Nebraska Football: Grading the Huskers loss to Ohio State

Nebraska football played one of its best games this season Saturday against Ohio State, yet still fell short. Here are our grades for the Huskers.

With its recent history against Ohio State, it was normal for people to expect Nebraska football to lose in a lopsided fashion Saturday in Columbus. Yet, you had the feeling going in that if the Huskers defense could get some stops, Nebraska would have a chance.

Well, that was exactly what happened. Nebraska football got a really good day from Adrian Martinez and a surprisingly solid showing from the defense. The Huskers gave up 36 points sure, but they also forced four punts and three turnovers.

If you didn’t know, Ohio State hadn’t punted against Nebraska in their last two meetings, so that was a big deal just by itself. The loss was disappointing, mainly because Nebraska put together its best effort of the season.

It also ends any hope of making a bowl game. The Huskers had to win out to get there but a win over Ohio State would have made that much more likely. Now, Nebraska has three games left against Illinois, Michigan State and Iowa to end 2018 on a positive note.

I have to admit though, the future does seem brighter after the narrow loss to Ohio State. Scott Frost and company proved it could go toe-to-toe with one of the Big Ten’s best programs and with Michigan State and Iowa left, the Huskers still have a chance to show how far they have come.

But before we look too far ahead, let’s take one final look back at what happened Saturday against Ohio State. Here are grades for the offense, defense, special teams and coaching staff.