NCAAF

Nebraska Cornhuskers at Ohio State Buckeyes

· NCAA - Football
5-3, 1-2 Away
Final
17 - 21
6-1, 5-0 Home

Will Howard throws for 3 touchdowns, but No. 4 Ohio State is sloppy in 21-17 win over Nebraska

The numbers behind Ohio State's win over Nebraska

The Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) bounced back from their loss to Oregon two weeks ago but sure didn't look like the well-oiled machine they are supposed to be in scuffling with a nearly four-touchdown underdog.

“It wasn’t perfect, but a win’s a win,” Howard said. “And we were able to show that when the going gets tough, and when maybe things aren’t going our way, we’re able to win in the fourth quarter. I think our defense did an unbelievable job of getting some stops, making some really big plays in that fourth quarter and getting us a chance to go down there and put that last one in and give us the lead.”

The Cornhuskers (5-3, 2-3) kept it close all day. John Hohl kicked three field goals before Dante Dowdell's touchdown early in the fourth quarter gave them a brief lead. Ohio State converted just 1 of 10 third downs, punted five times, gave up the ball on downs, missed a field goal and survived a Howard interception.

Dowdell's 1-yard run and a 2-point conversion put the Huskers up 17-14. The Buckeyes got the lead back with 6:04 left when Howard threw Quinshon Judkins.

Nebraska's had the ball near midfield on its final possession after Arvell Reese was ejected for targeting for his hit on receiver Jahmal Banks. The Huskers were called for a false start and lost yards on consecutive plays before Dylan Raiola was off target with a pass intended for Isaiah Neyor and Hancock picked it off.

Howard knelt three times to run out the clock.

The Huskers had a chance to take the lead in the third quarter when Malcolm Hartzog Jr.'s interception and 34-yard return set them up at the Ohio State 7. On fourth-and-goal from the 2, Davison Igbinosun and Cody Simon plugged the middle to stop Dowdell short of the goal line.

“Yeah, that’s definitely a drive that we wish we could have finished off,” Raiola said. “I think we had our best play called. We just came up a little short and that’s what it is right now. And we’ll make sure that we hit those plays coming in the future.”

The takeaway Nebraska: The Huskers surely played better than last week when they were drubbed 56-7 by Indiana but were denied a sixth win that would have made them bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Nebraska has lost 27 straight against Top 25 opponents and 18 straight against ranked opponents on the road.

“I thought our defense was dominant all day, save three plays," Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said, referring to Howard's three touchdown passes.

Ohio State: The Buckeyes were largely one-dimensional, running for just 64 yards with no explosive plays from stars Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. They avoided their first home loss in 10 years against an unranked opponent (Virginia Tech).

“Give Nebraska credit and the job they did," Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “They had a hard time the week before. We knew they were going to come out and play us really hard.”

Making history Jeremiah Smith in stride for a 60-yard touchdown in the first half. That was his eighth receiving touchdown, tying him with Cris Carter for most among freshmen in school history.

Carnell Tate in the first half. He finished 13 for 16 for 221 yards.

Poll implications This game was closer than it should have been, and some voters might penalize the Buckeyes for that.

Injuries Ohio State starting safety Lathan Ransom and tight end Will Kacmarek were sidelined with unspecified injuries. ... Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson was out with a concussion. ... LT Zen Michalski left the game with an injury. Michalski was in the game because of an injury to starter Josh Simmons in the Oregon game.

Up next Nebraska: hosts UCLA next Saturday.

Ohio State: visits No. 3 Penn State next Saturday.

How To Watch

How can I watch Nebraska Cornhuskers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes?
  • TV Channel: Cornhuskers at Buckeyes 2021 College Football, week 9, is broadcasted on FOX.
  • Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Buckeyes: 96.5%
Cornhuskers: 3.5%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

OSU TD 1st Period 0:29 Carnell Tate 40 Yd pass from Will Howard (Jayden Fielding Kick)
NEB FG 2nd Period 10:21 John Hohl 39 Yd Field Goal
OSU TD 2nd Period 8:21 Jeremiah Smith 60 Yd pass from Will Howard (Jayden Fielding Kick)
NEB FG 2nd Period 0:00 John Hohl 54 Yd Field Goal
NEB FG 3rd Period 7:29 John Hohl 47 Yd Field Goal
NEB TD 4th Period 10:47 Dante Dowdell 1 Yd Run (Dylan Raiola Pass to Nate Boerkircher for Two-Point Conversion)
OSU TD 4th Period 6:04 Quinshon Judkins 9 Yd pass from Will Howard (Jayden Fielding Kick)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/158.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNEB https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/ncaa/500/194.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originOSU
18 1st Downs 11
5-16 3rd down efficiency 1-10
0-1 4th down efficiency 1-2
273 Total Yards 285
152 Passing 221
21/33 Comp/Att 13/16
4.6 Yards per pass 13.8
121 Rushing 64
33 Rushing Attempts 31
3.7 Yards per rush 2.1
7-62 Penalties 3-36
1 Turnovers 1
0 Fumbles lost 0
1 Interceptions thrown 1
35:07 Possession 24:53

Game Information

Ohio Stadium

Location: Columbus, OH
Attendance: 104,830 · Capacity:
Full Standings

College Football News

Ranking the best players in the college football transfer portal

Ranking the best players in the college football transfer portal

John Mateer, Darian Mensah, Eric Singleton Jr. and Fernando Mendoza are among the best players who have entered the transfer portal. Here are our rankings.

College football transfer portal: Ranking best available QBs

College football transfer portal: Ranking best available QBs

The college football transfer portal is open, and several top quarterbacks are looking for new schools and some have already found theirs. Here are the best available.

Source: Missouri lands former Penn State QB Beau Pribula

Source: Missouri lands former Penn State QB Beau Pribula

Former Penn State quarterback Beau Pribula is set to transfer to Missouri, a source confirmed to ESPN.

College football conferences with the best bowl game records

College football conferences with the best bowl game records

The SEC is a dominant college football powerhouse, especially when it comes to bowl games. See which other conferences also have bowl success.

Sources: Steve Belichick expected to join North Carolina as DC

Sources: Steve Belichick expected to join North Carolina as DC

Steve Belichick is expected to join father Bill Belichick's North Carolina staff as the Tar Heels' defensive coordinator, sources told ESPN.