Look, this is an all-star team. To beat them is a real accomplishment. Oregon, who usually gives OSU a hard time, managed to keep it close and then with the help of some bad clock management by OSU, pulled off the win. Still, it can be done.
Nebraska rolled out that freshmen QB of theirs and he managed to keep it close. When he could run, he did it and moved the sticks. When he had to be a pure pocket passer, things got iffy, but they did move the ball through the air at times. I would like to think that whichever QB of ours goes, he would be more prepared to play in this game than the Nebraska QB was. So we have that going for us.
That OSU o-line is banged up, so we may be able to get a consistent pass rush. Their RB earned his NIL deal because of how he played us in the bowl game last year, so maybe we learned a thing or two for the second time we see him. I don't think our LBS are up to the ask to stop the run or intermediate pass game for 4 quarters, but if you get enough pressure on Howard, maybe you force OSU into a slower paced, more run heavy offense which (in theory) plays into the Oregon scenario: keep it close and see what happens at the end.
I think this is the first time a true lack of WR talent hurts us. OSU can just go man coverage and stack the box to stop our running backs before they get too far past the line of scrimmage. Their secondary can tackle the run. I'll be paying attention to average 2nd down distance for us: if we are averaging a ton of 2nd and longs, could be a long day.