The 10th ranked Nebraska Cornhuskers head up to the Horseshoe to play their Big-10 rivals the #6 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes. The game is scheduled to get underway on Saturday, November 5th at 8:00 p.m. ET and will be televised on ABC. The Ohio State is a -17 point favorite to defend their home turf and the game’s total is logged in at 52.5.
Nebraska’s defeat at the hands of the Wisconsin Badgers whittled down their lead in the Big Ten West to one game. To make matters worse, a loss in Columbus could put their chances of going to the Big-10 title game in jeopardy because the Badgers now own the tie-breaker.
#10 Nebraska (7-1):
Nebraska has had some tight games against some suspect opponents recently, and it came to a head in Wisconsin last week. Quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. still might be banged-up, and will need to improve after only completing 12 passes for 153 yards and two picks against the Badgers.
Through some trials and tribulations, Tommy Armstrong Jr. has completed 115 passes for 1,764 yards with 11 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Armstrong Jr. also runs the ball effectively, carrying the pigskin 94 times in 2016 for 419 yards and seven more scores.
Tail backs Terrell Newby and Devine Ozigbo handle the running duties for the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Both have been effective, advancing the chains to the tune of 941 yards on 207 carries and nine scores. Combined with Tommy Johnson Jr., the Cornhuskers represent the nation’s 40th ranked rushing offense (204 ypg).
Getting their best wide out Jordan Westerkamp back, should help boost a sputtering passing game that bit Nebraska in the butt last week. After missing most of October with injuries, he still is second on the club in receptions with 16. He also is first on the team with four touchdown grabs,
The Huskers were solid defensively against the Badgers last Saturday. The Black Shirts forced two turnovers for the third straight contest. Senior safety Nathan Gerry picked-off Wisconsin twice and he threw down seven tackles to go them. This year, the Huskers rank 37th against the pass, surrendering only 205 yards a game.
#6 Ohio State (7-1):
Coach Urban Meyer knows that his Buckeyes have not been performing up to par over the last few weeks. As a result, they got beat at Penn State in a white-out and struggled to beat 26 point underdog northwestern at home last week.
Ohio State do have some positives to take into the match-up with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Quarterback J.T. Barrett, a Maxwell Award semifinalist, completed 65 percent of his passes and accounted for almost 300 yards of total offense.
The duel-threat signal-caller has enjoyed quite the year, moving the chains with his arm and his feet. J.T. Barrett has amassed almost 1,700 yards through the air in 2016. He also has added another 531 over the ground. All told, he has reached the back of the end zone an impressive 23 times. Pretty good, considering he has only tossed four interceptions this season.
Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel provide the one-two punch for Urbam Myer’s rushing attack. Together, they have ran the ball 200 times for over 1,300 yards and have 11 touchdowns to show for it.
J.T. Barrett isn’t picky about who he throws the ball around to. Six different receivers have at least one touchdown grab and four have caught double-digit passes. The tail backs get their hands dirty with the rest of the receivers. In fact, Curtis Samuel leads the Buckeyes in receptions with 46 and yards with 539.
The heart and soul of this Buckeye team is it’s defense. Ohio State ranks right up there with the Michigans and the Alabamas of the world. The Buckeyes are allowing only 15 points a game, which is good for 6th in the FBS. They also are impressive against the pass, surrendering only 171 yards a game, which puts them at 9th in the nation.
Trends and Notes:
The Cornhuskers are 14-3 ATS in their last 17 road games.
The Buckeyes are 0-4 ATS in their last 4 games overall.
The Under is 6-0 in the Cornhuskers last 6 games overall.
The Under is 9-2 in Buckeyes last 11 conference games.
Game Prediction:
The Ohio State Buckeyes look to make an example out of the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday. If J.T. Barrett gets going, that could happen quite easily. He shouldn’t have to post the lofty numbers his usually does to get the win, as Nebraska will find it hard to produce much on offense.
The Cornhuskers need a solid bounce back performance against the Buckeyes in this one. They still only have one loss and their chance to sit a top their side of the conference is still within grasp. The Huskers defense is underrated, and they should be fired-up for this one.
Las Vegas bit off more than they could chew, awarding the Buckeyes 17 points at home. Urban Myers squad is not playing at their peak and going up against a blue-collar defense like Nebraska’s won’t help. Tommy Armstrong Jr. finds enough ways to score and the Cornhuskers hold the Buckeyes to respectable figures. Take Nebraska to cover the 17.
