Flat Buckeyes limp past Nebraska 21-17

      Will Howard threw three touchdown passes , including the game winning score with six minutes remaining in the game as the Ohio State Buckeyes survived an unexpectedly stern test from the visiting  Nebraska Cornhuskers to salvage a 21-17 win in Columbus.

Carnell Tate caught four passes for one hundred and two yards including a forty-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter to lead the Ohio State offense.

It was the Ohio State defense that stood out in the win as they allowed just one touchdown, stopped Nebraska on a fourth and goal from the one, and Jordan Hancock's interception on the final drive that ended the Cornhusker's chances of an upset.

Ohio State improved to 6-1 overall (3-1 Big Ten) and will meet Penn State on the road next Saturday.

Olentangy Offerings

1) Last week against Oregon, Ohio State lost left tackle Josh Simmons for the rest of the season and the loss of Simmons was immediately felt against Nebraska.

Replacement Zen Michalski didn't play well and then suffered his own injury in the fourth quarter.

2) The offensive line now has to find someone capable of blocking Penn State's All-American Abdul Carter, who will have played very little this season or not at all, and have him ready in a week.

Seems to be a very tall task,

3) The woes on the offensive line have affected the running game with Ohio State running for only sixty-four yards for a tiny 2.1 yards per carry.

If you can't run the ball on Nebraska, how do you expect to do so against more physical teams such as Penn State or Michigan?

4) Will Howard threw three touchdown passes with one interception but Howard threw only sixteen passe, completing thirteen and it made me think about why Ryan Day threw so few passes.

The passing game was working but the running game wasn't yet the commitment was to what wasn't doing well, which is puzzling to me?

5) Jeremiah Smith caught one of Howard's touchdown passes, which gives him one in each of the seven games this season.

Smith is the first true freshman to do this since Sidney Rice of South Carolina did it in 2005 and his eight for the season, tied him for the Buckeye freshman record with Cris Carter, who accomplished his feat in 1984.

6) Carnell Tate's game was the first in his career of over one hundred yards and Tate is also showing signs of a legitimate deep threat.

Now if only Will Howard has the time to get the deep game going, Ohio State will really have something.

7) Ohio State was fortunate to only lose Arvell Reese for the first half against Penn State on a targeting call on the final Nebraska drive.

I've griped about targeting in the past but the fortunate break was Ryan Day on the field, slamming his headset on the field and perhaps brushing the official.

Could have been an extra fifteen yards to Nebraska but Ohio State wasn't penalized as they were warned for sideline issues.

8) The second-quarter miss from forty-two yards by Jayden Fielding was just awful.

Fielding's kick was so wide that it landed closer to the sidelines than the goalpost and was so off-target, that if there wasn't something amiss, I would have major concerns about Fielding.

9) Massive game from Cody Simon, who made the finishing hit on fourth down to stop the Huskers at the goal line and made two more tackles for losses on the final Nebraska drive.

10) Ohio State sacked Dylan Raiola three times and held him to only 152 yards passing.

In fact the biggest play the freshman was with his legs, when he galloped thirty-eight yards on a first-half run.

11) Not an inspiring game off a two-week layoff and they better pick up the pace in State College next week, another setback could mean a season that Ohio State entered as a potential dream season would become an instant nightmare.

Cleaning out the Inbox

    It's been quite a while since I cleaned the inbox and surprisingly it's not nearly as full as usual although the recent passings are starting to pile up a bit. 

I seem to find these a lot for the inbox but yet another rare colored lobster has been caught, this one in Maine.

The "Cotton Candy" Blue Lobster doesn't look much more remarkable than the average blue lobster (which is a rarity itself) but the picture of "Haddie" doesn't do it justice as she is reported to have every color BUT blue in her shell and under lights has an oyster shell color to the shell.

Haddie was shipped to the Seacoast Science Center in Rye, New Hampshire to live out her remaining days.

It may not have the same resonance as Jim Croce's "Time in a Bottle", but  "Trash Can across the Atlantic" showed just how the Gulf Stream can work as it carried a beach trash can with the stickers from the city of Myrtle Beach South Carolina to Ireland on a trip that carried it over 3.500 miles from Myrtle Beach.

No idea how long the voyage took for the waste receptacle but when it arrived in Ireland, it did have barnacles on some of its surface.

ESPN writes a terrific article on the fiftieth anniversary of the 1971 Nebraska-Oklahoma "Game of the Century with comments from figures from both sides including Nebraska's 1972 Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers and Oklahoma star Greg Pruitt with coaches from both teams as well.

