Nebraska continues a formidable twogame homestand on Saturday night at Memorial Stadium, when the Huskers play host to No. 9 Ohio State. The Huskers come into the game with a 3-3 record and a 2-1 mark in the Big Ten Conference following a 38-17 loss to ninth-ranked Wisconsin last Saturday night in Lincoln. The Huskers were tied with Wisconsin midway through the third quarter, but were unable to keep pace with the Badgers in the final 20 minutes of the game.
Ohio State comes to Lincoln with a 5-1 record and a 3-0 mark in Big Ten play. The Buckeyes defeated Maryland, 62-14, last Saturday in Columbus, for their fourth consecutive win. OSU is ranked No. 9 in the Associated Press Poll and checks in at eighth in the USA Today Coaches Poll, marking the Huskers' second consecutive top-10 opponent at Memorial Stadium.
Ohio State has shown its strength on both sides of the ball in the 2017 campaign. The Buckeyes rank first in the Big Ten in scoring offense and total offense, while ranking second in rushing offense. On defense, Ohio State ranks fifth in the conference in total defense and allowed Maryland just 66 yards of total offense. Since a September loss to Oklahoma, Ohio State has outscored its last four opponents by a total of 174 points.
Date/Time: October 14, 2017 at 6:30 p.m. CDT
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE Capacity: 85,458
Surface: Field Turf
Opposition Blog: Check out Land Grant Holy Land for everything Buckeye.
Series Record: OSU holds a 4-1 edge in the all time series.
TV: The game will be televised on FS1 with Gus Johnson, Play-by-Play; Joel Klatt, Analyst; and Jenny Taft, Sidelines. The game can be streamed on Fox Sports Go with a login from your TV service provider.
Radio: Huskers sports radio network. The audio can also be streamed live for free at huskers.com The crew will be: Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, and Ben McLaughlin. It will also be simulcast on Sirius: 81 and XM: 81.
More streaming options: The official Huskers app is available on iTunes. The app is free but accessing live audio costs $4.99 (per season). The app is available for Android users for free but the live content requires an in-app purchase. I often use the TuneIn app for game audio.
Weather: At kickoff, the temperature will be 53 degrees and cloudy with winds from the northwest at 15 mph (and expected to get stronger as the game continues).
Odds: Ohio State is favored by 24 points.
Trivia
Nebraska will face top-10 opponents in consecutive weeks at Memorial Stadium for the first time in school history. Wisconsin was No. 9 before last week's game and Ohio State is ranked No.9 in this week's poll.
Nebraska has produced five 100- yard rushing games through six games in 2017, including three straight by Devine Ozigbo. Nebraska had four 100-yard individual rushing games in 2017.
Nebraska and Ohio State rank fourth and fifth, respectively in all-time wins in NCAA history. The schools have combined for 1,783 all-time wins, including 892 by Nebraska and 891 by Ohio State.
Quotables
Coach Riley on the play of both the offensive and defensive lines against Wisconsin
“There were moments that I think both sides of the ball, we did OK, but I would probably leave it at that with both sides of the ball. When we’re talking about those things defensively, playing that gap responsibility, being in the right position, not getting reached. I don’t really want to single anybody out, because everybody had their moments, and some good ones, but again, the consistency in doing that was probably the key factor there, and probably the same thing on the offensive line. We had our moments. We had some good-looking run plays. The protection, in general, was better. We didn’t get sacked, but that doesn’t hide from the fact that it wasn’t all perfect, either. So, when I single out players that had good games, that’s for a reason that’s above-level, people that I think you should know about. If I don’t mention them, then there’s some inconsistencies involved for anybody else. So, I’m pretty specific in those names that I do mention as having good games.”
On how do you get this team to win
“I think that its everybody, I think the coaches’ energy and preparation in getting ready for the next game. Many times when you have what we have, a solid group of kids, they’ll feed off of that. And I would be surprised anyway in a sense, this team hasn’t changed much from the beginning of how they have come to work every day. It’s definitely something you have to keep an eye on at this stage of the year. What is a disappointing loss and another great opponent following right away, there has to be real energy and excitement to the luring of an opportunity here in order to succeed. I know the staff will be like that and I really trust that the players will be too.”