Michael Cohen

College football and college basketball writer

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Try as they might, the horns, woodwinds and percussionists of Ohio State’s famed marching band couldn’t drown out the boos as the third quarter came to a close Saturday afternoon. While clinging to an increasingly loaded five-point lead, the Buckeyes’ offense had just gone three-and-out for the third time in the span of four possessions, with the only respite coming in the form of a stunning interception by quarterback Will Howard. The latest annoyance for the 104,830 spectators at Ohio Stadium was a botched third-down carry by running back TreVeyon Henderson, who was surrounded due to negative yardage as the offensive line capitulated. A small number of fans voiced their annoyance as the punting team prepared for their shift and the band continued to play as if nothing had happened.

But there were plenty of problems with Ohio State’s harrowing 21-17 survival against Nebraska, a mediocre Big Ten foe that was defeated by 49 points in a nationally televised implosion against then-No. 16 Indiana seven days earlier. The Cornhuskers arrived here as 25-plus point underdogs and losers of their last 26 games against ranked opponents, a streak that predates head coach Matt Rhule. And yet there the Buckeyes stood, stunned and dazed and unable to believe what they were seeing, trailing by three with 10:47 left when Nebraska tailback Dante Dowdell flew over the goal line for a one-yard score. At that point, and with all the warts exposed, the idea that Ohio State should be viewed as one of the best teams in college football — a bona fide contender to win its first national championship since 2014 — felt rather farcical.

“It wasn’t perfect,” Howard said. “But a win is a win.”

And the fans could feel it. Sure, there were some minor frustrations amid the collective disdain on a beautiful fall day in Columbus. They were irritated by an ineffective rushing attack that gained just 2.1 yards per carry on 31 attempts. They were annoyed by the porous pass blocking, which seemed to speed up the clock in Howard’s head. They were annoyed by kicker Jayden Fielding’s disallowed field goal. They were outraged by the trio of penalties awarded to cornerback Davison Igbinosun, even if one of them was disallowed. They were outraged by the ejection of linebacker Arvell Reese for targeting and threw bottles on the field, briefly halting the game as stadium staff cleared the debris. And they were stunned that head coach Ryan Day and his staff hadn’t done a better job of energizing and energizing this bunch with two full weeks of practice since their crushing loss to Oregon.

But it was the macro undertones that were far more concerning to a fan base desperate to cleanse themselves after watching archrival Michigan win the Big Ten Championship and reach the College Football Playoff in three straight seasons, the last of which was interrupted by the the conference’s first national competition. title in a decade. Indeed, what the Buckeyes showed against Nebraska was far from the kind of gritty fourth-quarter victory that Day described in his postgame press conference, an ambiguity that raised more than a few eyebrows among reporters. No amount of coach-speak or cliché-spouting can obscure the harsh reality Ohio State faces: that it is an immensely talented football team that is not living up to expectations.

“We have to go back and look at the film and get it corrected because (it’s like) we’re in the playoffs now,” Howard said. “Every match is the most important match. We cannot afford to put in a performance that we are not proud of, like today. And I think today will wake us up and remind us that we just have to keep going have to go grind every day, every week and never get complacent because you never know.”

That Ohio State’s offensive slump against Nebraska could easily be combined with Indiana’s 56-7 win over the Cornhuskers last week only added to the concern. How could the Buckeyes, whose running back tandem of Henderson and Quinshon Judkins is arguably the best in the country, be tackled seven times behind the line of scrimmage by a defense that surrendered 215 rushing yards and 6.5 yards per carry to the considerably fewer talented players? Hoosiers? How did Ohio State, whose receiving trio of Jeremiah Smith, Emeka Egbuka and Carnell Tate is the envy of college football, convert only once in 10 tries on third down after Indiana broke the chains against Nebraska at a 55.6% clip moved? How could an offense overseen by Day and first-year offensive coordinator Chip Kelly, considered one of the brightest minds in the sport, put up 35 fewer points than IU did when facing the same unit in consecutive weeks?

To varying degrees, all of these questions point back to Ohio State’s injury problems along the offensive line, where starting left tackle Josh Simmons is out for the season with an undisclosed left knee injury suffered in the loss to Oregon. Without Simmons, who had emerged as the team’s top lineman in his second season since arriving from San Diego State, offensive line coach Justin Frye entrusted senior Zen Michalski to fill that role against Nebraska despite starting in the first six competitions had only taken 105 photos.

Michalski, a former four-star prospect in the 2021 recruiting cycle, struggled in his first career start before leaving in the fourth quarter with what appeared to be a hip injury. He allowed a sack on Ohio State’s opening possession when defensive lineman Jimari Butler beat him at the line of scrimmage and appeared to miss an assignment on each of the Buckeyes’ next two drives, including one that directly contributed to a three-and-out . Were it not for Howard’s lengthy touchdown throws, which connected with Tate for a 40-yard score and Smith for a 60-yard score, the revolving door of errors on the left side would have proven even more damaging considering only Judkins and Henderson. combined for 54 rushing yards and failed to reach the end zone on the ground.

“For our offensive line,” Judkins said, “it certainly wasn’t our best day up front. But I think those guys will correct it. Coach Frye, you know, he’s great at what he does coaching-wise, and I think he will definitely solve it next week, but I think everyone can improve.”

It’s a message that applied to nearly every member of the Ohio State team on an afternoon when the Buckeyes had to pull together an eight-play, 75-yard touchdown drive with 6:04 left in the fourth quarter to ultimately take the lead to win back. wasn’t certain until defensive back Jordan Hancock intercepted a poorly thrown ball from five-star freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola – a one-time OSU commit – in the final 90 seconds, when the toughness, desire and will of a roster reportedly more had cost more than $20 million to raise were all called into question as the path to an expanded College Football Playoff temporarily faded.

That’s why there were boos throughout the stadium on Saturday. And even the Ohio State band couldn’t overpower them.

“We’re going to look back,” Day said, “and find out that honestly, we shouldn’t be in games like this. I mean, that’s just the way we look at it.

“But we were (today). Give Nebraska credit.”

Michael Cohen covers college football and basketball for FOX Sports with an emphasis on the Big Ten. Follow him up @Michael_Cohen13.

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