When the college football community celebrated its 150th anniversary two years, the game was voted the greatest game ever with the 1971 Cornhuskers earning the title of the best team ever and the 1971 Sooners winning the vote for the greatest team with one loss.

The Hustle tells the story of the University of Florida and just why they receive twenty million dollars a year from Gatorade.

The inventor of the sports drink, Dr.Robert Cade, discusses why there was the need to invent such a beverage, the business arrangement behind the scenes, why the University gets paid, and why they could have been making two to three times the amount each year had they been a bit more forward-thinking.

The Pepsi Co. which now is in charge of Gatorade has attempted to change the face of the product with changes to the logo that uses a "G" rather than the traditional Gatorade logo but despite efforts to change or eliminate an agreement with the Gatorade trust, Pepsi is still paying those rights fees every year.

We wrap up with the Hagerstown Herald-Mail writes of the future Atlantic League team coming to Hagerstown for 2023 asking the city to have Municipal Stadium remain available for the 2023 season in the event of the new downtown stadium not being completed for the opening season.

The "Supply Line Disruption" has the owners and the Atlantic League concerned that they may have some issues in being able to procure the needed materials on time to have the stadium ready for business.

Municipal Stadium was scheduled for demolition in 2022 in order to prepare for a sports complex that has been a pet project of city councilman Kristen (yes, that's his name) Aleshire for years even when the Hagerstown Suns were attempting to finance a new stadium, so the council would have to approve keeping Municipal standing for another year in case it would be needed.

This of course has made the councilman unhappy but Atlantic League rules do require teams to have an alternate place to play when a new stadium is built to house a new team in case of potential construction issues.

I'm not sure how many times each season that I'll be visiting the new park but I'd definitely go to a game or two played at Municipal even if only to say the goodbye that the pandemic didn't allow me to say in 2020.

Ohio State nips Nebraska 26-17

     Jaxon Smith-Njigba finished with a shocking 240 yards receiving and included a seventy-five-yard touchdown score to aid C.J. Stroud's 405 yards passing yards to help Ohio State defeat Nebraska 26-17 in Lincoln.

Ohio State moved to 8-1 with the win and 6-0 in the Big Ten and will hos Purdue next week at the Horseshoe.

This will be shorter than usual as I've had a busy weekend and only was able to watch the first half of this due to a personal engagement..

Olentangy Offerings

1)  What a game from Jaxon Smith-Nijgba, who not only finished with stunning numbers in place of an injured Garrett Wilson but watching his touchdown took what should have been a short gain and turned it into a spectacular score.

Smith-Nijgba will be a preseason All-American next season and pure talent-Ohio State will not miss a beat from losing Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson.

2) Noah Ruggles was four for four on field goals and his late fourth-quarter boot allowed the Buckeyes to relax a bit before the final drive of the Cornhuskers.

The North Carolina transfer has been very steady since his arrival in a year that field goals have become more valuable than usual with a young team with...

3) With the rise of Niah Ruggles, it did show the continued struggles in the red zone for the second week in a row.

Ohio State leaned on Ruggles against Penn State which was acceptable as Penn State is a top 25 team and for all of the woes of Nebraska and Scott Frost, they really do have a strong defense.

It's an interesting thing to watch as the season hits the home stretch.

4) I would not say that the Buckeyes are struggling to run the football but again the last two weeks have seen the Ohio State struggle to run and as a result, hurt themselves in the red zone.

TreVeyon Henderson finished with 92 yards on twenty-one carries and my answer to this may surprise you.

5) Ohio State isn't running the ball enough.

Ryan Day isn't pounding the football early and therefore TreVeyon Henderson isn't wearing down defenses to take advantage in the fourth quarter.

The two go hand and hand.

Sorry, so short but I haven't actually had time to watch the second half.

I haven't watched the Browns win over the Bengals at all but plan on watching tonight for a review after.

They are back! Buckeyes roll over Nebraska 52-17

  The Ohio State Buckeyes finally started their 2020 season in an eerily spooky near-empty Ohio Stadium, but slowly pulled away from the Nebraska Cornhuskers on their way to a 52-17 win in Columbus.

Justin Fields completed twenty of twenty-one passes for two touchdowns and 276 passing yards to go with his team-leading fifty-four rushing yards.

Garrett Wilson caught seven passes for 129 yards and a score to lead the skill players in the victory.

