Game Preview: Offensive Execution Key For Ohio State On The Road At Nebraska

The Buckeyes are looking for their seventh straight win over the Cornhuskers dating back to a loss in Lincoln in 2011.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Nov 5, 2021 5:31 PM EDT

Ohio State hits the road in search of its seventh straight win over Nebraska on Saturday afternoon. And while it would be easy for the Buckeyes to overlook the Cornhuskers given their 3-6 record, all six of their losses this season have come by eight points or less.

“I’ve watched the film, and this is a very good team” head coach Ryan Day said during his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “They played The Team Up North tough, they played Oklahoma tough and they played Michigan State tough, so I’ve just been very impressed with them.

“I don’t care what the record says. I watched the film and they’re good. They have good coaches, so we've got to have a great week of practice.”

Ohio State enters Saturday’s game at No. 5 in the first College Football Playoff rankings, with games against No. 3 Michigan State and No. 7 Michigan – as well as a potentially ranked matchup in the Big Ten Championship Game – still remaining to help improve its standing.

But with one loss already on their record, the Buckeyes know they have no room for error against the Cornhuskers, who are looking for a program-defining win under fourth-year head coach Scott Frost.

“Just like any other game in the Big Ten, especially when you go on the road, this is going to be a battle," Day said. "It’s truly like March Madness right now – if you win, you move on. We have to look at every game that way.

“You watch across the country week in and week out, a lot of things have happened this year. We can’t let that happen to us and we can’t have any regrets. The only way to do that is to focus on right now and not be distracted. If you start looking ahead, if you start worrying about tomorrow, that’s where you get distracted, and we have to stay disciplined in that area.”

General Info

Date: Nov. 6, 2021
Where: Memorial Stadium (Lincoln, NE)
Expected Weather: 57 degrees, mostly sunny
Kickoff: 12 p.m.

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-15.5)
O/U Total: 67
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: FOX
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Gus Johnson (play-by-play), Joel Klatt (analyst) and Jenny Taft (sideline reporter)

Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter), Skip Mosic (pregame/halftime/postgame host and producer)

Series History

Ohio State leads Nebraska, 8-1
* OSU record at home: 6-0
* OSU record on the road/neutral: 2-1

LAST TIME THEY MET
2020: Ohio State 52, Nebraska 17

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day
* At Ohio State: Third Season, Record: 30-3
* Overall: Same

* Scott Frost
* At Nebraska: 4th Season, Record: 15-26
* Overall: 34-33

Ohio State Capsule

Day was clearly unhappy with Ohio State’s offensive performance against Penn State, as he declined to name an offensive player of the game and announced that just one player – sophomore wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba – had graded out a champion against the Nittany Lions.

"We can try to make you feel better, but that's not how this game works," Day said. "Every guy has to be held accountable."

The Buckeyes were held to a season-low 466 yards of total offense and scored just one touchdown on six trips into the red zone on Saturday night. They still scored 12 points behind the leg of fifth-year senior kicker Noah Ruggles, which ultimately made the difference in a nine-point game, but must bounce back inside the 20-yard line moving forward.

“I think we look back and we could have executed much better, certainly in some of the shorter yardage situations,” Day said, noting the Buckeyes committed seven false start penalties. “We got ourselves with a penalty a couple of times, and any time you do that down in the red zone, five yards seems like a mile away.

"That was part of it. I also think there were some schematic things we probably, looking back on, could have done a better job with.”

That said, Nebraska’s defense is very similar to Minnesota, which held Ohio State to 10 first-half points in a 45-31 loss in the season opener. The Cornhuskers allow just 4.97 yards per play and 20.3 points per game, good for 23rd and 26th nationally, and could give the Buckeyes fits on the ground.

“I think they’re very good on defense," Day said. They’re very well-coached, have a good scheme and good players. Several guys are NFL players, in my opinion. They mix up the looks, and then when you look at the way that they’ve played against most teams, they’ve played everybody tough. We’re going to have to earn it and do a good job on third down and do a good job in the red zone.”

Nebraska Capsule

For better or for worse, Nebraska is led by redshirt junior quarterback Adrian Martinez, who has thrown for 2,264 yards and 12 touchdowns with seven interceptions this season. He also leads the Cornhuskers with 451 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground.

“Anytime you play against a quarterback like this, you have to have a good plan,” Day said. “You have to make sure you’re accounting for him.

“It’s really like playing one of the service academies. It’s triple option. Assignment football is very, very important and some guys got the fullback, some guys got the quarterback and some guys got the pitch. We worked on that this week.”

Martinez played well against the Buckeyes as a true freshman in 2018, throwing for 266 yards and one touchdown and rushing 20 times for 72 yards and two more scores in a five-point loss.

He’s struggled through the in the last two meetings, however, throwing for just 152 yards and zero touchdowns with three interceptions combined – though he’s still made some plays with his legs, rushing for 238 yards and three scores.

“You can’t let him run wild and escape in the pass game,” Day said. “You still have to push the pocket and put pressure on him. But then also in the run game, you have to make sure you are accounting for him and getting him down in space.

“That changes a little bit how you play your techniques, whether it’s the defensive ends or the safeties coming down to attack him.”

Several of Nebraska’s losses this season have been sealed with a Martinez turnover, including a fumble in the final minutes of last week’s 28-23 home loss to Purdue. The Cornhuskers are minus-three in turnover margin for the season, and he’ll have to take care of the football in order to upset the Buckeyes.

Major Storylines

This will be Ohio State’s fourth trip to Lincoln but first where the game is played in the afternoon. The three previous visits were night games.

This will be the last meeting between the Buckeyes and Cornhuskers until 2024 after they played in six straight seasons. Ohio State will play Wisconsin in the protected cross-division matchup instead.

Former Ohio State cornerback Tyreke Johnson transferred to Nebraska this past offseason. He’s played in one game for the Cornhuskers this fall and has yet to record a statistic.

The Buckeyes have scored a nation-leading six defensive touchdowns this season, including defensive tackle Jerron Cage’s 57-yard fumble return in last Saturday’s win over Penn State.

Ohio State is averaging 8.23 yard per play, which ranks second nationally.

The Buckeyes are allowing just 1.9 yards per rush over the last six games, all wins. That includes a total of 67 yards on 66 carries against Indiana and Penn State.

Ohio State kicker Noah Ruggles, who was recently named a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award, has made 13 consecutive field goals dating back to his time at North Carolina.

The Buckeyes have won their last six games by scoring an average of 50.8 points per game. They’re also on pace to single-season records for yards and points scored.