Nebraska Debriefing: Curtis Samuel is Chic Harley-Esque, Malik Hooker is a Boss & The Dontre Wilson Punt Return Experience Comes to an End

By Kevin Harrish on November 6, 2016 at 9:15 am
Curtis Samuel had a Chic Harley-esque game.
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#6 Ohio State 62, #10 Nebraska 3

MEYER SURPRISED | 5 THINGS | BACK on TRACK | IT ALL CLICKED | SAMUEL SHINES | DL STEPS UP | DEBRIEFING | 3 KEY STATS | NOTEBOOK | TWITTER REAX | PHOTOS | STATAGRAM
VIDEO: Stadium Entrance | Hooker Pick Six | Carmen | Weber Scores | JT's Jump Pass | Samuel Deep | TBDBITL Foltz Tribute | Locker Room | Postgame Interviews
MORE: Pick Six University | Run Stoppers | Bright Lights, Big Wins | No Punts | Huskers in the Shoe | Dubgate Moves to 7-0 | Freshman Tracker

A wise man once called Nebraska "the paperiest of paper tigers."

That man was right, and Ohio State sliced up that paper tiger like a little kid making a snowflake with safety scissors in a second grade art class.

With this being the only home night game on Ohio State's 2016 docket, they went all out with :fire-emoji: throwback uniforms, way more pyrotechnics than necessary and a lengthy guest list of top-recruits.

Everything went even better than expected. Nebraska got outright defenestrated by the Buckeyes, suffering a 62-3 beatdown in front of over 108,000 onlookers.

Oh, and here's my Huskers #HotTake of the weekend: Tommie Frazier's run wasn't that great; Florida just couldn't tackle.

Let's debrief.

The Short Story

Nebraska came to Columbus as a top-10 team and the Buckeyes tossed them out like an expired can of Spaghetti-Os. The game was never really close – Tommy Armstrong's first pass attempt went for a Buckeye touchdown and the floodgates stayed open from there. J.T. Barrett unleashed his arm, the Silver Bullets found the endzone twice and Cameron Johnston stayed on the sideline the entire game. Saturday night was a party, and Nebraska paid the tab.

Who Earned a Buckeye Leaf?

Offense: Curtis Samuel

The team wore uniforms paying homage to Chic Harley and the 1916 team.

For those unaware, Harley was Ohio State's first great football player and he was indeed great. Whenever he was on the field, he was the best at whatever position he chose to play, be it quarterback, running back, receiver, cornerback, safety, returner, punter or placekicker. He did everything for the Buckeyes and his play nearly single-handedly gave Ohio State its first undefeated season, conference championship and win over Michigan.

Let's be clear, nobody is ever touching Harley's legend; he stands alone. But on a night where the team brought his memory back to life in the House That Harley Built, Curtis Samuel had flashes where he resembled the old black and white clips of Harley's "music and cannon fire" running style.

Samuel a rather Harley-esque stateline – eight catches for 137 yards and two touchdowns, five carries for 41 yards and one punt return for -5 yards – but it was a fun and safe -5 yards!

It's believed Harley wore No. 4 during Ohio State's first-ever win over Michigan, so Samuel looked and dressed the part Saturday night.

If only he could learn to kick...

UPDATE: CURTIS SAMUEL CAN KICK!

This is fantastic news.

Honorable Mention: It would simply be unfair not to acknowledge J.T. Barrett's incredible performance after he's faced a barrage of criticism the past few weeks.

Barrett completed 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and 4 touchdowns – pretty solid outing, some would say.

Defense: Malik Hooker

So, Malik Hooker is a certified boss.

This may come as a shock to you, but he once again intercepted a pass and took it to the house. This is now his second pick six on the season (officially – he had one called back for a chop-block earlier this year) and fifth total interception. It also broke the Ohio State record for interceptions in a season.

Denzel Ward did most of the work in coverage, making an athletic play to tip the ball in the air. Hooker, though, has an uncanny ability to follow blocks after an interception and somehow ended up in the endzone.

He finds seems like water finds a crack. Maybe he deserves a shot at returning punts? I wouldn't be opposed, even if it means taking an opportunity from Demario McCall.

Hooker also had three tackles and a pass deflection on the game.

Also, shoutout to Beau Bishop for calling a Hooker pick-six on the Eleven Warriors report this week, and also for murdering me on live television.

Plays of the Game

Offense

There were probably more deserving plays, but I'm going with the jump pass and you are too because this is a dictatorship.

The play call was absolutely amazing and the execution was perfect. Let's have a moment of silence while we re-watch it in its full glory.

The best part is No. 25's reaction when he sees the ball in the air and realizes he just got got. You can almost see his face morphing into a Crying Jordan in real time.

Defense

It didn't take long for the Silver Bullets to put their stamp on this game. Tommy Armstrong's first pass attempt was tipped in the air by Raekwon McMillan, snatched by Damon Webb and promptly taken the other way for six-points – Armstrong's only touchdown pass of the day.

