Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Ohio State
Well, it’s game day again and Nebraska is in Columbus this time to face Ohio State.
Well, it’s game day again and Nebraska is in Columbus this time to face Ohio State. The Buckeyes are coming into the matchup following a bye week — everyone1 has a bye week before Nebraska it seems — and a loss to No. 1 Oregon the week before.
More specifically, a 32-31 loss. So, Ohio State is pretty ticked and here come the Huskers.
However, Nebraska is also coming into this matchup with its own bone to pick. In this case, it was a 56-7 loss to No. 13 Indiana. Head coach Matt Rhule told reporters after the game that he didn’t see it coming — meaning how his team would play in the matchup — and eventually had to clarify his point.
“If I saw this coming, then you guys should all be very nervous,” Rhule said on Monday. “I thought we were going to play well, and I thought we had a great bye week. I’m telling you, we legitimately worked on these things over and over. Now, sometimes, I mean no one’s going to want to hear this, sometimes maybe we’ll show up this week. Maybe we’ll show up next week. These are not things we haven’t done all year, all spring. We got to that moment and just didn’t do the things I know we’re capable of doing. I hate when coaches walk in after a game and say, ‘Hey, that’s on me’ but I really felt that way because I know what we’re capable of doing and we didn’t do it.
“We just weren’t ready for that moment. We weren’t ready for that game.”
Now Nebraska had quite the challenge ahead on Saturday. The Huskers are 25.5-point underdogs to the Buckeyes, which is rough. The reality is that Ohio State is 44-0 against unranked opponents under head coach Ryan Day, so it’s going to be a big mountain for Nebraska to climb on Saturday. However, it seems likely the Blackshirts we’ve seen more often than not should show up on Saturday.
The question though is how does Nebraska’s offense respond on the road?
Everything you need to know for Nebraska-Ohio State:
TV Channel: Fox (Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt, Jenny Taft)
Date: Saturday, Oct. 26
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network
Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Weather: Partly cloudy skies. High of 62 degrees. Winds N at 5 to 10 mph.
Line: Ohio State -25.5
Over/Under: 48.5
Notable quotes:
Matt Rhule on Ohio State:
“They have no weakness. They’re probably one of the top two or three rosters in football and a great coaching staff and great schemes. It’s just one of those deals where you have to go play well. It starts with the simple things, things we’ve talked about all year. Last week was the first week we didn’t win the turnover battle. So, it ends up the way it ends up. You come back this week and you don’t reinvent yourself. You say ‘We have to win the turnover battle.’ Coming out of the bye week, on offense, we talked a lot about getting better on third down. We were 7-of-16 on third down last week. I just think Ohio State is a great team. It’s a great opportunity for our guys. We have a lot of really, really, really good football players – guys who are going to play for a long time in the National Football League, both seniors and freshmen. You have a chance to go challenge yourself against the best, where you are, and develop it from there. I don’t think it’s any one specific thing, other than we have to go play well.”
Ohio State coach Ryan Day on facing Nebraska after the bye week and the Buckeyes’ first loss of the season:
"It was a long week for all of us, and a lot of hours in here talking about it. You sit on it and you chew on it. Then eventually you move on and you look forward and that's kind of where we are."
Defensive coordinator Tony White on watching the Indiana game film:
“The guys were executing, but there were things that I didn’t like. They were completely stupid. It’s about the manner in which you do things. There are always calls you want back. At the end of the day, we need to make sure that we have that confidence and have the guys running around with their hair on fire. I didn’t do a good enough job of that last week.”
Defensive back Isaac Gifford on Ohio State:
“You have to be physical from the jump when they have a lot of guys that can make plays. You have to be sound in your technique and physical and play fast. They are a great team and it’s gonna be a lot of fun to play them.”
