Buckeyes get big second half to edge Nebraska, 36-31
11/3/2018
Ohio State running back J.K. Dobbins celebrates with teammates after scoring a touchdown against Nebraska during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday.
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COLUMBUS — Ohio State averted first half disaster and came away with a 36-31 win Saturday against Nebraska.
What happened: OSU played about as nightmarish as possible in the first half but woke up (in some aspects) in the second.
In the third quarter, the run game finally came alive thanks to J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber.
With the Buckeyes trailing 21-16, Dobbins scored from three yards out to put OSU up 23-21. During the same drive, Weber recorded a big 27-yard run to help resuscitate the ground attack.
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Weber came up big again two drives later, rushing for 37 yards and setting up a 9-yard touchdown throw from Haskins to Parris Campbell, giving the Buckeyes a 30-21 lead heading into the final 15 minutes.
After a Nebraska field goal, Dobbins sealed the win with a 42-yard touchdown run with just under five minutes to go in the game.
OSU has been looking for the running backs to make plays for weeks to help diversify the offense. That happened on a day when Dwayne Haskins struggled more than usual, going 18 of 32 for 252 yards.
While the run game improved in the second half, the Buckeye defense as a whole continued to struggle. There were missed tackles, missed assignments, and they allowed 450 total yards to the Cornhuskers.
Couple that with OSU’s three turnovers, and it was hardly the improvement fans and those on the team were hoping for after the bye week.
In fact, at the end of the first half, things were so ugly fans were booing as the team headed to the locker room.
During the first two quarters, the Buckeyes got a safety, a 42-yard scoring pass from Haskins to Johnnie Dixon, and a 10-yard rushing touchdown from Dobbins.
But Nebraska was in lock-step with Ohio State for 30 minutes.
On the opening drive of the game, the Cornhuskers went 75 yards on 12 plays, capped by a Devine Ozigbo 1-yard touchdown run.
With just under nine minutes remaining in the second quarter, Haskins was sacked for a loss of 7 yards and fumbled the ball in the process. Nebraska recovered and went on a 10-play, 64-yard scoring drive that ended with a 2-yard quarterback keeper by Adrian Martinez, pulling the Huskers to within two.
Before halftime, Nebraska forced another fumble, this time by K.J. Hill, and went ahead 21-16 on another quarterback keeper from Martinez.
It was over when: Dobbins had his long run to make it 36-24 Ohio State.
With the afternoon he had, it was only fitting Dobbins was the exclamation point.
He said it: “I get it that that was a two-win team. But that’s a two-win team that people don’t want to play right now.” — Urban Meyer on Nebraska.
Buckeye standouts: On offense, take your pick between Weber and Dobbins. They combined for 254 rushing yards, out-rushing Nebraska, which had 184 yards.
After Jordan Fuller got ejected in the first half, Brendon White stepped in and was a bright spot for the defense. He led the team with 13 tackles, including two for loss.
Play of the game: Weber’s 37-yard run to set the Buckeyes up for their second touchdown of the second half was massive from a scoring standpoint and a morale standpoint. While Weber didn’t have any touchdowns, he helped keep OSU’s offensive momentum alive in critical moments.
Statistically speaking: Dobbins and Weber surpassed the 2,000-yard career rushing mark. It’s the first time in program history the Buckeyes have had two players on the same team reach that milestone.
OSU is now 6-0 under Meyer after a loss. Meyer-led teams have lost consecutive games just five times in his 17-year career.
Next week: OSU heads to East Lansing to take on Michigan State (6-3). The Spartans topped Maryland 24-3 in College Park, Md., on Saturday.