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What to Watch for From the Buckeyes Saturday Night Against Nebraska
Any time you get a matchup between two Top 10 teams, there is going to be plenty to watch. No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 Nebraska come into this game with identical 7-1 records and 3-1 records in conference play. A loss in this game is going to be devastating for one of these two teams.
So what should you keep your eye on this Saturday night? Plenty.
Containment
Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong is No. 7 in the B1G in rushes of at least 10 yards with 19 such carries. That is one more than Curtis Samuel, one less J.T. Barrett, and two fewer than Mike Weber. Clearly, he is a running threat. Armstrong has 419 yards rushing this season, averaging nearly 12 carries per game. The Buckeyes haven't faced a quarterback who runs as much as Armstrong, which is why they have prepared for his running ability as much as his throwing ability this week. Ohio State did a fantastic job of containing Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, but if Armstrong sees the containment out wide, he has no problem planting his foot and taking off upfield. They need to keep him from getting loose and picking up third downs. If they do that, they'll be very, very successful.
Deep Balls
If you ask J.T. Barrett, the reason teams are playing so far off of the Buckeye receivers is because they respect the deep threat so much. Will Nebraska have that same respect, or will they first force Barrett to actually connect with a receiver down the field before they show the same caution and fear? Based on what Huskers defensive backs coach Brian Stewart said this week, there is both fear and curiosity.
"I think the thing that we haven't seen and I'm praying to God we don't see is [Barrett] throwing vertical," he told reporters this week. "I think that they're averaging... looking at the film, they probably throw the ball vertical down the field five or six times. He hasn't really been able to connect like he has in the past so he's been giving them the intermediate routes [which] have been successful for them.
"Those guys are pretty fast. They got behind Indiana. They got behind Northwestern. They got behind Wisconsin. [Barrett] just hasn't connected yet and I don't want him to. So if you ask me what I'm worried about, that'll keep you up right there."
Entire article: http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/Foot...-the-Buckeyes-Saturday-Night-Against-Nebraska
Any time you get a matchup between two Top 10 teams, there is going to be plenty to watch. No. 6 Ohio State and No. 10 Nebraska come into this game with identical 7-1 records and 3-1 records in conference play. A loss in this game is going to be devastating for one of these two teams.
So what should you keep your eye on this Saturday night? Plenty.
Containment
Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong is No. 7 in the B1G in rushes of at least 10 yards with 19 such carries. That is one more than Curtis Samuel, one less J.T. Barrett, and two fewer than Mike Weber. Clearly, he is a running threat. Armstrong has 419 yards rushing this season, averaging nearly 12 carries per game. The Buckeyes haven't faced a quarterback who runs as much as Armstrong, which is why they have prepared for his running ability as much as his throwing ability this week. Ohio State did a fantastic job of containing Oklahoma's Baker Mayfield, but if Armstrong sees the containment out wide, he has no problem planting his foot and taking off upfield. They need to keep him from getting loose and picking up third downs. If they do that, they'll be very, very successful.
Deep Balls
If you ask J.T. Barrett, the reason teams are playing so far off of the Buckeye receivers is because they respect the deep threat so much. Will Nebraska have that same respect, or will they first force Barrett to actually connect with a receiver down the field before they show the same caution and fear? Based on what Huskers defensive backs coach Brian Stewart said this week, there is both fear and curiosity.
"I think the thing that we haven't seen and I'm praying to God we don't see is [Barrett] throwing vertical," he told reporters this week. "I think that they're averaging... looking at the film, they probably throw the ball vertical down the field five or six times. He hasn't really been able to connect like he has in the past so he's been giving them the intermediate routes [which] have been successful for them.
"Those guys are pretty fast. They got behind Indiana. They got behind Northwestern. They got behind Wisconsin. [Barrett] just hasn't connected yet and I don't want him to. So if you ask me what I'm worried about, that'll keep you up right there."
Entire article: http://theozone.net/Ohio-State/Foot...-the-Buckeyes-Saturday-Night-Against-Nebraska
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