The Ohio State Buckeyes ended a 299-day wait and finally returned the football field on Sunday to take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. After a turbulent offseason filled with questions, cancellations, rescheduling, and overall chaos, it was a relief to see the Scarlet and Gray out there again once more. Here’s a recap and some of my thoughts on the Bucks’ 52-17 win from The Shoe.
It was a slow start for the Silver Bullets as Nebraska drove right down the field for a touchdown on the opening drive of the game, which only lasted 4 plays and under 2 minutes, highlighted by a 47 yard run by QB Luke McCaffrey. The Huskers’ QB runs gave the Ohio State defense fits all afternoon long, as Adrian Martinez and McCaffrey combined for 165 yards and a score on the ground. But after that opening series, it was virtually all Buckeyes. QB Justin Fields led his offense right down the field on an 11 play, 75 yard drive lasting 5:05 that ended in a 1-yard score by RB Master Teague, who looked good in his first game as the Bucks’ starting back. Ohio State would force a 3 and out and strike quickly on their next possession for another TD, this time on a dime from Fields to WR Garrett Wilson, who is poised to do massive things in his 2nd year in Columbus.
Wilson and fellow star WR Chris Olave were all over the place, torching the Nebraska secondary to the tune of a combined 13 catches for 233 yards and 1 touchdown. Fields was throwing the ball with confidence and impeccable accuracy all afternoon long, only throwing 1 incompletion all game long. Moreover, that one miss was a drop by Olave in the endzone on what would have been a very, very tough catch. Justin also got it done on the ground, running for a team-high 54 yards, including an impressive 17-yard score. The Bucks defense continued to dominate in the second half, as they forced a fumble on Nebraska’s first possession of the 3rd quarter and returned it for six.
The Buckeyes offense would find the endzone again, this time on an otherworldly catch from true freshman WR Jaxon Smith-Njigba in the back of the endzone in which he somehow got a foot down with acrobatics that would make the US Olympic team proud. People were so impressed with the catch from the true frosh that social media was already dubbing it the best catch of the 2020 season. There’s still plenty of football to be played this year, but that one will be on highlight reels all season long. It was Fields’ 2nd passing touchdown of the afternoon. His campaign got off to an almost perfect start, as he finished with 276 yards on 20/21 attempts. Many in Columbus, and around the country, think that the kid from Georgia in his second year with the Buckeyes is poised for a Heisman season. If today was any indication, we just might get that.
It wasn’t a perfect game from the Bucks. Nobody expected it to be. The run game struggled all game long, as the offense struggled to gain first downs on 3rd and short runs. RB Master Teague III only had 3.4 YPC, and graduate transfer RB Trey Sermon from Oklahoma struggled on short yardage runs. Sermon showed some burst on outside carries, but the team had to rely on several Justin Fields QB sneaks all game long. That is not a winning formula.
Two Buckeye stars had to leave the game with injuries on Saturday: G Wyatt Davis and WR Chris Olave. Davis left with a leg injury that was surely a precaution, as he talked to the media and seemed fine after the game. Olave was walloped on a tackle right to his shoulder, and was completely dazed and out of it. He promptly left the game and didn’t return. It wasn’t the first of such hits from a Nebraska defense that was hitting so many Buckeye players upstairs that it started getting questionable. Three separate Cornhuskers were called for targeting, with two getting ejected from the game. Many Nebraska fans online were upset about the rulings, as were FOX commentators Gus Johnson and Joel Klatt. They were tough calls, but there is no doubt that the consistency with which Nebraska DBs made hits like that was very odd and not appreciated by Ohio State. The Buckeyes offense would tack on an “in your face touchdown”, so to speak, as QB Jack Miller ran in a short score with 18 seconds left. HC Ryan Day said he felt bad about it, but I did not. You reap what you sow, Scott Frost.
It wasn’t the cleanest game, or the most perfect game, but it was pretty damn close. It was fantastic to see the boys in scarlet and gray back out there, and I’m sure they couldn’t have been happier to be playing football again. Next up for the Bucks is the Nittany Lions of Penn State in a primetime showdown in Happy Valley. It’s a PSU team with a lot of questions on both sides of the ball, but there’s no doubt it should be a great game, as it always is. I’ll see you next week to wrap up that contest from State College.
All stats taken from ESPN.
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