Nebraska vs. Ohio State: Keys to victory, HuskerOnline score predictions for Saturday
COLUMBUS, Ohio – The Nebraska (5-2, 2-2) football team will try to get back on track as it travels to Columbus to take on No. 4-ranked Ohio State (6-1, 2-1).
The Buckeyes and the Huskers are trying to bounce back after losses to Oregon and Indiana, respectively. As things get closer to kickoff, here are today’s keys to victory for the Big Red.
NU enters today’s game as a 25.5-point underdog to OSU. Today’s game is set for an 11 a.m. CT kickoff on FOX.
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KEYS TO VICTORY: Nebraska vs. Ohio State
KEY 1: Getting off the field on third down
For Nebraska to have a chance today at Ohio State, its defense must get off the field and not get worn down by long scoring drives. That was a huge issue a week ago, as the Blackshirts could not win on third down.
KEY 2: Find a running game
How will Nebraska run the football today? What new wrinkles might we see from the Husker offense? Might we see QB Heinrich Haarberg continue to play a role in the offense?
KEY 3: Tackling in space
Nebraska has been a great tackling team for most of this season, but that was not the case last week in Bloomington. The Huskers need to do a much better job against the run and avoid overplaying run assignments and reads.
KEY 4: Explosive plays
As head coach Matt Rhule said this week, the Husker offense has been great at putting eight and nine-play scoring drives together. However, they need more four-play scoring drives. Everything has been so hard for the Husker offense, and they have to find more explosive plays.
KEY 5: Put pressure on Ohio State
Believe it or not, Ohio State is under a lot of pressure after its recent loss at Oregon. There are questions about this Buckeye defense, as they have not been great at pressuring quarterbacks and getting off the field. NU needs to find a way to get some early momentum in this game and put pressure on the Buckeyes.
EXPERT TAKES
Sean Callahan – HuskerOnline Pubisher
Nebraska will play better against Ohio State than a week ago, but the Buckeyes are too complete of a team in all three phases. After a tight first half, OSU will pull away in the second half.
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Ohio State 38, Nebraska 17
Steven Sipple – HuskerOnline columnist
As Matt Rhule stated this week, Chip Kelly will find a way to run the ball. That’s concerning for Nebraska, as Ohio State can play bully ball mixed with a dynamic passing game. As for Nebraska’s offense, it’s time to get Heinrich Haarberg more involved as Marcus Satterfield looks for something, anything to get points on the board.
Ohio State 42, Nebraska 17
Robin Washut – HuskerOnline senior writer
Last week at Indiana was a disaster in every sense for Nebraska. Odds are this Saturday won’t be much better. Ohio State is on a different level than anything the Huskers have seen this season, even the Hoosiers. If NU struggles with turnovers and tackling again, this could be another lopsided defeat.
Ohio State 42, Nebraska 14
Andy Kendeigh – KETV ABC-Omaha
The bounce-back bowl. Which team can bounce back better? Can Nebraska flush out the worst loss of the Matt Rhule era? Or will this be Ohio State’s week coming off a bye after that brutal, last-second loss at Oregon? This will be the third time this season Nebraska is a homecoming opponent, which is usually done by design.
Ohio State 37, Nebraska 13
Jim Rose – 1110 KFAB Radio-Omaha
Billion-dollar question in Lincoln: Was the debacle at Indiana a one-off or the start of something? My hunch is the former. Too many athletes in Husker Red to forecast another dismal November. Parity has arrived in CFB. Few are great. Few are bad. A bunch is good enough to win against anybody any week. Don’t think the script will be flipped this week along the banks of Olentangy River. The hairless nuts have been stewing over that loss in Eugene for 13 days which means NU gets them at the wrong time. But you watch, the Huskers will make this a tougher game than the oddsmakers forecast.
Ohio State 31, Nebraska 21
Mike’l Severe – Big Red Wrap-Up
We all know the numbers. OSU is the second-best scoring and total offense in the B1G and first in both those categories on the defensive side. The Buckeyes have PFF’s highest-rated running back room as well. But there is something they haven’t been great at: PFF credits OSU with 15.5 pressures per game, ranking them ninth in the Big Ten. Nebraska needs some relief since it has been allowing pressure on more than a third of its dropbacks.
If the Huskers can pressure Will Howard, while having some success going after the Buckeyes secondary and keep it close as long as possible, then you never know.
Ohio State 37, Nebraska 12
HuskerOnline Week 9 Score Predictions
| Week 9 | Sean Callahan | Steven Sipple | Robin Washut | Andy Kendeigh | Jim Rose | Mike’l Severe |
| Nebraska at Ohio State (-25.5) | 38-17 OSU | 42-17 OSU | 42-14 OSU | 37-13 OSU | 31-21 OSU | 37-12 OSU |
| Washington at Indiana (-6.5) | 38-31 Indiana | 38-20 Indiana | 31-21 Indiana | 38-30 Indiana | 31-17 Indiana | 34-31 Wash. |
| Penn State at Wisconsin (+6.5) | 27-24 Wisconsin | 31-20 PSU | 28-20 PSU | 28-17 PSU | 28-14 PSU | 27-13 PSU |
| Michigan State at Michigan (-5.5) | 24-20 Mich. | 27-24 MSU | 24-17 Mich. | 23-19 Mich. | 24-17 Mich. | 23-20 Mich. |
| Maryland at Minnesota (-4.5) | 31-27 Minn. | 19-17 Minn. | 27-21 Minn. | 24-17 Minn. | 31-21 Minn. | 26-20 Minn. |
| LSU at Texas A&M (-3.5) | 37-30 TAMU | 31-24 TAMU | 30-23 LSU | 28-24 TAMU | 38-31 TAMU | 28-27 LSU |
HuskerOnline Score Prediction Standings
| Picker | Straight Up | Vs. Spread | Cumulative |
| Andy Kendeigh | 31-17 | 29-19 | 60 |
| Robin Washut | 29-19 | 24-24 | 53 |
| Sean Callahan | 26-22 | 27-21 | 53 |
| Mike’l Severe | 28-20 | 24-24 | 52 |
| Jim Rose | 29-19 | 19-29 | 48 |
| Steven Sipple | 26-22 | 20-28 | 46 |
Sean Callahan can be reached at [email protected] and is heard daily at 6:45 am and 5:05 pm on Big Red Radio 1110 KFAB in Omaha during the football season. He can also be seen on KETV Channel 7 in Omaha during the fall, and each week, he appears on Nebraska Public Media’s Big Red Wrap-Up Tuesdays at 7 pm.
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