Ohio State football: 3 reasons Buckeyes will flatten Nebraska

1. Buckeyes own every advantage

The Cornhuskers are coming off a five-win season in which they have not made a bowl game for the third consecutive season. Head coach Scott Frost has yet to produce a winning record since he began with the Cornhuskers. However, he did bring the Cornhuskers within striking distance of the Buckeyes in his first season as they lost by merely five points at Ohio Stadium.

What is interesting about Nebraska is they placed top three in the Big Ten in rushing offense though they were on the losing end of their games more times than not. They’ve got the right idea but it isn’t quite the best strategy when playing from behind. The Cornhuskers placed in the mid-range of the Big Ten in scoring offense and in the lower half in scoring defense.

The Buckeyes ranked first in the Big Ten in scoring offense and defense. One area where the Buckeyes drastically improved was in pass defense. The Buckeye defense had 15 interceptions last season and let up the least amount of yards. Considering the Buckeyes were playing from ahead the majority of the time, it would not have been too surprising to see teams put up some passing yards with increased pass attempts. This is especially true considering the Buckeyes had a considerable advantage when it comes to points scored per game where they had scored at least 10 more points than any other Big Ten team on average.

The Cornhuskers’ defense consists of only junior and senior-level players. This isn’t exactly a good sign considering those same players have been contributing to their lackluster defense for some time now. The Cornhuskers ranked 54th in the nation in total defense last season. There is a slight upside to that as it’s an upgrade from 92nd in the nation in 2018.

In order to get the Buckeyes on their heels, the Cornhuskers will have to convert on turnovers but it’s unlikely for that to happen considering the Buckeyes were top three in the Big Ten last season in turnover margin. Meanwhile, the Cornhuskers were in the lower half. The Buckeyes had the best red-zone defense in the Big Ten while Nebraska had the second-worst.

To add to their demise, the Cornhuskers will be sorely missing their star receiver JD Spielman who was by far their leading receiver with nearly 900 yards and five touchdowns. The team will now turn to Wan’Dale Robinson who had nearly 500 yards and two touchdowns to lead their receiving group.

Adrian Martinez nearly led the team in rushing yards but finished the season just behind senior running back Dedrick Mills who is returning this season. Mills averaged five yards per carry and had 10 rushing touchdowns.

The Buckeyes tend to outclass most teams in terms of talent and depth but Nebraska has fallen even lower than most in comparison. The Cornhuskers were once considered a legitimate threat but have continued to trend in the wrong direction. However, they do have a win against the Buckeyes relatively recently in 2011 but ten years without a win in the matchup is just around the corner.

This season, the Cornhuskers lack upgrades in significant skill positions where leadership and talent could give them a winning advantage in games within reach. Expect the Buckeyes to win in the vast majority of the game’s facets on Saturday.