Just like we did last year, we’ll be providing a preview of Ohio State’s opponent for the upcoming week. It’s a twelve game slate, so it’ll be done as a series with each piece running prior to the game that week.
So, if you want to impress your friends while watching the game, we’ve got your cheat code right here. We do the research, you drop nuggets. You win on Saturdays. It’s as simple as that.
Ohio State’s fifth game of the year is against one of the blue-bloods of the sport, the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Not many programs can compare to Ohio State, but Big Red would be one of them. The children of the corn may have fallen on hard times over the last couple of decades, but there’s hope that head coach Scott Frost can usher in a resurgence.
Nebraska Record
(3-1); The lone loss came on the road to Colorado
All-Time Vitals
Wins: 900, No. 5 All-Time
Record: 900-389-40 (.692), No. 9 All-Time
National Championships: 5, No. 11 All-Time
Conference Championships: 46, No. 2 All-Time
Bowl Games: 53, No. 4 All-Time
Bowl Record: 26-27-0, No. 44 All-Time
Consensus All-Americans: 54, No. 8 All-Time
Heisman Winners: 3, No. 5 All-Time
NFL Draft Picks: 359, No. 7 All-Time
Next … Best season and best player in program history
Best All-Time season
1995 – The tail-end of the Tom Osborne era was perhaps the best in the history of the Cornhusker program. In 1995, the team was coming off a national championship the year before with a lot of pieces still in place. The team of course employed a heavy triple-option style on offense, but still managed to put up over 53 points per game behind quarterbacks Tommy Frazier and Brook Berringer.
The defense was as equally dominant, allowing just 14.5 points per game and sending relentless pressure with speed and athleticism. The team went on to obliterate the Florida Gators 62-24 in the Fiesta Bowl to cement itself as the best team in Cornhuskers’ history.
Best Nebraska Cornhusker of All-Time
Mike Rozier, RB (1981-1983) – Rozier was one of the best running backs to ever play the college game. A two-time All-American, he is still the ‘Huskers all-time leading rusher with 4,780 total yards over three seasons. As a senior Heisman winning campaign, Rozier rushed for over 2,148 rushing yards, had 2,486 all-purpose yards, 29 touchdowns, and nearly took his team to a national title. He was drafted in the first round of the NFL and USFL draft in 1984.
Next … Head coach, offensive and defensive style
Current Head Coach
Scott Frost – 26-16 overall, 7-9 in his second full season season at Nebraska
Cornhuskers’ Offensive Style
It’s a combination of several different things. As a former triple-option quarterback, Scott Frost likes to use the option, but runs it out of the shotgun spread. Yet, the Huskers can air it out as well from the same formation. They like to get their best playmakers in space — including the quarterback — and try to make plays in a quick-tempo.
Ohio State had all kinds of issues dealing with the scheme and offensive game plan last year. It’ll need to be much different on the road in a hostile, night environment.
Cornhuskers’ Defensive Style
The Huskers use a 3-4 / 4-3 hybrid look that’s designed to create turnovers and produce negative plays. The team struggled mightily last season and has shown some warts this year as well despite looking much improved. As you would expect, the defense is a lighter and quicker unit designed to go against the spread packages teams like to run these days.
Next … Player to watch
Nebraska Cornhusker to watch
Adrian Martinez – QB — Martinez was very close to receiving an offer to play quarterback at Ohio State, and for good reason. He’s a dual-threat guy that fits the spread-scheme nicely. He’ll look to beat you with his designed runs but can also spread it around a little through the air. He won the Big Ten’s freshman of the year in 2018 and as he goes — so too does the ‘Husker offense. He’s not been quite the dynamic playmaker he was last year, but has shown flashes of coming around as of late.
Nebraska can win the game if …
It stops the flood of turnovers and can jump on Ohio State early. It’ll be a riled up home Nebraska crowd ready to explode at anything positive. If the Cornhuskers can get a couple of stops on defense early, get the crowd into and feed off the emotion, Ohio State could be in for it.
Against Illinois, turnovers nearly gave the Illini a gift-wrapped victory. Nebraska cannot afford to give the explosive Ohio State offense more possessions, and might need to take a few away to keep the game close and steal it at home in front of a prime-time affair.
