THE PERTINENT INFO

When: Saturday, November 6, 2021
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
TV: Noon // FOX
Announcers: Gus Johnson, Joel Klatt and Jenny Taft

This is the tenth time Ohio State and Nebraska have faced each other on the football field. Scott Frost's team lost to Purdue, 28-23, in Lincoln last week.

The Cornhuskers have lost three straight games and are on the verge of having their sixth losing season in the last seven years. 

The 2016 Music City Bowl was the last time the losers from Lincoln played in a bowl game. They lost 38-24 to Tennessee. 

Below, you might find some interesting facts about the teams, coach information, and team stats gathered from research, notes and the Ohio State Media Guide.

THE LAST TIME...

• Ohio State lost to an unranked opponent was 2018.
• The Scarlet and Gray played on November 6th was in 2004. Jim Tressel's team dropped Michigan State, 32-19, in East Lansing.
• The Buckeyes lost to Nebraska was 2011.
• The Scarlet and Gray lost the ninth game of the season was to Iowa in 2017.

ON THE HORIZON​

• Jeremy Ruckert is one touchdown catch away from tying Jake Stoneburner for first on the Ohio State all-time TE career touchdown list with 13.
• Chris Olave is a 100-yard receiving game away from surpassing Michael Jenkins for second place on Ohio State's all-time career list with ten 100-yard games.
• Olave (31) is three touchdown catches away from tying David Boston (34) for the all-time Ohio State record.
• Olave (2,328) needs four yards to pass K.J. Hill for sixth on the all-time receiving yards list.
• Olave (145) is one reception from passing Corey Brown for sixth on the all-time receptions list.
• Garrett Wilson (1,842) is in position to move ahead of several Buckeyes on the all-time receiving yards list. Ken-Yon Rambo (1,849), Brian Robiskie (1,866), Dane Sanzenbacher (1,879) and Joey Galloway (1,894) are all within striking distance.

LET'S GO STREAKING

• The Buckeyes have won 26 straight conference games (including three title game victories).
• Garrett Wilson has at least one catch in 29 straight games.
• TreVeyon Henderson has scored at least one touchdown in every game this season.
• Ohio State has won 12 straight true road games.
• The Buckeyes have won 10 consecutive true road games by double digits.

GET TO KNOW NEBRASKA

• Nebraska is located in Lincoln, NE.
• The university was established in 1869. 
• The Cornhuksers are in their 122nd season of playing football. 
• The team's nickname was originally Old Gold Knights, followed by Bugeaters. The name Cornhuskers stuck after Nebraska defeated favored Iowa in 1893. The term was used to degrade the Hawkeyes.
• Herbie Husker and Lil' Red are the mascots.
• The Cornhuskers played their first football game in 1890. Nebraska defeated Omaha YMCA 10-0 on Thanksgiving.
• Notable alumni are Warren Buffet (rich dude), Johnny Carson (funny, dead dude), Mean Gene Okerlund (wrasslin' announcer) Tommy Lee (Drummer, "talented" dude), Tom Osborne (Nebraska legend), Ndamkuong Suh (NFL), Alex Gordon (MLB), Tyronn Lue (NBA player/coach) and Zac Taylor (Bengals head coach).

STRANGE NEBRASKA LAWS

It is illegal for barbers to eat onions.
If you are a barber in Nebraska, you are forbidden to eat onions between 7:00 am until the afternoon. 

You are not permitted to burp or sneeze during church in Omaha.
It is said you are to have control of your bodily functions when in a holy place. This might explain the ban on onions for barbers.

Condoms must be distributed by doctors.
If you want to get it on safely in Nebraska, you need to get your prophylactics from a doctor.

If you have gonorrhea, you cannot get married.
The law requiring people to get rubbers from doctors might be a contributing factor to the gonorrhea issue.

You are not allowed to be ugly in public.
Lincoln enacted this law in 1989, "Any person who is diseased, maimed, mutilated, or in any way deformed, so as to be an unsightly or disgusting object, or an improper person to be allowed in or on the streets, highways, thoroughfares or public places in this city, shall not therein or thereon expose himself or herself to public view, under the penalty of a fine of $1 for each offense.”

Note to self, make sure to have a pocketful of dollar bills in order to pay the fines my ugly mug will accrue in Lincoln.

