First Half

The Buckeyes won the toss and deferred, which gave Nebraska the first offensive possession of the game.  On the opening kickoff, the Special Teams unit began the game with another error with another free-kick out of bounds penalty that put Nebraska at their 35-yard line.

The Buckeye defense then stepped out on the field and forced a Nebraska punt, but their offense was pinned inside of their 5-yard line.  J.T. Barrett relied heavily on the run game but was also 4-5 despite the windy weather conditions, but J.K. Dobbins scored his 5th TD of the year on a 52-yard sweep toward the left side of the line and broke free with his speed and a well-timed stiff arm before marching into the end zone.

Nick Bosa barely missed an opportunity for another strip sack, but the defense turned Nebraska away once again, but on the ensuing punt return the Buckeyes were flagged for holding which negated the good field position.

With that penalty, the Buckeyes begin another drive in less than desirable field position, but Barrett was ready this drive.  He was 2-3 for 20 yards and he showed the willingness to air it out with a deep shot that fell incomplete.  He was more effective on the ground rushing for 18-yards to convert on a 3rd down before scampering for 6 yards for 6 more points.

The Buckeye offense is clicking after scoring on 96-yard and 85-yard drives.  Nebraska looked more efficient and engineered a drive into Buckeye territory, but a questionable holding call shuts the door on a scoring opportunity before another punt.

Barrett took the field position and drove another 80 yards for another score, this time to K.J. Hill for 16-yards on a drag route.  The Buckeye defense then stuffed another 3rd and short and got Nebraska to punt again.

On this long, 71 yard drive, Ohio State came out with another balanced attack where he mixed it up between Weber runs and with bullets to Victor before airing it out for 31-yards to McLaurin on a great corner route putting the Buckeyes up 28-0.

Stanley Morgan Jr makes his first catch of the game nearly midway through the second quarter for 8-yards.  Shortly after Big Play Baker ruined a swing pass to Ozigbo and got a huge lick in on the running back.  J.D. Spillman nearly scored on a 30-yards but was brought down by a shoelace tackle from Jordan Fuller.

J.D. Spillman nearly scored on a 30-yards but was brought down by a shoelace tackle from Jordan Fuller.  Fuller was targeted a lot on the Nebraska drive but was turned away while attempting to pick on him on a 4th down attempt.

Barrett took shot after shot, showing patience in the pocket and he found his receivers before taking it in the end zone for another rushing TD to put the Buckeyes up 35-0 with a little over a minute left in the half.

At the break, Ohio State leads 35-0 holding Nebraska to 116 total yards of offense and just 5 first downs.  Ohio State ends the half with 366 yards of offense and 22 first downs.

Second Half

Barrett continued the onslaught after taking another long drive for a score with a 9 play 75-yard drive.  He found Baugh for a big gain before hitting Berry on a corner route to add to the lead.

Nebraska beat the zone defense for a big-play by J.D. Spillman, who has had been the lone playmaker for the Cornhuskers for a 77-yard score.  He has 5 catches and he has been hurting the Buckeyes and has 143 yards so far.

The theme of the game is long, extended drives from the Buckeyes.  Barrett had another that ended this 75-yard drive with a pass to Marcus Baugh for an 18-yard score after beating man coverage.

The Buckeyes surrendered their first pass interference penalty after Sheffield was caught grabbing at the jersey.  Not a bad mistake, but at least the improvement is evident.  Afterwards, Ozigbo took a screen for 35-yards to the Buckeye 20.  Morgan made a nice grab after a mistimed jump by Ward to make it 49-14.

Barrett responds with a 15 play, 66-yard drive, that chewed up the clock before finding Hill for another red zone TD for what should be his 5th and final TD of the game.  He should finish with 325 yards and 5 TD’s on 27 of 33 attempts and 2 more TD’s with 48-yards on the ground.

Burrow and Haskins made appearances late in the 4th to get some valuable reps.  Amir Riep seals the deal with an interception with no time remaining.  The Buckeyes head toward a bye week before hosting Penn State at home.

Barrett Blossoming?

As J.T. Barrett continues to become more comfortable with the new offensive coaching staff and his playmakers, he still manages to catch flak even though he is winning.  Questions about his lack of accuracy and the scarcity of deep shots downfield, people of all walks of life are still calling for his benching despite the 5-1 start.