The 1-0 Buckeyes travel to State College and an angry bunch of Nittany Lions, who will be looking to even their record after giving what looked to be a sure victory away at Indiana in overtime.

Olentangy Offerings

1)  Can you be any better than 20 for 21?

Only if it's 21 of 21, but Justin Fields looked in mid-season form in this win.

It's only one game against a mid-level Big Ten team, but if this is the type of play that Ohio State fans are going to see from Justin Fields, it might be the best season ever from an OSU quarterback.

2) Fields showed a strong arm and nice touch on two different completions to Garrett Wilson and almost hit the perfect day as the one incompletion was on a Chris Olave pass in the end zone that was a little high.

Olave climbed the ladder and had the ball in his possession before being hit by a Nebraska safety and giving the ball up.

That is how close Fields came to 21 for 21.

3) Garrett Wilson was tremendous out of the slot and I'm not sure how opposition slot corners are going to deal with his combination of speed and strength. 
Wilson is going to improve with time (this was his first game moving inside to the slot position) and here is the problem for the opposing defenses- Wilson is going to be too fast to be covered by linebackers and perhaps too strong for slot corners, creating a nightmare in coverage for the opponent.

Good luck.

4) Chris Olave got his bell rung later in the game on a ball he caught and fumbled.

Ryan Day said he seemed fine after the game, so hopefully, Olave will be available for Penn State.

Olave finished his day with over one hundred yards on six catches, so he didn't take a backseat to Garrett Wilson in any stat other than touchdown receptions.

5) Nebraska was in this game for a while, but Ohio State showed their firepower when they ended the first half with a five-play drive for a touchdown, opened the second with an eight-play drive for another, and when Sevyn Banks vacuumed up a Husker fumble and raced fifty-five yards for another score, the game had moved from 17-14 to 38-14 in less than half a quarter of game time.

6) But the same defense occasionally struggled in the first half and I'm sure it will be a developing defense that will improve as the season moves on.

Ohio State did finish with three sacks against the very mobile Taylor Martinez, so there is room to grow there, but they did have issues with one of the eight thousand McCaffery offspring, who ripped off a 47-yard run and finished with ninety on the day.

7)  Ryan Day apologized after the game for not kneeling on the ball late in the game and the ensuing touchdown run by freshman quarterback Jack Miller.

Day is known for being friendly with Nebraska coach Scott Frost, so this may be trying to stay in good graces with someone he likes.

I doubt he'd worry about such things in their next game.

8) The running game will also need to pick the pace up.

Yes, the Buckeyes did rush for 161 Non-Fields yards and Master Teague's runs on one touchdown drive were powerful in between the tackles, but there is work to be done on the ground.

9) I was impressed by the garbage time carries by Steele Chambers, who carried four times for thirty-two yards.

Chambers ran once for a seventeen yard gain that was impressive and I'm hoping to see more from him.

10) Then there was the play of the day in the phenomenal touchdown catch from freshman Jaxon Smith-Njigba that is pictured above.

How the frosh pulled that pass down and managed to scrape the red of the end zone for a good catch astounds me.

The pass-catching talent in this freshman class is incredibly deep and while Justin Fields will not be around to reap the total benefits of these players as C.J.Stroud, Jack Miller, and 2021 incoming freshman Kyle McCord will, Fields will be on his share of big plays from these young men this season as well.

11) Penn State had a win over Indiana in their hands late in their contest and gave it away as noted above.

It's hard to blame Penn State's Devyn Ford for scoring a touchdown to boost a lead to eight points late in the game.

Players are taught to score when you can from the first game you play as a child, it is the coaches job to make sure the players know what to do in those situations- No matter how prepared you think they are!

Penn State is going to be ready for the Buckeyes as an 0-2 start in a shortened season is even larger than usual.

I'll write more about this in the return of I tell ya' Herbie later this week.

Cleaning out the inbox

The cleaning of the inbox continues with a few notes from the sports world and outside of it as well.

Voyager 2 has sent its first interstellar space message to Earth after crossing the heliosphere as the second man-made object to do after its twin craft Voyager 1 did so in 2013.
Voyager 2 is sending far more detailed reports than Voyager 1 since some of the instruments used to measure particle charges on Voyager 1 had broken way back in 1980.
The Voyagers are expected to operate until the mid-2020s when they run out of power and will thereafter float through space.

