Head coach Ryan Day liked what he saw of his offensive line, which has two new starters, from a physicality standpoint, but he acknowledged there were some issues with run fits.
The Buckeyes ran for 222 yards but only 4.6 per carry. Overall, the running game lacked efficiency, especially in the first half.
Day indicated at times holes didn’t quite end up being where running backs expected them to be based on practice. The same could be said of Nebraska defenders as the Cornhuskers showed Ohio State some different schematic looks.
All-American guard Wyatt Davis acknowledged not everything went as planned. The junior attributed it to both the unusual offseason — which lasted an extra six weeks and did not include spring practice thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic — and issues typical of a seasonopener.
“Ten months not having a game and then we go into one and there was so much confusion with us being away from the program, honestly that’s what comes with the first game.”
He and Day both gave a tip of the cap to Nebraska and acknowledge the need to shore things up with a trip to Penn State on the horizon.
“(The Cornhuskers) were well-coached. They had a great scheme for us,” Davis said. We just have to look at the film and just adjust moving forward, but credit to them because they came out swinging. They got us for a little bit, but we responded and swung back."
On the flip side, Nebraska ran for 217 yards. The Cornhuskers averaged 6.0 yards per carry, a figure inflated by long runs by quarterbacks Adrian Martinez and Luke McCaffrey but concerning nonetheless because they were able to take advantage of a vulnerability in Ohio State’s base defensive alignment.
“I haven’t watched the film so I’d be disingenuous to tell you I’ve got a perfect answer for that,” defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs said. “I know that we will have an answer, but I don’t think early on in the game we were handling it very well in the manner in which they were doing it. I think that we came in, particularly at halftime, and made a couple of adjustments that I thought were very effective in the second half.”
Nebraska finished with 377 total yards — including 166 after the game got out of hand in the third quarter — but had a harder time scoring than moving the ball.
“Expectations are high but the reality of it is the goal is to go 1-0,” Day said. “We’re very proud of what we did today.”
"If someone said to me, ‘If you hold them the 17 points, would you take that?’ I would have signed on the dotted line.
“They hit a couple big plays on us and everything, but overall I thought we did a really good job. I’m proud of the way the guys played.”
So, what was the atmosphere like Saturday at Ohio State?
— Marcus Hartman (@marcushartman) October 25, 2020
(Via DaytonDaily) https://t.co/UW4SlIP2qR
Although the Nittany Lions were upset by Indiana 36-35 in overtime in their seasonopener, Penn State has the capability to take advantage of Ohio State in both areas of potential concern if they are not addressed.
The Nittany Lions typically have one of the stoutest front sevens in the conference, and this year’s unit is headlined by second-team All-Big Ten end Shaka Toney.
Head coach James Franklin’s staff has also been adept at drawing up plans to gum up even great Ohio State running games and pressure Buckeye quarterbacks.
On the flip side, Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford is a dual-threat much like Martinez and McCaffrey.
Clifford, a Cincinnati St. Xavier product, led the Nittany Lions with 119 yards rushing Saturday and threw for 238 yards and three touchdowns.
He was unable to finish Ohio State’s 28-17 win over Penn State last season because of a leg injury.
While he will look to make up for lost time, the Nittany Lions defense figures to have an even bigger challenge on its hands in Justin Fields.
The Buckeyes' junior quarterback completed 20 of 21 passes against Nebraska, a 95.2 completion percentage that is the highest ever for an Ohio State quarterback with at least 20 attempts.
He finished with 276 yards and two touchdowns through the air and added another 54 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
SATURDAY’S GAME
Ohio State at Penn State, 7:30 p.m., ABC, 1410
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