"Hell of play from Raekwon McMillan tipping that pass," said Kyle Jones, our resident football-knower who has no idea he's quoted in this piece every week because he doesn't read it. "Possibly the most athletic thing he's done at Ohio State."

Biggest Surprise

Just as everyone predicted, Ohio State's leading rusher was the GOAT himself, Demario McCall.

Every time he touches the field I wonder when he's going to get meaningful snaps. He just seems too talented to waste as a garbage time clean-up running back, but then again playing him would mean taking carries from Curtis Samuel and Mike Weber, and there already aren't enough touches to go around there.

The situation seems like Ezekiel Elliott's freshman season – he was undoubtedly talented and totally outclassed the defense in garbage time, but Carlos Hyde was one of the best running backs in Buckeye history.

Thankfully, Ohio State seems to have solved this problem – let him return punts.

Jim Tressel's Least Favorite Moment

Jim Tressel spent the unseasonably warm fall Saturday doing art projects outside with his grandchildren.

Tressel had bundles of fun doing various arts and crafts. He made animals out of pinecones, did leaf rubbing with fall-colored crayons and even made his own scarecrow from a handy kit he found on sale at Michaels.

The only thing that would make the day better was a Buckeye win in a big game – and boy did he get one.

Tressel and his wife Ellen pulled their matching gliders in front of their brand new 55 inch big screen projection television and were immediately thrilled. Within the first few minutes, Ohio State was dominating the game. Nothing could go wrong for the Buckeyes. Jim and Ellen simply leaned back, shared a bowl of pretzels and enjoyed the performance.

Towards the end of the fourth quarter though, the camera panned to Tressel's favorite player, Cameron Johnston, and his heart immediately sunk. He had just realized Ohio State had not punted the entire game.

"Why did he even dress him, Ellen?" asked Tressel. "That poor boy."

"Well Jim, they never even went for it on fourth down," retorted Ellen with a laugh. "I guess the offense was just too good!"

"Well then I guess you have to punt on third down," replied Tressel. "I guess you have to punt on third down."

Biggest Blunder

It appears the Dontre Wilson Punt Return Experience (trademark pending) has come to an end.

Midway through the second quarter, Nebraska punted to Wilson, who outright refused to catch the football, allowing it to bounce off his chest for a slew of Cornhuskers to recover.

It seems like this adventure was the last straw for Urban Meyer, as Curtis Samuel returned the next punt and Demario McCall took over duties after that.

R.I.P. The Dontre Wilson Punt Return Experience.

Bonus!

J.T. Barrett completely whiffed on a block that might have sprung Curtis Samuel for a long run. You hate to see it, but at least the effort was there.

Extra Bonus!

Someone needs to have a chitchat with Urban Meyer for letting up on the gas when his team had a rare chance to put up a nice 69 points. You let us down, Urban. You let us down.

Spectator Quote-Book

First Quarter
  • "Tommy Armstrong is a walking interception. I would not be shocked if he threw one on the first drive."
  • "Is Tommy Armstrong going to account for more Nebraska points or Ohio State points?"
  • "I'm deathly afraid for my ACL. If Snookie goes down, it's gone. It's gone," said a student while gesturing towards a heavily intoxicated girl with a bad spray tan.
Second Quarter
  • "If Nebraska were a .500 team we would only be winning like 7-3."
  • "Boooo! That wasn't even close!" – As J.T. Barrett intentionally threw a pass away in the redzone while Ohio State was winning 21-3.
Third Quarter
  • "Maybe we should wear these uniforms always."

  • "I love this bunch formation," exclaimed a fan while Ohio State had four receivers and a tight end on the field.

Fourth Quarter
  • "I feel an overwhelming sense of calm or even excitement when Demario McCall returns punts. Is this what it's supposed to feel like?"
  • "69 points is in play!"
  • "Are we... Good?"

Underrated Things

Say No To Punts

Cameron Johnston brought nine Australian friends 10,000 miles across an ocean to watch him hold a football for two field goals and eight extra points. Baller move, in my humble opinion.

Having arguably the best punter in the country on your team is good, not having to use him because your offense is too busy hanging 62 points on a top-10 team is great.

Tommy Armstrong is Superman

Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong went down hard in the second quarter. Malik Hooker took out his legs on a tackle and Armstrong hit the ground head-first leaving him unconscious momentarily.

It was a scary moment – Armstrong was carted off the field and taken immediately to an ambulance and to the hospital.

The doctors were unaware that Tommy Armstrong is made of steel.

In a matter of minutes he came jogging back out of the tunnel in street clothes to an enormous ovation from the Ohio Stadium crowd who chanted his name as he crossed the field and hugged his teammates.

Tommy Armstrong is an absolute baller and forever has my respect. My only complaint is that he didn't stick retake the field in yellow crocks and scrubs.

It Was Over When

Damon Webb took Tommy Armstrong's first pass back for six points the other way. Nebraska responded with a field goal on the next drive, but it was over and it only got ugly from there.

Biggest Question Going Forward

How many punts is Demario McCall going to house now that he's the full-time punt returner? I'll set the over/under conservatively at 4.5.

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