WUSA sends word of the departure of "Bei Bei", a four-year-old panda from the National Zoo and will be returning to China.
Part of the National Zoo's agreement with the Chinese Wildlife Conservation Agency that allows panda bears to stay at the zoo stipulates that any baby pandas born at the zoo (in captivity) will be returned to China at the age of four, which "Bei Bei" has now reached.

The Athletic takes a trip to a small town in Nebraska to check out a college football prospect that is waiting for a potential offer from the Cornhuskers.
Ty Hahn hails from the small town of Johnson with a population of 300 and with a high school so small, Johnson plays eight-man football rather than the conventional eleven.
Hahn currently holds a scholarship offer from neighboring Wyoming but has not been offered by the home state Huskers, although Nebraska has not ruled out offering Hahn before the signing deadline.
The article is just as much about small-town Nebraska life than it is about Hahn, so it's not just a football story.

And from Golf Channel, here is one story that has to make you feel good.
Brandon Matthews is playing in the third hole of extra play for the Argentina Open championship.
Now, that's fine, but the real prize is an automatic entry for the champion into next year's British Open.
Matthews' opponent in the playoff has just drilled a thirty-foot putt for a birdie which forced Matthews to make an eight-footer for a birdie and continue to a fourth playoff hole.
Matthews draws his putter back and as he does, someone screamed in the background, which caused Matthews to clutch a bit and miss the putt.
Matthews loses the tournament and automatic trip to the British Open, but the story doesn't end there as Matthews hits the locker room and is told what happens.
I won't spoil it for you, but if Brandon Matthews ever makes the major tours, he'll be an easy player to root for...

Wrapping up with a passing that is the only thing remaining for now in the inbox, as Bernard Slade passed away at the age of 89.
Slade was a screenwriter and playwright that created television shows The Flying Nun, The Partridge Family, and Bridget Loves Bernie, which to this day is the only program to be rated in the top five in the Nielsen ratings and not be renewed for the following season.
Slade also wrote Same Time Next Year, which won both Tony Awards (for Broadway) and Academy Award (for the film adaptation) for Slade's writing.
The film, which starred Alan Alda and Ellen Burstyn (who also starred on the Broadway version) is still occasionally shown on television.

Ohio State defrosts Nebraska 48-7

Entering this season, it seemed like the game that many writers and observers of both the Ohio State scene, as well as the national one, thought that the Buckeyes visit to Lincoln would end in defeat to the Nebraska Cornhuskers with more than one of those stating that that game would be the first "signature win of the Scott Frost era".
Some of that had died down just a bit after the dominant start by the Buckeyes and Nebraska's loss to Colorado and escape from lowly Illinois last week.
That was about as close as Nebraska's hopes for victory would come as Ohio State scored the first 48 points of the game until Nebraska scored a touchdown in garbage time to avoid the shutout as the Buckeyes took a 48-7 win in Lincoln.
Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns, Master Teague ran for two scores and J.K, Dobbins ran for 177 yards to lead the Ohio State attack.
Ohio State (5-0 2-0 Big Ten) will play another night game next Saturday night in Columbus against 25th ranked Michigan State (4-1 2-0 Big Ten).

Olentangy Offerings

1) The most impressive item in the win has to be the offensive line.
I know Justin Fields was sacked three times, but in all three cases, Fields held the football too long as he tried to make a play and on the ground, Ohio State looked more like the famous road graders from Wisconsin or Nebraska in the Huskers glory days as they just pushed the Nebraska defense aside with little opposition.

2) Justin Fields still has his occasional moments where he should just flick the ball aside, which as explained above can result in sacks.
That's a minor thing in blowouts, but it could be a problem when the inevitable game arrives that the opponent battles back.

3) The offensive line may have made the holes, but the backs still need to find them and J.K. Dobbins and Master Teague certainly found them to the tune of 254 yards between them.
Dobbins definitely added strength in the offseason as he is breaking tackles as never before and Teague powers through smaller holes and keeps driving upfield.
These two backs might be the best help that Justin Fields could have wished for in his first season as a starter.

4) The play that essentially ended the game showed up on Nebraska's third drive as the Huskers drove down the field already down 14-0, but moving the football Taylor Martinez's pass was high and the receiver tipped it- directly to a prone Jeffrey Okudah, who intercepted it with virtually one hand before securing the ball.
Replays showed a wincing Martinez as he saw the interception and the deflating of the Cornhuskers and their sellout crowd was complete.
Nebraska wouldn't threaten to score again until their only touchdown against the Buckeyes second unit in the fourth quarter.

