On another beautiful fall afternoon at the Horseshoe, the #4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes came from behind in the fourth quarter to defeat the Nebraska Cornhuskers 21-17. The Buckeyes were 25 ½ point favorites over the visitors, who were blown out 56-7 a week ago in Bloomington. But the Huskers played with tremendous heart and effort and had several opportunities to earn their first road win against a Top Ten opponent since 1997 (Washington).

Unfortunately, the loss extended some sad streaks. The Huskers have now lost 27 straight games against ranked opponents, including 18 of those on the road. They are also 0-6 in games played for bowl eligibility in the Matt Rhule era. Four opportunities remain as the Huskers enter November with the same 5-3 record as last season.

But this match was in stark contrast to last week’s effort, as the team rebounded and regained the confidence they needed for the long run, as well as some respect from a highly ranked opponent. I’m not sure many experts saw this coming. I had hoped the team would manage to at least stay within a few points of the spread when I predicted a 38-14 OSU win. However, Matt Rhule said in his postgame presser that it was the first time since he’s been here that he felt a championship mentality in the locker room. “I thought they had grown up. I challenged them, ‘It better look like this next week.’” As 19th-century American novelist James Lane Allen is said to have said, “Adversity doesn’t build character; it reveals it.” The Huskers responded to last week’s embarrassment and revealed what they’re made of.

This was another game where the defense kept Nebraska in the game. OSU reloads annually with a bevy of future NFL receivers and their freshman WR Jeremiah Smith scored on a 60-yard touchdown reception and Carnell Tate had 4 catches for 102 yards and a 40-yard TD play. Their final score was a well-executed 9-yard TD throw to running back Quinshon Judkins out of the backfield for the game winner. Rhule noted that these three plays were the exception on an afternoon when the Blackshirts were likely the most dominant defense. Of Ohio State’s eleven drives, they had the three scores, but six drives were stopped with a 3 and out and a turnover on downs, one resulted in a missed field goal and one was a 1-play drive that ended with an interception. Ohio State was 1 of 10 on third down conversions. Ohio State gained just 23 yards in the third quarter, and Nebraska’s defense held Ohio State to season lows of 64 rushing yards, 285 total yards, and 21 points. The Buckeyes’ previous lows were 141 rushing yards (at Oregon), 412 total yards (vs. Iowa) and 31 points (at Oregon).

Quinshon Judkins came into the game averaging nearly seven yards per carry and co-starter TreVeyon Henderson averaged more than eight. Judkins averaged 2.9 yards on 10 carries and Henderson averaged 2.5 yards on his 10 carries. The Buckeyes averaged just 2.1 yards rushing as a team. The Blackshirts recorded two sacks, tying them for Ohio State’s most allowed in a game this season as they had allowed just five sacks in the previous six games. The defense also had seven tackles for loss, the most Ohio State has allowed in a game this season.

DeShon Singleton led the defense with 10 stops and three of Jimari Butler’s five tackles were tackles for loss (a career-high), including a sack and four solo stops. Butler ran over the Buckeyes left tackle. MJ Sherman also had a career-high of two tackles for loss, including a sack. Malcolm Hartzog Jr. was burned on one of the Buckeyes scores, but redeemed himself with his team-leading fourth interception of the season in the third quarter, where he returned it to the OSU 7-yard line. The offense failed to convert that opportunity into a goal and that may have been the difference in the final score.

Amazingly, Ohio State’s violation did not require any punishment. Please allow a brief rant about the officer on duty. How difficult is it to spot the ball? Emmett Johnson had an initial deficit of almost two yards at the end of the first half and the ball was marked a yard short, costing the Huskers at least 18 seconds off the clock. Then, in the third quarter, after Hartzog’s pick, on third and goal, Jaylen Lloyd got inside the 1-yard line and the ball was flagged back to the two. The submitted play was based on the ball at one and Dante Dowdell was less than a meter short on fourth down. The offensive interference calls were almost criminal and Buckeye coach Ryan Day slams his headset on the ground, hits a referee and gets a sideline warning. Someone far more objective than me might assume that the Big Ten was trying to ensure the Buckeyes make the playoffs and their officials ruled accordingly. But it’s not a matter of one game. The referees are bad every week.

On offense, Dylan Raiola finished 21-for-32 for 152 yards, with no touchdowns and an interception on a poorly thrown ball on the Huskers’ final possession. He missed some open receivers, but plays with grit and continues to function as a surprising 19-year-old team leader. He also discovered that he can take advantage of a defense that plays man-to-man by scrambling more than usual. He finished with nine carries for a career-best 31 yards rushing and his 38-yard run in the second quarter to set up a Nebraska field goal was Nebraska’s longest in a Big Ten game this season. With Rahmir Johnson not suiting up, Dante Dowdell led all rushers with 60 yards on 14 carries, including a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to give Nebraska the lead. Emmett Johnson added 30 yards on 8 carries as the Huskers totaled 121 yards on the ground, up from 70 last week against Indiana. I tend to believe the Buckeye defense is better than the Hoosiers, so that’s a step in the right direction.

Jacory Barney Jr. had seven catches for 49 yards, bringing his total to 34 receptions on the season. He is just the fifth Husker freshman and second true freshman to catch 30 passes in a season. Tight end Thomas Fidone II caught four passes for 55 yards, including a catch for 33 yards in the fourth quarter. With his four receptions today, Fidone has 49 career receptions and is one of the obstacles to becoming the 11th tight end in program history with 50 career receptions. Jamal Banks added 2 catches for 31 yards but continues to struggle mightily with blocking at the rim.

Play-calling remained a bit of a mystery, as six of Raiola’s 21 completed passes were screens or flat passes that lost a total of 9 yards. Inexplicably, two of those calls came on the Huskers’ final drive, barely putting the Huskers in position to secure the winning score. If a game doesn’t work the entire game, what makes you think it will work when the game is on the line?

Special teams have been a mixed blessing, but at least they weren’t all bad this week. The highlight was the place-kicking of John Hohl, who made field goals of 39 and 54 yards in the second quarter, and a 47-yard field goal in the third quarter. Those are Nebraska’s three longest field goals of the season. Hohl was previously just 1 in 5 and only had a 21-yarder to his name. It’s amazing what can happen if the click can reach the holder without all the drama. Punter Brian Buschini was more inconsistent than usual, as he averaged 40.8 yards on six punts for 52 yards. The return return yielded a total of 3 yards, not to mention Kwinten Ives taking the first kickoff and recovering at the 9-yard line. Place-kicking could prove important in the remaining games and Hohl’s ability today was encouraging.

After back-to-back losses to ranked opponents, the Huskers return home to take on a 2-5 UCLA squad that defeated Rutgers 35-32 last weekend in Piscataway. The Bruins will have a bye week, as will all five of our opponents from Indiana to Wisconsin. Something seems a little off with that kind of Big Ten scheduling. Beating the Bruins to become bowl eligible seems a lot more doable after today than after last week’s humiliation. The defense has the capabilities to keep us in every game left on the schedule. If the offense is able to achieve some form of consistency and develop an identity, the Huskers can pick up a few more wins and turn this season into a positive sign of development. Let’s see if the Husker faithful can develop some of the character our guys show on the field. Go for big red!!

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