Records
Ohio State (0-0), Nebraska (0-0)
Broadcast, TV, Game Time
Date: Saturday, October 24
Game Time: Noon ET
Network: FOX
Venue: Ohio Stadium – Capacity – 104,944 (no fans permitted due to COVID-19 restrictions)
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 7-1
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Nebraska 48-7 in 2019
Ohio State football is back Buckeye fans! The long wait is finally over as Ryan Day and company have their eyes set on a college football crown. But before we dream of beating the Tigers and Crimson Tides of the college football world, focus has to remain steadfast on the opponent at hand… hello Cornhuskers.
The Big Ten did Nebraska no favors when handing out new schedules for a revamped 2020 season. Was it punishment for being so vocal against conference leadership and their handling of football in a pandemic? We can speculate, but the bottom line is – we’re ready to play some football!
Next … The game plan
Ohio State game plan for victory
Offensively, Ohio State is loaded, led by Heisman contender, quarterback Justin Fields. JK Dobbins (now playing for the Baltimore Ravens) is a big loss in the OSU backfield, but Master Teague and Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon, both look fully recovered from injuries and ready to roll. Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson are back to lead a talented crew of young receivers. The Buckeyes also have one of the best offensive lines in the country including Wyatt Davis who is projected to be a first-round NFL draft pick.
Defensively, the Buckeyes have a few more questions after losing Chase Young, Jeff Okudah, and Damon Arnette who are all playing on Sundays now. The Bucks are still as talented as anyone on the D-line and have experience at linebacker, but the biggest unknown comes in the secondary. Shaun Wade is back and is a pre-season All-American, but the rest of the secondary is young — talented, but young.
Former head coach Urban Meyer expects a big season from his former team as well.
“First of all, it’s an NFL roster,” Meyer said. “I was kind of going through it, every player on their roster, offense-defense will be in the NFL. Think about that. The only question mark is the secondary. They have Josh Proctor, Cam Brown, Sevyn Banks, young players, highly recruited players replacing three high draft picks in the NFL in the secondary. That’s the only question mark.”
The Cornhuskers offense will center around quarterback Adrian Martinez. Martinez was a Heisman candidate going into 2019 after a successful freshman campaign. However, the Husker QB wasn’t able to live up to the expectations, and some believe he was playing through injuries. Husker fans are counting on a bounceback season from their third-year quarterback.
The young Buckeye secondary will need to keep the Nebraska receiving duo of sophomore Wan’dale Robinson and JUCO transfer Omar Manning in check. Robinson had an outstanding freshman season and looks to build on that success while Manning is a huge target at 6-foot, 4-inches, and 225 pounds. Both will be relied on heavily after the transfer of JD Spielman to TCU.
Next … The key players for Ohio State
Two Key Players For Ohio State
Master Teague and Trey Sermon, Running backs. I look for Teague to be the surprise starter, but fully expect that he and Sermon will split carries evenly. Both are coming off injuries (Teague – Achilles in spring of 2020 and Sermon – ACL in fall of 2019). Each running back seems to have fully recovered, but gameplay always seems to be a different story. Justin Fields will make the offense go, but the running backs will need to take some of the pressure off the Buckeye QB.
Master Teague is the future of this football team and I couldn’t be happier pic.twitter.com/bWYjN4eMAQ
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) October 19, 2019
Zach Harrison, Defensive End: Harrison has big shoes to fill as Chase Young, Ohio State’s dominant pass rusher left for the NFL. Jonathon Cooper will be there because he has more experience, but he’s been hampered by injuries in his OSU career. Harrison was a 5-star recruit and ranked No. 12 overall nationally. From Bosa to Bosa to Young, Harrison is the next in line of Buckeye rush-men.
Big Ten QBs: thank god we don’t have to face Chase Young anymore
Zach Harrison: hold my beverage pic.twitter.com/iN4POy1bzh
— Barstool OSU (@BarstoolOSU) May 19, 2020
Next … How it’ll all do down
The prediction
Ohio State is on a mission. With a bad taste left from a semi-final loss to Clemson combined with a season that almost wasn’t, the Buckeyes have one thing on their mind. Anything less than a national championship will be a disappointment.
Nebraska comes in as the first (and only) test of the season. The Huskers will feel more like an open book quiz. Scott Frost hasn’t been able to connect the dots and gain any kind of consistency as the head coach of his alma mater just yet.
I look for the Bucks to score early and often, overwhelming Nebraska on both lines of scrimmage, with the O-line opening huge running holes and keeping Fields on his feet. On the other side of the ball, the D-line keeps relentless pressure in the Husker backfield.
Ohio State wins big and is right back in the middle of the college football playoff conversation as one of the top three teams in the country.
Final Score
Ohio State 54, Nebraska 17
Line
Ohio State -26
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