5) J.K Dobbins reached two milestones in his career in this walkover in Lincoln.
Dobbins moved over the three thousand rushing yard mark for his career and moved into the Buckeyes top ten rushers of all-time passing Pepe Pearson for the tenth spot.
Should Dobbins rush for over 100 yards against Michigan State, Dobbins would move into 8th place by passing Carlos Hyde and Keith Byars and should he run for 150 plus yards, he would move into 7th past J.T. Barrett.
Looking at the career numbers and games left to play (at least seven regular-season games, a bowl game and possible Big Ten title game), It is likely that Dobbins could finish the season second only to Archie Griffin in career rushing yards and should Dobbins decide to return to Columbus for a senior season, which I would think is unlikely, but one never knows, Griffin's reign at the top could be shaky.

6) Ohio State may have only outsacked Nebraska 4-3 in this game, but the defensive line was seemingly in on Taylor Martinez on every play and Martinez had little time to throw along with being punished like an overmatched boxer all night.
Martinez's stats look less than strong, but you have to give the young man a break as the Buckeye defense simply overwhelmed the Huskers and he had next to no chance to succeed.

7) Jeffrey Okudah is going to be a top ten draft pick.
Okudah hadn't intercepted a pass in his career until last week against Miami, Ohio, but added two more against Nebraska and his most impressive pick was not the one that he grabbed lying on his back.
Okudah's interception of Taylor Martinez on Nebraska's first drive was perfect coverage as he stepped in front of his man and made the diving grab.
At the college level, that's a tough play to make and usually winds up being called for pass interference, but Okudah's instincts and body control made a hard play look easy and he'll be the first cornerback taken in next year's draft.
If Okudah isn't? Someone made a huge mistake.

8) I might have taken Justin Fields out of this one earlier than Ryan Day did, mainly because Fields was still taking hits like one big one as he faked a keeper while giving the ball to J.K. Dobbins.
Fields wasn't hurt after being blasted (it was a legal hit because of the fake), but being up 48-7 at the time, I would have taken him out far earlier.
Nebraska's only touchdown late in the third quarter against the second-team defense seemed to make Day decide to keep Fields in the game longer.
Against a good Michigan State defense next week, Fields will likely face a stern test that may see him play the entire game.

9) Ohio State scored on every possession of the first half except the final one, where they allowed time to expire to head to the locker room and outgained Nebraska 378-76.
To put that number in perspective, no opponent has come close to gaining 378 yards against Ohio State this season for an entire game.
The Buckeyes would punt once in the second half.

10) Baron Browning and Malik Harrison seemed to be all over the field in this game, which in Browning's case was very encouraging.
Pete Werner has been the apple of the defensive coaches eye in early season play, but the senior Harrison and the redshirt sophomore Browning have been the standouts in my opinion at linebacker.
Browning, in particular, seemed to be a player that needed to be on the field more often and his seven tackles and half-sack will hopefully give him the additional playing time that he seems to deserve.

11) Finally, this game was the media-hyped game during the offseason.
Nebraska looked to be improved, possessed a good young quarterback and with the Buckeyes laying eggs in road games in each of the previous two seasons against inferior opponents (2017 Iowa and 2018 Purdue), I could see how others may look at it that way.
I really didn't see it that way.
With so many unanswered questions entering the season with a new coach and quarterback, the games that I saw as possible trip-ups (other than the usual tough games) were Cincinnati (if the transition took a little bit to become smooth), Northwestern (Ryan Field on one of those cash grab Friday games) and maybe even Maryland (scored a ton of points on them last season and returned a lot on the offensive side), but I didn't think Nebraska because they would be the first road test and Ryan Day would make sure all the I's were dotted and T's were crossed on that trip to take care of business.

12) Now the schedule begins to get somewhat interesting.
Michigan State brings a very good defense to the Horseshoe but does struggle to score points when they have the ball.
Sparty does have a history of ruining great seasons for the Buckeyes, so they need to be taken seriously.
After an off week, it's Northwestern on the road on Cash Grab Friday and despite a slow start (Northwestern lost to Michigan State Saturday), Pat Fitzgerald will have the Wildcats prepped and ready for Ohio State's visit.
Ohio State will have an extra day of rest/preparation before the biggest home game of the season with Wisconsin and their tremendous running back Jonathan Taylor to conclude October's slate.
All three have their reasons to trouble a Buckeye team that hasn't face adversity to date, don't take any of them lightly as October should be far more competitive than September.

Buckeyes grind out Nebraska,but are they back?

 Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Photo Editor The Lantern

 J.K Dobbins rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns in a renewed commitment to the rushing games as the Ohio State Buckeyes returned to the win column with a 36-31 win over the Nebraska Cornhuskers at the Horseshoe in Columbus.
Dwayne Haskins threw for two more scores with an interception mixed in the victory that saw Nebraska lead at the half.
The now 8-1 Buckeyes (5-1 Big Ten) will travel to East Lansing next week for a tough game against the erratic, but more than capable Spartans.

Olentangy Offerings

1) And indeed there was more of a ground game attack against the Huskers as J.K. Dobbins ran his way to those 163 yards at a seven yards per carry clip.
Dobbins ran with confidence and looked like the back of last season.
A return of that back to the lineup would be welcomed during the homestretch of the season.

2) How did the Buckeyes help Dobbins bounce back as well as Mike Weber, who ran for 91 yards on nine carries?
Using more beef on the offensive line to give the Buckeyes more push off the line and even using backup guard Wyatt Davis at tight end for extra bulk.
I know this will tip off defenses on a run/pass preference, but if that is what it takes to re-establish a running presence, I'm fine with that.

3) Dwayne Haskins didn't exactly struggle in the win, but nor did he dazzle in the win either.
Haskins only threw one interception,(He lost a fumble as well) but his accuracy seemed a bit off.
Not sure if it was the protection to be certain, but Haskins could have been simply adjusting to the differences in the line play.
It'll be interesting to see if this is a factor in East Lansing next Saturday.

4) The player of the game might have been a player that wasn't expected to play much if any as Brendan White entered the game when Jordan Fuller was ejected in the second quarter for everyone's favorite penalty-targeting.
White finished the game with eight solo tackles with two of those for loss.
Fuller will return for the Michigan State game, but White has certainly earned more playing time.

5) The defense gave its share of points up, but with one notable exception, it managed to keep the Men of Corn off the scoreboard and only on that drive, did they give up those big plays with large chunks of yardage to go with it.
It may have been a small step forward, but I'm hoping that it was a step forward.

6) It was only worth two points, but it was a good sign for the special teams when Keandre Davis rushed through in the first half to block a punt through the back of the end zone.
Quality special teams haven't always been a given for Urban Meyer's team despite his having a hand in them, so I take anything that I can get!

7) Dwayne Haskins may only have completed seventeen passes, but he set another Ohio State record as he broke the record for completions in a season.
That record was set by J.T. Barrett last season and I don't remember that record being set, nor do I remember Barrett throwing the ball all that often.
Considering that Haskins has at least three games to go, with the potential for as many as six (In case the Buckeyes go to the Big Ten title game and two playoff games), that record is going to be placed out of reach for a while.

8) Three turnovers inside Nebraska territory brings good news and bad news.
The good news is that the Buckeyes could have won this in a romp and that the offense was clicking, so with a little bit of improved ball control, OSU could be back in form.
The bad news is that is fundamental football and it is not always that easy, especially next week in a hostile East Lansing.

9) J.K. Dobbins moved over 2,000 yards for his career and with Mike Weber already past that mile marker, that gives the pair a notable achievement in Buckeye lore.
Dobbins and Weber are now the first set of teammates in Ohio State history to gain that amount of rushing yardage.

10) Michigan looked very impressive in dispatching Penn State 42-7 and they are playing quite well.
Las Vegas placed Michigan as a three-point favorite over Ohio State if they played tomorrow.
Keep in mind that home field is worth three points so oddsmakers would make Michigan a six-point favorite on a neutral field.
I don't think Ohio State is "back to normal", but I'm not sure Michigan hasn't peaked and with the game at Columbus, I'd rate it as an even matchup.

11) Michigan State is 6-3 and the Spartans always worry me.
The Spartans running game will test Ohio State, but they haven't scored more than 24 points in over a month.
If this becomes a shootout, it's Ohio State's game to win.
At this point, every game is important, I have a feeling "the Big Game Gambler" Mark Dantonio is going to be ready and have more than just one trick ready to go.

15 College Football Games that should be happening 1-5

It's been longer than I intended, but I did want to finish the series of 15 college football games that should be happening that currently are not before time moved too far along and I forgot to finish the series!!!
6-10 are here and 11-15 here.

Anyway, here are my top five that need to be played every year...

1) Texas vs Texas A&M

The top game that needs to be played and still isn't on the schedule ruined the college Thanksgiving tradition between the Aggies and Longhorns over issues between the schools ranging from the Longhorn Network to Big 12 problems and eventually sent Texas A&M out of the Big 12 and into the SEC.
The bad blood is so thick between this two that the series that made so much money for the pair went by the wayside and doesn't seem to be returning anytime soon.
Neither seems very interested in renewing the rivalry, but neither's attempts to replace it on Thanksgiving weekend (A&M vs LSU on Thanksgiving Saturday and Texas alternating years with TCU and Texas Tech on Thanksgiving Day) have clicked as anything more than secondary rivalries.
This one really needs to return...

2) Kansas vs Missouri

The hard feelings in this one might be even worse than Texas-Texas A&M even though the situation was similar as Missouri left the Big 12 for the SEC.
This longtime border war likely will be DOA until ironically the person that seems to have taken this the hardest leaves-Bill Self of Kansas-the BASKETBALL coach!
Neither of these teams are generally football powers, in fact, Kansas usually stinks and Missouri is a mid-level SEC team on an average to good year, so it's not like losing this game costs anyone national implications.
Still, this is a game that is huge to Missouri, a team without a natural rival in the SEC and costs Kansas one of the two teams that their fans considered rivals, so it is still a loss to the game...

3) Penn State vs Pitt

This is one that is currently being played in a four-year contract (2018 will be year three), but there is not a future agreement and it's unknown if there will be another contract signed in the immediate future.
Penn State has been the holdup in the past as far as playing this game as they wanted to have two home games for every one home game for Pitt (similar to their past dealings with Temple on the eastern side of Pennsylvania), while the Panthers preferred the home and home series, which Penn State agreed to for the current four-game series.
Pitt has much prestige than Temple and isn't going to settle for a contract like that, so if that is the only offer, they aren't likely to play again for a while after 2019.
It's too bad as the best two teams in Pennsylvania need to play every season...

4) Pitt vs West Virginia

However, if that game cannot be played and Pitt is able to play the Backyard Brawl again every year against West Virginia, that's more than a good enough replacement.
The two neighbors in many ways are even bigger rivals than Pitt and Penn State, share former conference rivalries going back through multiple leagues and frankly just plain hate each other.
I'm not sure if you asked Pitt fans which they'd rather play each year that West Virginia wouldn't come out the winner in a fan vote.
As for the Mountaineers, who seem to think they are above their in-state rival in Marshall and pull on the Herd what Penn State tries to with to Pitt, they likely consider Pitt their biggest rival considering they are stuck in a league that the nearest team is the Iowa State Cyclones, not exactly a heated or passionate pairing there to develop anything at all.
This series was most famous for the 2007 game that saw the second-ranked Mountaineers needing simply a win at home in Morgantown over the visiting Panthers, who had a losing record, to play in the national championship game- only to lose 13-9.
The series is scheduled to return for four games in 2022, so hopefully, there can be a way to keep the rivalry continuing after that.

5) Nebraska vs Oklahoma

This rivalry dates back to the old Big 8 when it seemed like every Thanksgiving Friday the Sooners and the Cornhuskers hooked up in a battle of the Big Reds for the Big 8 title, the trip to Miami for the automatic Orange Bowl bid and often a shot at a national title.
The Nebraska-Oklahoma rivalry was cleanly played with respect, was developed out of two powers that played every year and knew in order to do anything on the national title scene, they would have to go through the other at the end of November.
When the Big 8 became the Big 12 and the two were placed in opposite divisions, the heat was placed off the stove a bit and when Nebraska left for the Big 10, the two schools haven't played since.
Considering that neither school has a natural non-conference rival, a long-term series between the two would be a great fit.
The schools will play home and home in 2021 and 2022 and then again in 2029 and 2030

Ohio State crushes Nebraska 56-14

Eight touchdowns in eight possessions will usually put opponents away and the Ohio State Buckeyes ripped the husk right off Nebraska in Lincoln 56-14.
J.T.Barrett passed for five touchdowns and ran for two more to go with 320 yards passing.
J.K.Dobbins ran for 106 yards and a score, while the receiving leader was K.J. Hill who caught seven passes with two going for scores.
Ohio State improves to 6-1 on the season and 4-0 inside the Big 10.
The Buckeyes are off next week before their revenge game in Columbus against Penn State...

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1) No doubt about it, the Buckeye offense was rolling with 633 yards of total offense and crushed the Huskers.
However, before we get too excited, let's remember that the Buckeyes haven't put up these types of numbers against anything resembling a good foe.