​TODAY'S TRIVIA QUESTIONS:

1. Who was Nebraska's coach when the Cornhuskers beat Ohio State in 2011?
2. When was the first game between the Buckeyes and Cornhuskers played?
3.  Can you name the Ohio State player with the most rushing yards against Nebraska? Hint the mark was set in 2012. 

Answers at the bottom of today's article.

2021 Player Comparison

OFFENSIVE LEADERS
C.J. STROUD	2,270 YDS // 23 TD // 3 INT	PASSING	ADRIAN MARTINEZ	2,264 YDS // 12 TD // 7 INTS
TREVEYON HENDERSON	845 YDS // 7.9 YPC // 12 TD	RUSHING	ADRIAN MARTINEZ	451 YDS // 4.3 YPC // 11 TD
GARRETT WILSON	687 YDS // 16.0 YPR // 6 TD	RECEIVING	SAMORI TOURE	568 YDS // 19.6 YPR // 3 TD
DEFENSIVE LEADERS
RONNIE HICKMAN	66	TACKLES	LUKE REIMER	86
HASKELL GARRETT	4.5	SACKS	GARRETT NELSON	3.0
RONNIE HICKMAN /// RYAN WATTS	2	INTERCEPTIONS	DEONTAI WILLIAMS	4
SPECIAL TEAMS
GARRETT WILSON	4.9 YPR	PUNT RETURNER	OLIVER MARTIN	8.5 YPR
EMEKA EGBUKA	35.2 YPR	KICKOFF RETURN	ZAVIER BETTS	17.3 YPR
JESSE MIRCO	41.9	PUNTING	JORDAN STOUT	44.7
5		EDGE	4

 

THE COACHES

Ryan Day

• 30–3 (.909) at Ohio State
• 30–3 (.909) overall

Day's hometown is Manchester, NH. He attended Manchester High School and attended college at New Hampshire. Day has been in coaching for 20 years and is Ohio State's 25th head coach. 

Over his three seasons as the Buckeyes' head coach, Ryan Day's teams have outscored their B1G opponents 1,027-358. That is an average victory of 47-16. 

After 33 games with Day as head coach, Ohio State has put up a program record 1,531 points. Urban Meyer's teams had 1,393 points after 33 contests.

Scott Frost

• 15–26 (.366) at Nebraska (4th year)
• 34–33 (.507) overall as a college coach (6th year)

Scott Frost earned eight different coach of the year awards in 2017. He joined Chris Peterson as the only other coach not in a Power Five Conference to win the Paul "Bear" Bryant Award. In the history of college football, Frost is one of two people to guide a team to a 13–0 record as a player and a head coach. 

Frost started his career as a quarterback for Stanford in 1993 and 1994. He transferred to Nebraska in 1995 and led the Cornhuskers to a record of 24–2 during his time as the starting quarterback. During his senior year, Frost became the 10th player in college football history to run and pass for over 1,000 yards in the same season. Nebraska earned a share of the national title that season.

After a short stint with Nebraska, Frost was a graduate assistant at Kansas State in 2006. He moved on to Northern Iowa as a linebacker coach in 2007. After two seasons with the Panthers, he took a job with Oregon in 2009. He was with the Ducks as their offensive coordinator when Ohio State defeated them in the CFP National Championship game. 

In December of 2015, Frost was named the head coach of Central Florida. The Knights won six games in 2016 and went undefeated last year. In December of 2017, Frost was named as Nebraska's head coach.

