Gene Ross
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Ohio State opens as 23.5-point favorites over Nebraska
Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
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The Buckeyes will look to bounce back against the Cornhuskers on Saturday after a week off.
Ohio State got the weekend off after dropping its first game of the season last Saturday to Oregon in a 32-31 battle on the road. Now sitting at 5-1 on the year, the Buckeyes will look to right the ship next time out against Nebraska.
There are no more off weeks on the calendar moving forward, as Saturday’s home contest against the Cornhuskers marks the start of six-straight games for Ohio State, with ranked matchups against Penn State, Indiana and Michigan still to come. The Buckeyes will hope to have learned from the loss to the Ducks and avoid another stumble the rest of the way, beginning with a bounce back performance against Dylan Raiola and Co.
Ohio State got exposed big time defensively against Oregon in its first loss of the season a week ago. Dillon Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a third score. Evan Stewart put together a huge night matched up against Denzel Burke, hauling in seven catches for 149 yards and a score. As has been the theme in most big games for Ohio State over the last few years, the Buckeyes’ pass rush failed to show up, recording zero sacks and only being credited with two total QB hurries — which even seems generous.
Offensively, Ohio State performed pretty well even though it largely strayed from the game plan that had been effective through the first five games of the year. Gone were the RPOs and the rush-heavy attack in favorite of a more standard drop back passing offense, to which Will Howard acquitted himself well.
The Buckeyes’ QB threw for 326 yards with three total TDs, two passing and one rushing. Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith combined for nearly 200 receiving yards with a touchdown apiece, while TreVeyon Henderson led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 87 yards. Even though the Ohio State rushing attack was successful more often than not, Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for only 21 carries in the game — a similar amount to what they had been doing in just the first halves of games prior to the trip to Eugene.
Nebraska, meanwhile did play a football game this weekend, but they probably wish they didn’t. The Cornhuskers were absolutely dominated by Indiana, with the Hoosiers coming away with a 56-7 win in Bloomington.
It was a tough day for freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who completed 28-of-44 pass attempts for 234 yards with three interceptions. The Nebraska rushing attack wasn’t much better, totaling 70 yards on 29 carries as a team. It was more of the same for an offense that hasn’t been able to find its footing this season, ranking 74th nationally with 28 points per game heading into the matchup against Indiana and only getting worse from there. Overall, Matt Rhules squad turned the ball over five times and went 0-for-5 on fourth down.
The defensive side of the ball is where the Cornhuskers had shined before Saturday, ranking 7th in the country allowing only 11.3 points per game before getting a 50-burger dropped on their heads. The Hoosiers racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense, passing for 280 yards and rushing for 215 yards against Nebraska without much resistance either way. There were a few flashy plays for the Husker defense, with Malcolm Hartzog Jr. recording the team’s lone interception and Mikai Gbayor the lone sack, but otherwise it was largely a game to forget.
Nebraska moves to 5-2 on the year, and does have some exciting pieces. Raiola is an incredibly talented young quarterback, but is clearly still getting himself acclimated to the college game. Texas transfer wide receiver Isaiah Neyor is another player to watch on the offense, averaging 17.1 yards per reception with a team-high four touchdown catches. Defensively, Hartzog has been a thorn in the side of opposing QBs with three picks on the year, and lineman Ty Robinson leads the way with six tackles for loss and four sacks.
At the end of the day, while the Cornhuskers have enough to test you, this is a team that Ohio State should beat rather handily if it wants to bounce back from the loss to Oregon and restore some good feeling both among themselves and the fanbase. The Buckeyes are back at home, they’ve had two weeks to correct their mistakes, and they should be hungry to get back in the win column with all of their ultimate goals still ahead of them.
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Gene Ross via our friends at Land-Grant Holy Land
Visit their fantastic blog and read the full article (and so much more) here
The Buckeyes will look to bounce back against the Cornhuskers on Saturday after a week off.
Ohio State got the weekend off after dropping its first game of the season last Saturday to Oregon in a 32-31 battle on the road. Now sitting at 5-1 on the year, the Buckeyes will look to right the ship next time out against Nebraska.
There are no more off weeks on the calendar moving forward, as Saturday’s home contest against the Cornhuskers marks the start of six-straight games for Ohio State, with ranked matchups against Penn State, Indiana and Michigan still to come. The Buckeyes will hope to have learned from the loss to the Ducks and avoid another stumble the rest of the way, beginning with a bounce back performance against Dylan Raiola and Co.
Betting Odds: Ohio State -23.5 | O/U 48.5 (per FanDuel Sportsbook)
Ohio State got exposed big time defensively against Oregon in its first loss of the season a week ago. Dillon Gabriel threw for 341 yards and two touchdowns while rushing for a third score. Evan Stewart put together a huge night matched up against Denzel Burke, hauling in seven catches for 149 yards and a score. As has been the theme in most big games for Ohio State over the last few years, the Buckeyes’ pass rush failed to show up, recording zero sacks and only being credited with two total QB hurries — which even seems generous.
Offensively, Ohio State performed pretty well even though it largely strayed from the game plan that had been effective through the first five games of the year. Gone were the RPOs and the rush-heavy attack in favorite of a more standard drop back passing offense, to which Will Howard acquitted himself well.
The Buckeyes’ QB threw for 326 yards with three total TDs, two passing and one rushing. Emeka Egbuka and Jeremiah Smith combined for nearly 200 receiving yards with a touchdown apiece, while TreVeyon Henderson led the way on the ground with 10 carries for 87 yards. Even though the Ohio State rushing attack was successful more often than not, Henderson and Quinshon Judkins combined for only 21 carries in the game — a similar amount to what they had been doing in just the first halves of games prior to the trip to Eugene.
Nebraska, meanwhile did play a football game this weekend, but they probably wish they didn’t. The Cornhuskers were absolutely dominated by Indiana, with the Hoosiers coming away with a 56-7 win in Bloomington.
It was a tough day for freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola, who completed 28-of-44 pass attempts for 234 yards with three interceptions. The Nebraska rushing attack wasn’t much better, totaling 70 yards on 29 carries as a team. It was more of the same for an offense that hasn’t been able to find its footing this season, ranking 74th nationally with 28 points per game heading into the matchup against Indiana and only getting worse from there. Overall, Matt Rhules squad turned the ball over five times and went 0-for-5 on fourth down.
The defensive side of the ball is where the Cornhuskers had shined before Saturday, ranking 7th in the country allowing only 11.3 points per game before getting a 50-burger dropped on their heads. The Hoosiers racked up nearly 500 yards of total offense, passing for 280 yards and rushing for 215 yards against Nebraska without much resistance either way. There were a few flashy plays for the Husker defense, with Malcolm Hartzog Jr. recording the team’s lone interception and Mikai Gbayor the lone sack, but otherwise it was largely a game to forget.
Nebraska moves to 5-2 on the year, and does have some exciting pieces. Raiola is an incredibly talented young quarterback, but is clearly still getting himself acclimated to the college game. Texas transfer wide receiver Isaiah Neyor is another player to watch on the offense, averaging 17.1 yards per reception with a team-high four touchdown catches. Defensively, Hartzog has been a thorn in the side of opposing QBs with three picks on the year, and lineman Ty Robinson leads the way with six tackles for loss and four sacks.
At the end of the day, while the Cornhuskers have enough to test you, this is a team that Ohio State should beat rather handily if it wants to bounce back from the loss to Oregon and restore some good feeling both among themselves and the fanbase. The Buckeyes are back at home, they’ve had two weeks to correct their mistakes, and they should be hungry to get back in the win column with all of their ultimate goals still ahead of them.
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