Five bold predictions for Ohio State vs. Nebraska

It’s on to the next one for the Ohio State football team. Next up is a journey to Lincoln, Nebraska to take on a Cornhuskers team that has been in close game after close game but has been unable to finish the deal more often than not.

Each week, we give you five bold predictions for the upcoming game. We want to reiterate that these are bold predictions and not your run of the mill easy to attain predictions. We’re not going boilerplate and calling for TreVeyon Henderson to get over 100 yards rushing, or C.J. Stroud to throw for over 250 yards. No, we stretch things for things that seem a wee bit out of reach but still possible.

Now that I have that out of the way so I don’t get opposing fans blowing up my DMs again (it’s all for fun Husker fans), we can get on with it.

Here are five spicy, bold, and somewhat far-out-there predictions for Ohio State vs. Nebraska Saturday.

Ohio State wills core a defensive touchdown — again!

Six. That’s how many defensive touchdowns Ohio State has scored this season. It leads the nation. And yeah, had you told me that after the first two games of the season, I’d have bet my vintage Pete Rose signed Cincinnati Reds hat against it.

But the defense has gotten better. It may not be lighting the world on fire with getting off the field like other defenses, but it has been much better and now starting to turn other teams’ possessions into points.

Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez has been handing out gifts to opposing defenses like a white elephant party and those two combinations are going to result in another pick-six or scoop and score.

C.J. Stroud will throw for over 400 yards

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) throws a touchdown pass to Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Chris Olave (2) against Penn State Nittany Lions during the second quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on October 30, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

Story continues

OK. This might not be that much of a stretch, but anytime a quarterback throws for over 400 yards, it’s noteworthy. Nebraska has been pretty average against the pass, giving up just over 211 yards per contest, good for No. 8 in the Big Ten. And while that’s not horrible, The ‘Huskers don’t get to the quarterback very often. They only have fifteen sacks on the season, and that means C.J. Stroud should have ample time to pick out receivers and make hay through the air, especially with how talented OSU’s receiving corps is.

TreVeyon Henderson will score three touchdowns on the ground

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) hands off to running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) during the first quarter of the NCAA football game against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium in Columbus on Saturday, Oct. 30, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

If there’s one thing Ryan Day has tried to instill in this football team, it’s toughness. He has mentioned it time after time. He had to be disappointed then at the effort last week against Penn State in the red zone and in short-yardage situations.

He’s going to try and get back to that this week because the calendar has flipped to November and you have to be able to run the ball when the weather turns south and the wind picks up in the Midwest. Look for Day and company to get his team to toughen up by handing the ball off and asking the offensive line to get physical inside the red zone and on short-yardage situations. Because of that, look for Henderson to pop some big runs and also get some goal-line touchdowns.

Chris Olave will get two scores and go for over 150 yards in the air

Oct 30, 2021; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Chris Olave (2) hauls in the touchdown during the second quarter against the Penn State Nittany Lions at Ohio Stadium. Credit: Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

It’s been building. Ohio State receiver Chris Olave hasn’t exactly been held in check per se, but he’s not had a huge game in a few weeks. We’ve even seen a little frustration from him from time to time when defenses key on him a bit, or when penalties against him aren’t called.

This week, look for him to break out again and for Stroud to target him more often in the vertical passing game. It’s a little different look from the Nebraska defense than what we saw from a Penn State team that made you work the field patiently last week. Some more opportunities will be there, and Olave’s going to cash in.

The Buckeyes will score at least 45 points on Nebraska

Ohio State Buckeyes quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) puts his hands on his helmet after a failed 4th down pass to Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Chris Olave (2) against Penn State Nittany Lions during the fourth quarter of their game at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio on October 30, 2021. Credit: USA TODAY Sports

I know, I know, this doesn’t seem like to much of a stretch, but when you consider that no team has scored more than 28 points against Big Red, getting 45 on the board would be a pretty significant development. Remember, Michigan State and Oklahoma — two really good offenses — only managed 23 points against the Cornhusker defense. Purdue is the tea that got 28, and it happened last week.

Ohio State is going to blow by that by using a balanced offense and mismatches in the passing game to move the ball with pace and points. It’ll once again show the nation why it’s one of the best teams in the country.

1

1