have moved the ball to the OSU 39 with just over two minutes to play.

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