Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from tight win over Nebraska

Ohio State Buckeyes wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba (11) breaks away and runs down the field to score for the Buckeyes in the second quarter of Saturday's NCAA Division I football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, Neb., on November 6, 2021.Osu21neb Bjp 672 /

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Ohio State Buckeyes running back TreVeyon Henderson (32) tries to sneak through the center during Saturday’s NCAA Division I football game against the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln, Neb., on November 6, 2021.Osu21neb Bjp 298 /

2. Ohio State’s run game was completely taken out of the game

Ohio State has one of the best running backs in the country in TreVeyon Henderson, but we saw what happens to the Buckeyes when the run game is completely taken out of the game.

The Buckeyes were one-dimensional against Nebraska and we saw CJ Stroud make some freshman mistakes because of it. He threw a couple of crucial interceptions with the offense squarely on his back and Henderson struggling on the ground. If he got a bigger boost from the run game, he probably wouldn’t have felt the pressure as much and those picks may not have happened in critical moments.

This isn’t the first time we’ve seen Nebraska shut down elite opposing rushing attacks as the Cornhuskers did the same with Kenneth Walker III and Michigan State earlier in the year.

Maybe the Cornhuskers drew up the blueprint for other teams remaining on Ohio State’s schedule on how to beat the Buckeyes.

But just like that Michigan State game, the Cornhuskers gave up some big runs late to the Buckeyes to help seal the win.

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