Barrett has actually been playing well so far, he is 111-174 for 1513 yards and 16 TD’s against and just a single interception.  He also has 311 rushing yards for 3 TD’s on 60 rushing attempts.  Sure, it has been against mediocre competition but he has improved since that lone loss at home against Oklahoma.

Ohio State ranks 14th in the nation through 6 games this season in passing offense and 7th in team passing efficiency.  Barrett has led his team and for now, is the 4th best scoring offense in the nation, averaging 45.8 PPG for a total of 275 points so far this year.

Barrett will now face a string of tougher opponents and the cupcakes were essentially used to build up his confidence.  The first test will be the contest against Nebraska and their 47th ranked passing defense who has only allowed 7 TD’s this season, 6.74 YPA, 10.44 YPC and 208.8 YPG.  This will not be an easy task, but Barrett seems to be clicking and what better opportunity is there than to test himself in Lincoln.

 Right Guard Reset?

As we all witnessed, starting RG Branden Bowen suffered a major injury and he has been lost for the rest of the season.  This does not bode well for the Buckeyes, as they had trouble keeping Barrett upright last season.

This is an opportunity for Burrell, Knox and Pridgeon to earn playing time, one as a starter and the other in the two-deep.  Burrell came in the game and he did fairly well,  but Urban Meyer was stated that the contest at RG is “wide open”.

I for one thought he did quite well being thrown into the fray, but for Meyer, he wants the best on the field and RG is no exception.  All three players will compete with each other to see who bested the rest.  For now, we can only speculate who wins the competition and if that player can maintain their success.

Turnover/Line Troubles.

Tanner Lee is looking for answers as he limps into this game throwing for 1406 yards and 11 TD’s, but he has also thrown 10 picks and his completion percentage has suffered and stands at 54%.

He will face a rebuilt secondary that has struggled with takeaways, but they blanket the opposing receivers relentlessly, leaving little room for error against the Buckeyes.  Damon Arnette will be out for the first half due to a silly targeting penalty, so Ward, Sheffield and Okudah will be tasked early to stop Morgan, Pierson-El, Spielman, Hoppes and former Buckeye target Tyjon Lindsey.

Collectively they are responsible for 1333 yards and 11 touchdowns, and they will all need to perform to help Tanner Lee out if they want to win this game.

His Offensive Line also needs to help because they have given up 9 sacks and the constant pressure leads him to make terrible decisions.  Ohio State is tied for 19th in the nation in team sacks and has racked up 17 so far.  They will be active and after the Quarterback to give their secondary a shot at turnovers.

Prediction:

I expect Barrett will do his thing and he will continue his trend of not giving the ball away on turnovers.  Another slow burn type of game with the addition of a new RG, but they will piece it together before the half and before blowing the doors down.  Barrett will continue to develop his confidence and he will find a rhythm.

Dobbins and Weber will each have a score and Victor will continue his hot streak and will also find the end zone.  The defense will get at least 3 sacks and 3 turnovers because the pressure will force Lee into some, one of which will go for a score.

The Buckeyes starters will leave mid 3rd quarter to rest for their clash with Penn State, but they will have the game in hand.  This game will be a warm-up without looking ahead to next week to gain traction in the CFB Playoff conversation.

Final:  Ohio State defeats Nebraska 52-20.

• The Buckeyes were completely dominant in this game.  The Defensive Line has an army, and they showed why they are considered to be a Top 5 unit.  They lived in the Rutgers backfield for the entirety of the game.
• Offensive Onslaught, 628-209!  The Buckeye offense looked poised and confident, two things that lacked early on in the season.  Now, with the offense seemingly clicking, the Buckeyes will continue to build on their success so far this season.
• QB and RB Depth.  Barrett, Burrow, Haskins and Martell, and Dobbins, McCall, Weber and Williams.  The depth at Ohio State is crazy, but it is a good problem to have.  Barrett had another good game, Haskins and Burrow showed that they can lead, and Martell waits for his name to be called with Emory Jones coming in after Barrett says goodbye.  The QB battle will be fierce.  Weber scored his first three touchdowns of the year, Dobbins was his usual self, running hard, and McCall lit it up and scored twice, his first two of the year and racked up 138 all-purpose yards.  Williams was unable to make the trip to New Jersey and Master Teague and Jaelin Gill will be coming in next year and the depth will once again be a trendy topic.
• Penalty Monster.  The penalty monster appeared again and it has hurt the Buckeyes a ton this season.  Prior to the game, they were second in the nation in penalty yardage.  This game was no different as they were penalized 10 times for 106 yards with the targeting play on Jahsen Wint being the most notable one.  There was some improvement in this category though because there were no defensive pass interference and holding penalties on the corners.
• Dixon, Zone 6 Revival.  After multiple seasons of being injured and almost walking away from the game he loves, Dixon showed the nation how talented he is and can be.  He is improving on his craft is starting to impose his will and gain separation.  The rest of Zone 6 has also improved.  Their confidence is rising and they are beginning to help Barrett’s as well.  They need to continue to improve cause their schedule will get harder as time goes by.

