Ohio State football: Grading Buckeyes after win over Nebraska

Nebraska had a packed house, an ESPN College GameDay atmosphere and perhaps some leftover hope from both a comeback victory over Illinois the previous week and the memory of keeping last year’s game against Ohio State close.

The Buckeyes could not have cared less.

In what was supposed to be Ohio State’s biggest test to date this season, the scarlet and gray dismantled Big Red 48-7 on Saturday at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.

The only thing the Buckeyes offense did not accomplish was to hang half a hundred on ’em — and go an entire game without punting, though Drue Chrisman was not called upon until early in the fourth quarter.

The only thing OSU’s defense did not do was keep a goose egg on the scoreboard. OSU kept Nebraska scoreless until deep into the third quarter. For a while it looked like Nebraska might be shut out at home for the first time since a 12-0 loss to Kansas State in 1968.

It was so hard to find anything wrong with Ohio State’s performance on Saturday that we’re going to deviate slightly from our normal grading format. We’re still going to have 5 things we liked, but instead of 3 things we didn’t like we’re going to list 3 questions OSU will need to answer during the rest of the season based on this game.

5 things I liked

Ball-hawking defensive backs: It’s hard to believe that Buckeyes cornerback Jeffrey Okudah didn’t have an interception in his college career until last week. It’s easier to believe that he has made up for lost time with three picks in the past two games.

Okudah’s highlights against Nebraska were twofold. First he cut off Cornhuskers running back WanDale Robinson on a route and intercepted Adrian Martinez. Pressure from defensive end Chase Young forced Martinez to run to his right, where his pass was far enough behind his intended receiver for Okudah to pick it. Okudah’s second interception was a bit of an accident as he was flat on his back, but credit the junior for having the awareness to reach up and grab a ball tipped by Robinson for a turnover at the OSU 4-yard line.

Add in safety Jordan Fuller’s interception and the night was complete for the OSU secondary, which held Martinez to just 47 yards passing.

Jonathon Cooper’s return: The Buckeyes defensive end missed the first four games with a high ankle sprain. Cooper’s return is most welcome even on a unit which is perhaps the deepest on the entire roster.

The senior started 13 games last season and has 5.5 career sacks. Cooper had one tackle against the Cornhuskers. Defensive tackle Robert Landers also returned after missing the previous week’s game against Miami (Ohio).

Master Teague’s role: The running back has settled in nicely as a change-of-pace option behind starter J.K. Dobbins. Teague had 77 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries against the Cornhuskers, further confirming the widely held belief that he would be a starter for a lot of Power 5 teams. And Teague is not just playing mop-up duty either; both of his scores came in the second quarter when Dobbins was still very much part of the plan.

Dobbins had 177 yards on 24 carries on a night where OSU’s ground game was dominant, gaining 368 rushing yards on 53 carries (6.9 yards per carry) and three TDs, Which leads us to…

Offensive line’s push: The pass protection still is not quite where coach Ryan Day and his staff would probably like it to be; Justin Fields was sacked three times, accounting for minus-21 yards. But the run blocking has been superb and it continued to be that way against Nebraska.

The longest run of the night was a 41-yarder by Fields when the quarterback ran through an absolutely gaping hole in the right side of the Nebraska defense. That started a three-play, 50-yard touchdown drive covering just 57 seconds in the second quarter.

OSU’s line, with left tackle Thayer Munford the only returning starter from 2018, has operated very well and looks like a more veteran unit than it actually is.

Defensive philosophy, execution and consistent fight: The level of competition rose on Saturday (it will get tougher yet down the road) and OSU’s defense rose along with it.

The Buckeyes are both more aggressive and more consistently sound in its positioning under new co-coordinators Greg Mattison and Jeff Hafley. Of Nebraska’s 231 total yards on Saturday, 56 came on one run by Martinez, Nebraska’s dual threat quarterback, in the third quarter. That set up the lone Cornhuskers touchdown and was the only play all night that could really be considered a breakdown.

But Martinez has done that to a lot of teams and will continue to do that to a lot of teams. The larger point is this: Ohio State has allowed 43 points all season. In other words, through five games OSU is averaging more points scored per game (52.4) than it has allowed in total.

3 questions going forward

Any more mobile QBs coming?: After seeing Adrian Martinez rush for 81 yards on 15 carries (really 104 if you subtract the 23 yards that OSU accounted for on four sacks), it’s reasonable for OSU fans to wonder if they will see the likes of him again.

Short answer? No. Martinez leads the Big Ten in rushing yards by a quarterback. Aside from OSU’s Fields, no other B1G signalcaller is ranked in the nation’s top 200 in rushing yards. Next up on the B1G’s QB rushing list is Penn State’s Sean Clifford, who has 167 yards on 32 carries through four games. Something to watch for, but he’s nowhere near the threat that Martinez is with his legs.

Will special teams finally break out?: OSU continues to be just average on special teams. The Buckeyes got 3 yards on two punt returns on Saturday and 46 yards on two kick returns. Granted, if the defense continues to throttle opponents the way it has, the Buckeyes will not get many kick return chances. That is a nice problem to have. But some more explosion on punt returns would be welcome.

Who are OSU’s biggest threats to make the College Football Playoff?: Right now it’s Oklahoma, LSU and whoever wins this Saturday’s Auburn-Florida game. Assuming a top three of Clemson, Alabama and Georgia — and there is no reason not to think that will be the top three when the CFP committee releases its first rankings unless LSU gets in ahead of Georgia — it will continue to be a big fight among some elite programs.

If the Buckeyes keep playing the way they are, it will be really hard for the committee to ignore them, that’s for sure.