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Ohio State awards one Player of the Game honor for Nebraska win

Mark Kern

By Mark Kern

Published:

Ohio State had 2 weeks to deal with the Oregon loss and most people expected the Buckeyes to come out and deliver a big-time performance against Nebraska. However, the team has more questions than answers after the loss to Oregon as the Buckeyes had to hang on late to escape with the 21-17 home victory against Nebraska.

Generally, the Buckeyes give out weekly awards to offensive, defensive and special teams players after a game. However, on Sunday, it was only linebacker Cody Simon that received recognition for his play.

Simon was all over the field on Saturday, as he finished with 8 tackles and 3 TFLs. That followed the game against Oregon when he had 10 tackles.

All of Ohio State’s honors are traditionally released on Sunday, so it looks like the Buckeyes are likely passing on honors for the offensive and special teams units. The fact that there weren’t any offensive or special teams players receiving recognition isn’t a complete shock as the Buckeyes have done this before.

After the win against Marshall early in the season, there wasn’t a defensive player of the week named. Defensive coordinator Jim Knowles at the time said no one lived up to the standard in that game.

“You got to speak truth,” Knowles said at the time. “While we had some Champions, we had no one that we thought really showed a Silver Bullet of the Game performance.”

This could be used by the coaching staff to try and motivate the team, but there are definitely things the Buckeyes have to get fixed quickly if they are going to have a chance at the College Football Playoff.

Up next is a game at Penn State against the undefeated Nittany Lions, and a loss there all but eliminates the Buckeyes from B1G title hopes.

Mark Kern