First Half:

The Buckeyes began the game with the ball first, but their playcalling was sporadic, and it resulted in a game-opening punt on their first possession.  Their defense stepped up to stop the Scarlet Knights on their own first drive.

On Ohio State’s next possession, J.T. Barrett rattled off a huge run for 37 yards to put him over the 10,000-yard mark to be the first Buckeye to meet that mark.  As they inched closer toward the end zone, Mike Weber punched it in for his first touchdown of the season for the first score of the game.  On their third possession, they were forced to punt once again.

On the next Rutgers drive, they benefited from a bad punt by Chrisman, but they were backed up further after a block in the back penalty.  Rutgers drove the ball inside of the Ohio State 20-yard line, but they were turned away by the defense after Tracy Sprinkle tipped a pass to Dante Booker for the spinning interception.

On the ensuing possession, the offense was clicking as Barrett found his receivers and his Tight End for short pass plays.  J.K. Dobbins also flashed his speed and power as he broke off a 34-yard run on a 3rd and 2 to the Rutgers 44 yard line.  Mike Weber rotated in and scored on another short run to push the lead to 14-0.

After a combination of punts between both teams, J.T. Barrett caught a Rutgers defensive back looking into the backfield and before you know it, Johnnie Dixon was left by himself and he took the ball 70-yards for another Buckeye touchdown.  Dixon stayed hot and tippy-toed the sideline for another long score of 39-yards to extend the lead to 28-0.

Right before halftime, Weber scored for the third time as the Buckeyes take a commanding 35-0 lead after the half.  The yardage discrepancy was encouraging for the Buckeyes.  They led 336-77 in total offensive yardage.

Second Half:

The Defense picked up where they left off as they forced another Rutgers punt to open the second half.  Coincidentally, the Buckeyes were turned down on 4th down on the Rutgers 40, but they were just looking to run some time off the clock.

On the next Rutgers play their backup quarterback threw behind his receiver then Ward picked the ball off for their second turnover of the game.  The Buckeyes then had a 60 yarder to Dixon that was taken away because he pushed off, but the drive was eventually capped off after Barrett found Victor for a 23-yard strike.

The Rutgers then found themselves in Ohio State territory after a screen pass was successful. The Buckeye defense then stiffined up in the Red Zone as they turned away Rutgers on 4th down. Barrett finished the game with around 4 minutes remaining in the game, giving Haskins more reps for Ohio State.  He finished 14 for 22 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns and 10 rushes for 89 yards.

Barrett finished the game with around 4 minutes remaining in the game, giving Haskins more reps for Ohio State.  He finished 14 for 22 for 275 yards and 3 touchdowns and 10 rushes for 89 yards.

Haskins took some time to get a rhythm, but he eventually lofted a pass to Demario McCall on a wheel route for a 35-yard score to add to the route, 49-0.

On 3rd and 7, Jahsen Wint committed a costly targeting penalty that gave Rutgers first down yards.  It only adds to the penalty tally, but younger players will learn.  The defense forced another punt that nearly was fumbled away by McCall, but they regained possession at the Ohio State 2 yard line.

Joe Burrow came into salt the game away and with less than 10 minutes left in the 4th quarter, Ohio State is looking to run time off of the clock.  The drive took 3:23 but it featured the forgotten man in Tote Nation Demario McCall.  He racked up 80 rushing yards as he ran for 48 yards for his second touchdown of the game and the season.  For the game, McCall has 11 carries for 103 yards and a catch for 35 yards for two total touchdowns.

Rutger drove the ball with 13 plays, which is the most plays called against the Buckeyes, but they were turned away after Hart missed a field goal in Buckeye territory.  Game Buckeyes.  This is the second shutout of Rutgers, last year 58-0 and this year 56-0.