2) J.T. Barrett continued his posting tremendous numbers against weak teams, but I do think that Barrett has turned a corner.
Kevin Wilson has become more comfortable with what Barrett can do and the offense seems to be a little more tailored to his strengths.

3) Penn State will have to deal with this year what the Buckeyes did last year before their game.
Before the PSU game last year, Ohio State had to play at Wisconsin before traveling to PSU where the waiting Nittany Lions were coming off a bye.
This year it's Penn State with a tough game (although at home) against Michigan with the Buckeyes getting a week off before the game.
I wish the schedulers would put a little more thought into these things...

4) Parris Campbell was wiped out of the game early on a hard hit by a Cornhusker and was replaced by K.J. Hill, who grabbed two touchdown passes in reserve.
No word on Campbell's status for Penn State.

5) 41 first downs for the Buckeyes-an all-time record for an opponent against once-proud Nebraska

6) The win was the Buckeyes 500th win in the Big 10 conference, they hit the mark on the same day that Michigan did, but Ohio State did it in six fewer seasons, having joined the league after Michigan.

7) The biggest concern was the Buckeyes secondary as they allowed 349 yards passing and 200 of those went to Husker wideout JD Spielman.
I still think the secondary will be tested by future opponents and even though Nebraska was in a position of having to throw every play, those stats against a bad team will make you wonder.

8) The win also moved Ohio State into a tie for third in all time wins.
They moved into a tie with- Nebraska.

9) Urban Meyer kept the starters in far longer than I would have thought that he would have, but to me, it had to be either showing Penn State some things or keeping the starters sharp.

10) The rollover season is now over and Ohio State has reached the point where the rubber hits the road.
Penn State, Michigan State, Iowa and Michigan all await and should the Buckeyes run the table, the likely undefeated Wisconsin will stand between Ohio State and the playoff, so the competition gets tougher and should Ohio State win against all of those, they will be a deserving entrant.

I have boxing coverage and Browns, so we will see if they are posted Sunday or Monday time permitting...

Husked in Columbus-Ohio State crushes Cornhuskers 62-3

The offense returned for the Ohio State Buckeyes as the sixth ranked Buckeyes slaughtered the visiting Nebraska Cornhuskers 62-3 in Columbus.
J.T.Barrett threw for four touchdowns,Curtis Samuel caught two touchdowns with over 100 hundred yards receiving and two players (Damon Webb and Malik Hooker) returned interceptions for touchdowns.
Ohio State 8-1 (5-1 Big Ten) will travel to College Park to face Maryland next week...

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1) This will be a little shorter than a usual recap because the game was such a blowout that I flipped back and forth to Alabama-LSU while at the road office..

2) Urban Meyer made a conscious effort to get Curtis Samuel and look what happened-the entire offense revved and purred like a smooth motor.
It's funny how when you make an effort to get your playmaker the ball how big plays happen.
Samuel caught a 75 yard touchdown pass from J.T. Barrett on the first play of the second half and the game was already decided at the half,but that play showed the dimensions that the offense can haev when Samuel was used properly.

3) I also liked the late first half jump pass from Barrett for a score.
Urban Meyer used the jump pass a lot with Tim Tebow at Florida and I liked that it was used here.
Anything that works in the playbook to give opponents things to plan for is fine with me...

4) Two pick six's in this game for the Buckeye defense and as fun to watch as the great return by Malik Hooker was-it was the first quarter version by Damon Webb that set the tone for the game.
Webb's score instantly gave the feeling that this was an Ohio State night...

5) Ohio State didn't punt one time in the win.
You won't lose many games when you don't punt..

6) As I said about last year's special uniforms-I like them and they look good,but Ohio State's colors aren't black...

7) Scary moment late in the first half when Nebraska quarterback Tommie Armstrong jammed his neck into the turf.
I was concerned that this could be a severe injury.but later in the game Armstrong returned to the stadium after a trip to the hospital to be examined.

8) Another fumble from Dontrae Wilson in the punt return game.
Urban Meyer needs to address this and remove Wilson from this slot before his issues cost the Buckeyes a game..

9) The looming showdown with Michigan looks to be for all the marbles.
Ohio State needs to win their games against bottom dwellers Maryland and Michigan State and Michigan needs to stop Iowa and Indiana for the battle to truly mean something.
Should Michigan lose one of their games,the Buckeyes will lose more than they gain-Ohio State needs a three way tie to win the East due to the loss to Penn State.
Win out and the Buckeyes will have their chance in the playoff.