“Come Nov. 1, I always thought, the real contenders come to light…” ~ Earle Bruce, November 1986, after Ohio State defeated Iowa, 31-10.
“We understand November. We understand where we’re at. We understand what’s at stake, and we understand our shortcomings…” ~ Urban Meyer, October 29th, 2018, previewing the Ohio State/Nebraska game.
Urban Meyer has continually and repeatedly stated the importance of his relationship with the late Earle Bruce. Coming off an embarrassing 49-20 loss at Purdue, this game versus Nebraska will provide an opportunity to demonstrate Coach Meyer’s adherence to his devoted mentor’s admonitions about the importance of playing well in November.
Nebraska comes into Ohio Stadium on Saturday afternoon, boasting a two-game winning streak, and an offense that is just as dangerous for Ohio State as Purdue’s was. The biggest difference is Ohio State gets to play Nebraska at home, and that may be crucial in what I believe is going to be a game that is more of the shoot-out variety, rather than the dominating routs over the Cornhuskers that Ohio State fans have seen over the past two seasons.
Below are three critical players for Nebraska I will be focusing upon as the black-garbed Buckeyes take the field at noon.
J.D. Spielman
Nebraska’s leading receiver, with 53 receptions and 7 touchdowns, is averaging 12.9 yards per reception. Dangerous as a receiver, runner, and special teams returner, Spielman needs to be accounted for whenever he is on the field.
In case any Ohio State fans have forgotten, below is a reminder of what Spielman did to the Buckeyes last season…
JD Spielman's 77-Yard Touchdown vs. Ohio State https://t.co/BiWkTfQl2p via @YouTube
— Chip Minnich (@ChipMinnich) November 1, 2018
Nebraska’s Running Game
Nebraska’s running backs Devine Ozigbo (152 yards) and Maurice Washington (109 yards), and quarterback Adrian Martinez (125 yards), rushed for 386 yards against Minnesota on October 20th. That’s the same Minnesota team that was able to keep Ohio State from even cracking 100 yards as a team (92 yards). Ohio State is giving up close to 150 yards on the ground defensively. If Nebraska is able to effectively run on Ohio State, it will only add fuel to the fire of criticism leveled at the Ohio State defensive staff.
Carlos Davis
Listed at 6’2, 325 pounds, Davis lines up at nose guard for Nebraska. Ohio State’s challenges running the ball are well-documented. It will bear watching to see how well Ohio State’s interior offensive line is able to move Davis, as Ohio State tries to get their running game going.
Nebraska should be able to keep this game close. They have a pretty good running game and we are prone to giving up big plays in the run game.
Moreover, Scott Frost can really put a silver lining on his first season at Nebraska by putting up a good performance against OSU… and he knows this and will thus be far more prepared than our coaches for this game. He will definitely do some things we aren’t expecting and you know how that just sends OSU into a tailspin.
Ok Buckeye fans, let’s see your predictions! Put up or shut up! Here’s mine: we get off to a fast start, playing angry and build an early lead, then we relax and return to our sloppy selves, Nebraska makes a run at us but come up short and we win.
Earle Bruce and Urban Meyer will be forever linked together. Do you have to remind us?
Earle was a good guy, his grandson notwithstanding.
I completely agree. Thanks for the comments.
Duly noted. Thanks for the comments.