CLIFF CLAVEN'S LITTLE KNOWN FACTS CORNER

• 0.....Scott Frost wins against Ohio State.
• 1.....Buckeyes national rank in total offense and scoring offense.
• 2.....Ohio State's 8.2 yards per play is second best in the country.
• 3......wins for Nebraska this season.
• 4......touchdown runs of 40+ yards from TreVeyon Henderson. 
• 5.......mid-season Freshmen All-Americans for the Buckeyes.
• 6.......touchdowns by the Silver Bullets this year.
• 7......B1G Freshman of the Week Awards for Ohio State this season.
• 8.......rushing touchdowns allowed by the Buckeyes' defense this year.
• 9.......interceptions by the Silver Bullets this season.
• 10.....combined Heisman Trophies between Ohio State and Nebraska.
• 12.....times Ohio State has scored 50+ points since 2019.
• 13.....straight made field goals for Noah Ruggle.
• 14.....tackles for Ronnie Hickman against Penn State.
• 15.....the Buckeyes are 15-0 when starting the season against B1G foes.
• 16.....
• 18.....times Ohio State has finished a season with at least 11 wins.
• 19.....straight drives the OSU scored against Rutgers, Maryland and Indiana.
• 20.....straight field goals made by Noah Ruggles inside of 50 yards. 
• 22.....consecutive conference wins under Ryan Day.
• 24.....games of 500+ yards of total offense with Day as head coach.
• 26.....consecutive Big Ten wins for the Buckeyes.
• 27.....the school record for interceptions in a season.
• 28.....sacks registered by the Silver Bullets.
• 29.....consecutive games Garrett Wilson has had at least one reception.
• 30.....the Buckeyes average margin of victory against B1G opponents with Day as head coach.
• 31.....TreVeyon Henderson has six rushes of 30+ yards.
• 33.....straight seasons ranked in the AP preseason Top 25.
• 35.....completions for C.J. Stroud against Oregon, second most in school history.
• 40.....Ohio State's average margin of victory over unranked B1G teams under Day.
• 48.....touchdowns for Olave and Wilson, the most ever for a Buckeye WR duo.
• 49.....years Archie Griffin's freshman single-game rushing record stood.
• 66.....tackles for Ronnie Hickman this season.
• 70.....yards TreVeyon Henerson blazed for his first touchdown.
• 71.....yards Miyan Williams rumbles to score the Buckeyes' first TD in 2021.
• 85.....yards Kyle McCord and Emeka Egbuka connected for against Akron, tied for the third longest pass play in Ohio State history.
• 89.....Consensus All-Americans.
• 99.....homecoming games for Ohio State.
• 100...this is the 100th season the Scarlet and Gray have played in Ohio Stadium.
• 132....number of years for Buckeye football.
• 152...the number of years The Ohio State University has been in the education business.
• 185...number of passing touchdowns since 2017 (Ryan Day's arrival).
• 270...rushing yards for TreVeyon Henderson against Tulsa, a freshman record.
• 457...victories for the Buckeyes in Ohio Stadium.
• 465...Ohio Stadium victories for the Buckeyes when including the 2010 season.
• 938...number of official wins for the program (we know it's actually 950).
• 943...times Ohio State has been ranked in the AP poll. 

2021 Statistical Comparison

OFFENSE
47.2	1st	POINTS FOR	29.9	53rd
201.9	30th	RUSHING OFFENSE	203.4	27th
346.2	6th	PASSING OFFENSE	266.7	35th
548.1	1st	TOTAL OFFENSE	470.1	16th
.543	3rd	3rd DOWNS	.435	42nd
.943	7th	RED ZONE	.786	98th
DEFENSE
19.2	20th	POINTS ALLOWED	20.3	27th
106.9	16th	RUSH DEFENSE	137.2	49th
247.1	93rd	PASS DEFENSE	211.2	49th
123.2	37th	PASS EFFICIENCY DEFENSE	124.9	43rd
354.0	49th	TOTAL DEFENSE	348.4	44th
.433	100th	3rd DOWNS	.368	47th
.833	66th	RED ZONE	.875	90th
SPECIAL TEAMS
4.9	109th	PUNT RETURN	2.8	125th
29.7	6th	KICKOFF RETURN	16.0	121st
40.8	46th	NET PUNTING	36.4	109th
MISCELLANEOUS
+1.0	9th	TURNOVER MARGIN	-0.3	94th
6.8	84th	PENALTIES	5.3	32nd
13		EDGE	5

TODAY'S TRIVIA ANSWERS

Who was Nebraska's coach when the Cornhuskers beat Ohio State in 2011?

Answer: 
Bo Pelini guided Nebraska to the biggest comeback ever against a Buckeye football team.

When was the first game between the Buckeyes and Cornhuskers played?

Answer: 1955. No. 6 Ohio State hosted Nebraska and defeated the Cornhuskers, 28-20.

Can you name the Ohio State player with the most rushing yards against Nebraska? Hint the mark was set in 2012. 

Answer: Braxton Miller ran for 186 yards and a touchdown against the Cornhuskers On October 6, 2012. The Buckeyes won the high scoring affair, 63-38, in Columbus.

Did you know? Ohio State is averaging just over 45 points when playing against Nebraska? The fewest points the Buckeyes scored against the Cornhuskers was the 27 in the loss in Memorial Stadium during the 2011 season.