Ohio State held on to defeat Nebraska 26-17, Saturday.
The Cornhuskers lost to four CFP-ranked teams by only one score each leading up to this game. So the Buckeyes two-score victory was more more impressive than one might think it would be over a three-win team.
That said, Nebraska was in the game for most of the 60 minutes.
Ohio State opened the scoring, but only took a 17-10 lead into the locker room. Nebraska’s defense did an impressive job in the second half limiting the Buckeyes’ offense. But their own offense couldn’t sustain drives, and they were unable to score themselves.
Both of Nebraska’s touchdowns came off of drives in which Samori Toure had 50-plus-yard receptions. Take away those two passes, and Nebraska probably doesn’t get those six-pointers.
But Nebraska hung around until late in the fourth quarter. Ohio State extended the lead late with a 46-yard field goal from Noah Ruggles to go ahead 26-17. An interception from Steele Chambers sealed the Buckeye victory.
After playing two close games back-to-back, Ohio State will have plenty to reflect on before they get into the toughest part of their schedule.
Ohio State Holds On Against Nebraska
Jaxon Smith-Njigba’s Historic Day for Ohio State
Jaxon Smith Njigba accounted for 60 percent of C.J. Stroud‘s passing yards.
Garrett Wilson missed the game due to concussion protocol, so Smith-Njigba stepped up to fill the gap.
Going into this game, Wilson was the team leader with 43 receptions and 687 yards. Smith-Njigba was actually second on the team in yards with 648 and was tied with Chris Olave for 35 receptions. While Smith-Njigba isn’t an unheralded youngster, this was still the biggest game of his career.
He didn’t disappoint, as he started the game with five catches and 48 yards in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, he increased the Buckeyes’ lead on a pass that went only eight yards through the air. He took that pass and ran it all the way for a 75-touchdown.
By the end of the first half, he already had career highs in receptions and receiving yards. He would end the game with 15 receptions for 240 yards and a touchdown. With that performance, he broke the program record for most receptions in a game, and is second behind Terry Glen for most receiving yards in a single game.
Smith-Njigba became only the fifth Buckeye receiver in program history with over 200 yards in a single game, and the first since Santonio Holmes in 2004.
He even had a great day as a punt returner, returning two punts for 31 yards.
Smith-Njigba entered college football with a bang last year against Nebraska, making a spectacular catch in the end zone as a true freshman. He continued his dominance against the Cornhuskers in the 2021 game.
Ohio State’s Offensive Line
Starting right tackle Dawand Jones woke up feeling poor, so he didn’t start. Instead, the Buckeyes shuffled around Nicholas Petit-Frere, Matthew Jones, Thayer Munford, and Paris Johnson. Between those five, Ohio State made various changes to the tackle and guard spots. The only player on the offensive line that either played the whole game in one spot was center Luke Wypler.
The result was a a poor performance from the group as a whole. The Buckeyes had trouble running the ball and protecting Stroud. One certainly led to the other, as Ohio State felt forced to throw when they couldn’t run. This led to a lot of passes that were let loose early, which slowed the Buckeyes’ offense down late in the game.
As a team, the Buckeyes only rushed for 90 yards against Nebraska. Stroud also ended his streak of games without sacks and interceptions behind this jumbled-up offensive line.
Adrian Martinez For Nebraska
Nebraska’s offense goes through Adrian Martinez, and Ohio State dialed up a game plan to limit his impact.
An important park of the Cornhuskers’ offense is setting up the pass with options and quarterback runs. Not only is Martinez a productive passer, but he was Nebraska’s leading rusher with 4.2 yards per carry leading up to this game.
Martinez ran the ball for nine yards on his first six carries and took three sacks before hurting his ankle. After that the threat of the quarterback’s were completely eliminated.
Not only did the Buckeyes stop Martinez from running the ball, but they also limited his ability to get out of the pocket and extend plays.
Martinez was able to start running the ball late in the game, but Ohio State was trying to avoid giving up deep passes. It worked, and while Martinez was able to gain chunks of yards, they were held out of the end zone.
Ohio State’s Lingering Woes
Ohio State had some difficulties against Penn State last week, some of which continued against Nebraska.
For starters, the Buckeyes’ defense couldn’t get off the field against the Nittany Lions. They allowed eleven of Penn State’s third down attempts to move the chains.
Ohio State shut the door against Nebraska, and denied the Huskers’ first nine attempts. The Buckeyes ended the game going two-for-13 on third down defensively.
Against Penn State, the Buckeyes only scored one red zone touchdown on five attempts. Ohio State scored one red zone on three attempts against Nebraska. While the percentage was higher, the number of attempts was alarming.
One reason the Buckeyes struggled getting into scoring range was because of penalties. The Buckeyes had ten penalties in their last game, and only cut that number down this week by two. The Buckeyes had eight penalties that cost them 65 yards.
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