After two weeks of preparation, the #10 Ohio State Buckeyes held on to a 36-31 win against a two-win team Nebraska, but it was an ugly game from start to finish.
Now the question is whether the Buckeyes can hold on the next two weeks against two 5-3 teams, Michigan State and Maryland, and be prepared at the end of the month to take on the 8-1 team from up north that absolutely destroyed Penn State today 42-7.
The Buckeyes seemed lethargic from the opening kickoff, as Adrian Martinez led Nebraska straight down the field on its opening possession of the game, running the ball seven times for 46 yards and completing his first three passes for 25 yards before Devine Ozigbo capped off the 12-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.
The Buckeyes can point to injuries on defense as part of the problem.
But the coaching staff has known for a while that it isn’t getting Nick Bosa back, and it has refused to make adjustments schematically to take advantage of the personnel on hand.
If Ohio State struggled against Nebraska’s offense, one must ponder how they’ll do without significant corrections when they meet better teams.
It didn’t help that Junior captain Jordan Fuller, one of the most prominent leaders on the team and the anchor of the defense at safety, was ejected in the second quarter in a questionable call.
The Huskers entered the game an 18-point underdog, but had the lead 21-16 at the break.
The game was going so poorly for Urban Meyer and the Buckeyes that rare boos could be heard throughout Ohio Stadium as the teams went to the locker room at halftime.
Quarterback Dwayne Haskins did break Ohio State’s single-season record for pass completions, surpassing the previous record of 240 set by J.T. Barrett last year.
Buckeyes tailback J.K. Dobbins also turned in one of his most complete performances of the season.
Eventually, in the third quarter, the more talented team found its footing and ended up holding on to the lead.
But on the heels of a blowout loss and a bye, the Buckeyes wanted to come out and send a message that it still belonged among the College Football Playoff contenders.
This win won’t go down as much of a boost to the resumé.
OOPS
The most memorable moment from the game happened when Nebraska’s Caleb Lightbourn had a kickoff literally travel backward, before rolling 1 yard in front of the line of scrimmage and being downed.
I don’t say this to exaggerate or be mean: It’s the worst kickoff I’ve ever seen, and I’m reasonably confident it will be the worst kickoff you’ve ever seen, too. Look at it:
Nebraska football 2018 pic.twitter.com/oprzxTetAy
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) November 3, 2018
NOTE: 104,245 was the official attendance for Saturday’s game.
The Buckeyes had custom black cleats to go with the black helmet and black jersey they wore Saturday, and they have NBA superstar and Ohio native LeBron James of the Los Angeles Lakers to thank.
LeBron Tweeted a photo of the cleats on Thursday:
That #OH #IO ???? @ohiostatefb #GoBucks? #StriveForGreatness? pic.twitter.com/iRLvbqOpD8
— LeBron James (@KingJames) November 1, 2018
Urban Meyer tweeted back a thank you to “King James.”
Thank you @KingJames !! https://t.co/k9bAdU9tOK
— Urban Meyer (@OSUCoachMeyer) October 29, 2018
One thing that was perfect during Saturday’s game was The Best Damn Band In The Land, which provided another halftime show worthy of an award: