Ohio State Football: Ups and downs in win over Nebraska

Once again the Ohio State football team was less than impressive in the win over Nebraska, but why is that the case heading into week 11?

The disappointing play by the Ohio State football team was on display once again this past Saturday. Many people in Columbus probably were not nervous for the game against Nebraska, but as the game was  going on the more nervous Buckeye fans became.

A 2-6 Nebraska team came into Columbus and gave the Buckeyes everything they could handle. Was there anything positive to take away from the game?

With the Buckeyes playing the way they did Saturday, there were plenty of concerns coming away from the game.

Why was the defense not tackling? Why does the defense still give up big plays? When will Ohio State as a team show energy and toughness?

All these are questions Buckeye fans want answered because those things have been problems all season.

Ohio State’s defense let Nebraska control the game. The Buckeyes couldn’t stop the dual threat QB Adrian Martinez and the Cornhuskers’ option offense. Ohio State had a problem with the same thing against Penn State and Trace McSorley.

In the open field, for what could have been tackles for loss the Buckeyes couldn’t bring the ball carrier to the ground which led to positive yards for the Cornhuskers. If it wasn’t for a couple drops by the Nebraska wide receivers or couple of bad throws by Martinez, who knows how the game would have turned out.

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There were some positive outcomes coming from the game. The Buckeyes were 0-5 in the red zone against Purdue but were 3-5 with 3 touchdowns on Saturday.

Red zone problems were a concern going into the game. Moving forward, look for Ohio State to start scoring more often when they get inside the opponents 20 yard line.

The rushing game seemed to be back with J.K. Dobbins going for 23 carries for 163 yards, the first time the Buckeyes have had a 100 yard rusher since Dobbins did it against TCU in week 3. Mike Webber tacked on 91 yards along with that but had problems holding onto the ball.

It seemed like the running backs were finding the openings and the offensive line was finally creating openings for the backs.

Fans know how many weapons the Buckeyes have which is why the offensive struggles are puzzling. As for the defense, there are still questions needing answers going into a big weekend against the Spartans. Let’s hope those issues are settled by Saturday.