Ohio State takes their No. 5 ranking and 4-0 record into Lincoln, Nebraska to face the 3-1 Cornhuskers.
The Buckeyes are a 17.5-point favorite this week. The last time they lost a game when they were favored by this much was 2017 at Iowa. It also happened the year before that at Penn State.
Nebraska is undoubtedly on the upswing, but how far along are they in their follow through? For that, we turn to Brandon Cavanaugh (@eightlaces), who covers the Huskers for Athlon.
In fact, you can check out his most recent piece, which is a guide to upsetting the Buckeyes.
As with all Q & A’s, this one conforms to the International Guild of Q & A guidelines in that the questions come from me and the answers come from Brandon.
Let’s get started.
1. Nebraska has fumbled the ball more than anybody else in the nation (14) and lost more fumbles than anybody else (9). What has been the cause of all of these fumbles?
This has been interesting considering Scott Frost’s days under Tom Osborne. Of course, ball security was a major emphasis with their use of option football. Adrian Martinez has carried the football in a reckless way at times as he tries to set up for the longer throws he’s capable of.
As a result, the ball’s out there in space and can easily pop out or be knocked free. With running back Dedrick Mills, I think it’s more a case of getting comfortable with the speed of FBS. He wants to be dynamic and he can be. The problem is that switching the ball over, spinning, etc. looks to be both unnecessary and dangerous right now.
He’s a good back learning the intricacies of what he’s being asked to do. But like with most JUCO transfers, there’s going to be a learning curve and I feel we’re seeing that.
2. Which is the real Huskers run defense — the first three games or the Illinois game?
A really good question. The first three games were bumpy, but defensive coordinator Erik Chinander is coming into his own defending the run overall. Going up against Reggie Corbin was a great thing for him and the Blackshirts. While Corbin is no J.K. Dobbins, Jonathan Taylor, etc., it gave him an opportunity to clamp down on a quality running back.
Barring an early 66-yard scamper by Corbin last week, he did that, which should be encouraging for Nebraska fans. I anticipate struggles with Dobbins and Taylor, naturally. That said, the Husker defensive linemen are deep and Chinander has utilized his fronts well thus far.
3. Where do you see Nebraska’s biggest advantage?
I feel that’s probably the back seven/eight versus Justin Fields. Fields is an absolutely tremendous athlete. We all know this. However, his high throws could come back to bite him against this secondary.
The loss of Deontai Williams at safety has stung, but we’ve seen the emergence of Cam Taylor-Britt as a result. He can be hit or miss at times but when he hits, he makes an impact.
The Blackshirt defensive backs communicate well. If they notice Fields not quite getting what he wants, coupled with the opportunity to create a tip drill, Nebraska should feel good about forcing a turnover. And they need those both early and often.
4. The offensive line has had issues this season, how would you assess their play so far?
How to put this delicately? Following Nebraska’s loss to Colorado, Huskers offensive line coach Greg Austin said of the line’s play, “It wasn’t even a frickin’ technique deal. It was a getting-your-ass-out-of-your-
So, there’s been some pretty significant hiccups. I will say that true freshman tight end-turned center Cameron Jurgens has really exceeded all expectations, but it’s been shaky aside from him. Interior blocking has been rough. Surprisingly, left tackle Brendan Jaimes has struggled mightily at times and right tackle Matt Farniok still has issues with players cutting past his left pocket.
To assert themselves in this game, they need to be more motivated than ever. Whether that’s because of pride or hearing that Buckeyes are saying nasty things about their significant others, whatever works. They’ve simply got to be pissed and firing on all cylinders.
5. How has the back seven (back eight?) been tackling and covering this year? Do you think OSU will be facing man or zone or both on Saturday?
Coming into 2019, I felt the linebacker corps would be an issue, primarily on the outside (Nebraska runs a 3-4 set for your readers who aren’t familiar). There’s way too much overpursuit. Tackling is streaky. If a player is able to make Nebraska’s outside linebackers miss, the possibility of getting a chunk play out of it is real far too often.
They’re making progress, though. Just not at the rate Chinander would like. Surprisingly, Mohamed Barry hasn’t quite played to preseason expectations as he’s been making some confusing reads at the line of scrimmage. Ohio State needs to concern themselves with JoJo Domann, though. He’s a hybrid linebacker/safety and plays angry. If all Blackshirts had his fire, I’d say this game would be far tighter than it probably will be.
In terms of coverage from the secondary, it’s been largely good but there have been some major errors (See: the Colorado flea-flicker). I’d expect Ohio State to see multiple looks.
If it was me – and I obviously don’t get paid enough for it to be me – I’d recommend just about anything and everything depending on what the Buckeyes throw at Nebraska. Honestly, I feel even a 4-2-5 or 3-3-5 shouldn’t be ruled out.
But let’s keep in mind that this is a team desperately wanting to knock off likely the most difficult opponent they’ll face this year. Ohio State will not only get the kitchen sink thrown at them on both sides, but the copper wiring from the walls and anything else that can be scrapped.