Nebraska at Ohio State: Live updates, score, highlights

FINAL: Ohio State 21, Nebraska 17

Dylan Raiola pick seals it, Ohio State survives

On 3rd-and-18 with just over a minute left in the fourth quarter, Dylan Raiola tried to force a throw that wasn’t there — chucking a poor pass that was intercepted by safety Jordan Hancock to end the Cornhuskers’ upset bid.

Ohio State survived a lackluster offensive showing — mainly due to its defensive effort. The Buckeyes had two picks, three sacks, 13 tackles for loss and a goal line stand in the 21-17 win.

Big targeting call on Ohio State

Another week, another controversial targeting call in college football. Linebacker Arvell Reese was tagged with a terrible targeting call on a forearm to the chest of wideout Jahmal Banks, who fumbled on the play.

Ryan Day was incensed, and fans through water bottles on the field (ala Georgia-Texas).

Zen Michalski injured

Ohio State left tackle Zen Michalski has really struggled in his first-career start, but he just went down with an injury that has forced All-American guard Donovan Jackson to kick outside to tackle. On the first next play, the Buckeyes had a screen-pass blown up for a 7-yard loss on 3rd-and-2, forcing another punt.

Buckeyes retake the lead

Ohio State’s offense responded to its first deficit of the day, marching 75 yards on eight plays that culminated in a 9-yard touchdown pass to Quinshon Judkins. Will Howard calmly waited for Judkins to run a little out-route from the backfield and he found the tailback for the go-ahead score with just over six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.

Can the Cornhuskers answer?

Ohio State 21, Nebraska 17.

Something’s got to give?

Nebraska, which lost by 49 last weekend at Indiana, has dropped 36-straight games to ranked teams.

Ryan Day is 44-0 against unranked teams as Ohio State’s head coach.

Cornhuskers take the lead

Dylan Raiola finally reads the blitz pre-snap, hitting Isaiah Neyor hot for an eight-yard gain on third-down to setup 1st-and-goal inside the 1. On the very next snap, Dante Dowdell dove over the center for Nebraska’s first touchdown (and lead) of the game. The Cornhuskers then added a two-point conversion with a shovel pass to tight end Nate Boerkircher.

Nebraska 17, Ohio State 14.

Can Nebraska end its red zone woes?

The Cornhuskers have driven the ball inside the 20-yard line again. But they’re just 2-of-4 in the red zone with six points thus far today.

A rock fight in the Shoe

Neither of these offenses can muster much of anything right now. Ohio State had 23 yards in the third quarter. The Buckeyes couldn’t convert a 3rd-and-1 run, forcing another punt. They can’t run the ball on a Nebraska defense that allowed 215 rushing yards and five touchdowns to Indiana last weekend.

Dylan Raiola misses a wide-open touchdown

Nebraska’s quarterback has had his hands full against Ohio State’s front, but the Cornhuskers dialed up a perfect shot-play that was well-protected and the freshman badly missed a walk-in touchdown with a poor overthrow. The possession then ended when he didn’t read the blitz and throw hot, forcing a punt after another third-down sack.

Buckeyes offense is totally out of sync

In the second-half vs. Nebraska: 3-and-out, INT and 3-and-out.

Ohio State with the goal line stand

Will Howard can go thank Ohio State’s defense line. The Buckeyes’ front kept the Cornhuskers out of the end zone following Howard’s pick, stoning Dante Dowell on 4th-and-2 at the goal line. Nebraska kept the ball out of Dylan Raiola’s hands, running on all four plays that gained just six yards.

Upset alert?

Will Howard with his first mistake of the afternoon turns into a huge play for Nebraska. Malcolm Hartzog intercepted a Howard overthrow and returned it to Ohio State’s 7-yard line. Can they cash in the huge opportunity?

Nebraska with a solid start to second half

After forcing Ohio State to go 3-and-out to start the third quarter, Nebraska marched right down the field on a 12-play, 58-yard drive that ended with a 47-yard field goal by Hohl — who is 3-for-3 today after entering the game 1-of-5 all season.

