Nebraska Football: Can Huskers avoid another nightmare at Ohio State?

Ohio State has been a nightmare opponent for Nebraska Football, especially in Columbus. Can the Huskers avoid that same fate again Saturday?

If you aren’t familiar with the history between Nebraska football and Ohio State, let’s put it this way: The Buckeyes have flat-out owned the Huskers.

Since Nebraska football joined the Big Ten, the Huskers have played Ohio State four times. And since winning the first meeting in 2011, thanks to an incredible comeback engineered by Taylor Martinez and Rex Burkhead, things have been pretty ugly.

The next season, in 2012, the Huskers paid a visit to Columbus for the first time in the Big Ten and were beaten soundly, 63-38. The two schools didn’t meet again until 2016, when Ohio State drilled ninth-ranked Nebraska 62-3. Last season in Lincoln, the Buckeyes rolled again 56-14.

Obviously, the previous results don’t bode well for Nebraska. But the Huskers are playing better and even Urban Meyer stated this week that Big Red is much better than it was just a season ago. That is a credit to Scott Frost, who has things headed in the right direction, despite the 2-6 start.

The defense still has a ton of problems and trying to slow down Dwayne Haskins is going to be an issue, however, that doesn’t mean Nebraska football can’t be competitive. The key is going to be getting a great performance from quarterback Adrian Martinez and the offense.

Basically, if Nebraska wants a shot at winning, it needs to turn the game into a shootout. Ohio State is going to score, it’s that simple. The Buckeyes boast the best scoring offense, total offense and passing offense in the Big Ten. The Huskers, for their part, rank in the bottom three in the Big Ten in both total defense and points allowed.

Yet, when the Huskers look across at Ohio State, they will see a team that is also flawed defensively. Remember a few weeks ago, when Minnesota gave the Buckeyes a run for their money? There is no reason Nebraska can’t do the same, especially if it can build on the offensive production of the past four games.

After getting held to 10 points, on the road at Michigan, Nebraska has averaged 34.4 points per game in its last four Big Ten outings. Martinez is also third in the conference in total offense and faces an Ohio State pass defense that is allowing 241 yards per game, just ahead of Nebraska, which is giving up 271.

So you have two very good quarterbacks and two not-so-good pass defenses squaring off, which should be a recipe for fireworks. Hopefully, this time, the Huskers offense can do enough to keep up and at the very least, make the game competitive for four quarters.