Quarterback Dylan Raiola on how the Indiana loss affected him:
“I don’t think it’s difficult. It’s not like it’s our last game of the season. We got punched in the mouth and it’s as simple as that. Adjust the issues, fix them and move on. It stung. It stung for the weekend. It felt good to get back out there yesterday and clean up the things you messed up and move on to our next opponent.”2
Other games we’re watching this week:
(All games in CT)
Erin
No. 12 Notre Dame at No. 24 Navy, 11 a.m., ABC
Prior to 2020 — when Covid interrupted many long-standing matchups — Notre Dame and Navy had played every year from 1927-2019. Lot of history in his one. The Irish hold an 80-13-1 all-time advantage, and the Midshipmen have won only once against Notre Dame in the past 10 years. And look — I could go into all the specifics about how Navy and its offense are the real deal, or how Notre Dame has looked dominant recently. I’ll leave you with this instead: I expect this to be a close one, and that sounds really fun.
No. 5 Texas at No. 25 Vanderbilt, 3:15 p.m., SEC Network
Vanderbilt is ranked for the first time since 2013, and Texas is looking for redemption after its loss to Georgia. Last week I gave you some fun facts about Texas that ended up not turning out so hot in the end. With that said, I will offer up this fun fact about Vanderbilt: Prior to this season, the Commodores were 0-60 all time against AP-ranked top five teams. Can they make it happen for a second time in one season?
Michigan State at Michigan, 6:30 p.m., BTN
What is there even to say about this one? Michigan is trending down, while Michigan State is trending up? I don’t know, this feels like it potentially has chaos written all over it. Or, it might be the blandest game of the week. Who knows! What we do know is this is the first matchup between the two since 2008 where at least one team isn’t ranked. Whoever comes out on top gets to take home the Paul Bunyan Trophy, and that’s a good trophy. Have at it, you two!
Brandon
Washington at No. 13 Indiana, 11 a.m., BTN
Well, let's see how this week's Indiana looks as a 6-point home favorite, shall we? The Hoosiers will be without starting QB Kurtis Rourke and Washington's coming off a bye week, so I'm intrigued here. Most of the power ratings have the Huskies rated similar to Nebraska, a fact I hesitate to mention because if Indiana doesn't decimate UW it will be talked about in NU circles. For me, it's just another layer of interest in this one.
No. 20 Illinois at No. 1 Oregon, 2:30 p.m., CBS
Can the Illini provide a real challenge in Eugene? Oregon's playing its fifth-straight game after an early bye, and I'm guessing the Ducks' overall quality (-21.5) ultimately wins out. But, this is a good opportunity for Illinois to show it's more than just a back-half of the top 25 team. No shame in that, to be clear. Assuming a loss in this one, Illinois finishes with Minnesota, Michigan State, at Rutgers and Northwestern at Wrigley Field. The Illini could be favored in all of those games, meaning we might be looking at 10-2 Illinois with the two losses to Penn State and Oregon on the road.
No. 3 Penn State at Wisconsin, 6:30 p.m., NBC
Guess I'll just keep it all in the Big Ten this week. (My old Big 12 self is so ashamed, and the Big Eight me doesn't even recognize this version of myself.) Let's see if the Wisconsin of the last three games--outscored opponents 117-16 in three easy wins--is indeed the new Wisconsin. Penn State is, as always, talented and is handling its business against teams it should beat, but we also know the Nittany Lions as one of the more gettable top teams from recent seasons. Camp Randall at night is no joke, and Wisconsin is looking at a treacherous road from here on out: at Iowa, Oregon, at Nebraska then home for a rivalry game with Minnesota.
OK, not everyone but it feels like a lot of teams have a bye week right before facing the Huskers. Indiana, now Ohio State. In fact, UCLA — Nebraska’s next opponent — has a bye week this week. What timing!
I typically include a quote from offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield, but there was only one quote I could have included this week without it looking like I was omitting something and, well . . . You know the quote. I won’t rehash it for you in this game day newsletter. You’re welcome!