The drive stalled due to a penalty on 3rd-and-short and then a busted assignment that led to a sack, but Nebraska found some success on the ground on that series. Dante Dowdell had runs of 12 and 14 yards — with the Buckeyes forced to make a pair of shoe-string tackles in the hole. Dylan Raiola had two quality throws, too, before taking a bad sack that forced the long field goal.

Ohio State 14, Nebraska 9.

Ohio State cannot run the ball

The Buckeyes are averaging just 2.1 yards per carry, which is allowing Nebraska to stay in this game. TreVeyon Henderson has a long run of 15 yards, while Quinshon Judkins has just 10 yards on four carries.

HALFTIME: Ohio State 14, Nebraska 6

Nebraska hosed by officials

With the Cornhuskers driving just before halftime, Nebraska was hosed on a pair of plays that negated a potential touchdown opportunity.

First, the officials badly mis-spotted the ball (by at least a 1.5 yards) on a second-down run that should’ve given Nebraska a first down. Instead, with the clock still running, Nebraska had to quickly run a play that chewed up another 30 seconds. Later in the drive, Nebraska was flagged for a terrible offensive pass interference call that appeared to knock the Cornhuskers out of field goal range. They were able to position themselves for a 54-yard kick, which Hohl nailed at the end of the half.

Will Howard with a flawless stat-line

Despite facing a lot of pressure (three sacks allowed), Kansas State transfer Will Howard has been excellent on Saturday. He’s opened the first half 9-of-9 for 167 yards and two touchdowns.

Jeremiah Smith to the house

Ohio State’s star receiver tied Chris Carter’s school-record with eight touchdowns as a freshman, showcasing his blazing speed by running a go-route straight past Nebraska’s entire secondary for a 60-yard score.

Nebraska nails a field goal

Nebraska had just 15 total yards on its first three drives, but quarterback Dylan Raiola ripped off a 40-yard run on third down to put the Cornhuskers into the red zone. The possession stalled after three consecutive negative plays (two bad runs and a blown-up screen pass), but Nebraska did nail a 39-yard field goal to make the game 7-3.

Freshman kicker John Hohl had been just 1-of-5 with a long of 21 before making the kick.

Carnell Tate touchdown

Ohio State finally gets on the board with a 40-yard moonshot to wideout Carnell Tate. Will Howard finally had a clean pocket, read the safety and delivered a clean pass to the sophomore receiver for his second score of the season. The Buckeyes drove 90 yards in just over three minutes.

Dylan Raiola is running for his life

I do not believe a Dylan Raiola scramble-drill is a sustainable offense for Nebraska. He had three carries for 15 yards last series — all on broken plays where Nebraska’s offensive line collapsed immediately. The runs did at least keep the clock churning but that’s about it.

No Josh Simmons = problem for Ohio State

The Buckeyes can’t block Nebraska’s front right now — especially at left tackle. With Josh Simmons out for the season, Zen Michalski is really struggling in his first start at left tackle. He’s already allowed two pressures and a sack on Ohio State’s first two series.

Cornhuskers stone Ohio State on 4th down

The Buckeyes could do nothing with excellent field position, giving up a sack on second down and then seeing TreVeyon Henderson stoned on 4th-and-1. Ohio State ran a simple inside zone play, but Nebraska’s defensive line blew up the Buckeyes’ guards and former Georgia linebacker Mitch Sherman flew through the A-gap for a TFL.

Nebraska’s special teams issues continue

For the second-straight game, the Cornhuskers muffed the opening kickoff and will start inside their own 10-yard line. Ohio State recorded a TFL on the next play, and then sacked Dylan Raiola on third down — equalling their TFL total from the entire Oregon game.

Nebraska’s special teams have been a disaster for two seasons under Matt Rhule.

Buckeyes down a pair of starters

Ohio State will be without starting left tackle Josh Simmons for the rest of the season after the veteran was injured in the loss to Oregon. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes will also be without starting safety Lathan Ransom on Saturday. Ransom is second on the team in tackles (29) and has 4.5 tackles for loss with two forced fumbles.

Final Nebraska vs. Ohio State spread, O/U

Ohio State has won seven-straight games against Nebraska, and is 44-0 against unranked teams under Ryan Day. The Buckeyes are 22.5-point favorites, with the O/U set at 48.5.