Ohio State vs Nebraska PREVIEW
It seems like it’s been forever since the Buckeyes last played a football game, with a bye week coming after the brutal loss to Oregon. But we are finally back. The much anticipated matchup of Ohio State vs former QB commit Dylan Raiola is here. Let’s dive into the matchup and why it SHOULD be a comfortable win for the Buckeyes today at home.
OHIO STATE OFFENSE vs NEBRASKA DEFENSE
The Ohio State offense was not to blame in their loss in Eugene. Sure, the running game wasn’t working much in the second half, and a couple miscues on the final possession left a bad taste in people’s mouth, but Will Howard played a phenomenal football game, and the Buckeyes will win 99% of the time if he continues to have games like that down the stretch.
The Buckeyes are top-10 in the nation in several offensive categories: passing production and efficiency, rushing success rate, quality drives, red zone offense, scoring offense, and sacks allowed. Simply, they are a well oiled machine, and after seeing what Indiana did on offense a week ago vs the Huskers, I believe the Buckeyes should have an easy time moving the ball this afternoon. The Hoosiers ran for 224 yards last week so expect TreVeyon to have a monster game. Will Howard and the Buckeyes receiving core should also have a field day against this Huskers secondary that ranks 78th in completion percentage allowed.
Situationally, I believe the Buckeyes shouldn’t have a problem extending drives, nor finding the end zone. Nebraska ranks 59th in the country on 3rd down defense and they’re an abysmal 97th in the country in red zone defense.
OHIO STATE DEFENSE vs NEBRASKA OFFENSE
The seat is getting warm for Jim Knowles. After an embarrassing performance against Oregon, this defense desperately needs to get back on track if this team is destined to make a run at a national championship.
Nebraska has struggled immensely on offense over the last month, specifically freshman QB Dylan Raiola. The one time Buckeye commit has thrown 4 TD’s and 5 INT’s over the last 4 games and the Huskers have gone 2-2 in that stretch. Overall on the season the Huskers rank 60th in the country in passing production and 96th in the country in rushing production. They’re an average 41st in the country on third downs, but rank 89th in the country in red zone offense.
On paper, this matchup doesn’t get much better for the Buckeyes defense. Everything lines up for a bounce back performance and I expect a dominating performance from Jim Knowles and company today.
FINAL ANALYSIS
Ohio State is in dire need of a dominant performance in this one. After Indiana boat raced the Huskers a week ago, it’s imperative the Buckeyes do the same today to get their season back on track. Despite this being a potential look ahead spot with the Penn State game looming next Saturday, all the analytics point to the Buckeyes winning today with ease. Final score prediction: 41-10 Buckeyes.
