Ohio State's life on the offensive side went from affluence to poverty in one game thanks to one key injury.
Playing its first full game without Josh Simmons at left tackle after his season-ending injury at Oregon, the Buckeyes required a fourth-quarter comeback to avoid catastrophe in a 21-17 win over Nebraska. Ohio State managed just 2.1 yards per carry as Will Howard faced more pressure than he has all season.
Zen Michalski played poorly and Ohio State refused to experiment further at left tackle until an injury to Michalski forced its hand and the Buckeyes slid left guard Donovan Jackson outside as Luke Montgomery took his place. While Ryan Day said that was OSU's contingency plan entering Saturday, the team is still evaluating its options at left tackle going forward.
All those issues up front are of particular concern given Ohio State hits the road to No. 3 Penn State next week and faces a fearsome Nittany Lion pass rush featuring one of the nation's elite edge rushers in Abdul Carter.
On the positive side of things, the Buckeyes' defense managed to put the team on its back and come up with key stops in the fourth quarter, getting after Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola and seeing standout performances from linebacker Cody Simon and safety Jordan Hancock.
Andy Anders and Dan Hope discuss what went wrong and how Ohio State pulled victory from defeat's cold grasp on Eleven Warriors' postgame show, After Carmen, which you can view at the top of the page.
