Ohio State Football’s Performance Against Nebraska Wasn’t Up to Par.
Ryan Day and Ohio State football narrowly avoided a setback on Saturday, securing a 21-17 win against unranked Nebraska in Columbus.
While the coach expressed dissatisfaction with his team’s overall performance, he acknowledged their resilience in overcoming a late push from the Huskers. “Ultimately, you need to win in the fourth quarter. We were down by three, put together a drive, scored a touchdown, and the defense made a crucial stop. That’s how you win these games,” Day remarked.
In this matchup, the Buckeyes’ success came from their ability to connect on intermediate and deep passes. Quarterback Will Howard completed 13 of 16 passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns, despite throwing an interception. He notably connected on a 40-yard touchdown to Carnell Tate and a 60-yard touchdown to Jeremiah Smith.
“I thought the execution on the deep ball to Carnell was significant, and the throw to Jeremiah was really well done. The timing was perfect—a good throw and a great catch,” Day noted. “We struggled with our running game, so that play-action pass to Carnell helped us gain crucial yardage.”
Nebraska’s defensive line managed to apply pressure on Howard and contained Ohio State’s rushing attack, recording two sacks and limiting the Buckeyes to just 64 rushing yards on 31 attempts. Day admitted that the offensive line’s performance was concerning.
“I need to review the film to understand what happened. Frankly, it’s not good enough. We have to establish the run, and we didn’t do that today, which put our defense in tough situations. We were just 1-for-10 on third downs and 1-for-2 on fourth downs,” he said.
On the defensive side, Ohio State made key stops, including a fourth-and-goal stop from their own two-yard line and a late interception of freshman quarterback Dylan Raiola to secure the win. Day praised his defense for stepping up when necessary.
“I think our defense responded excellently. I liked our energy and how we were getting lined up. There’s a lot to build on moving forward. Offensively, we need to improve in some areas, especially with a big game against Penn State coming up,” he stated.
In a controversial moment from the game, Day chose not to comment on a targeting call against an Ohio State defensive back that resulted in a 15-yard penalty after a reception by Nebraska, which also led to a sideline warning for the Buckeyes due to their reaction.
Looking ahead, Ohio State prepares for another high-stakes matchup against Penn State, while Nebraska gears up for a game against UCLA in Lincoln.
