With no postseason goals to strive for, Ohio State can focus all of its collective energy on becoming the best team in the Big Ten.
Looking to remain undefeated, the No. 12 Buckeyes try to avenge last season’s gut-wrenching loss at Nebraska when they host the 21st-ranked Cornhuskers in a conference matchup Saturday night.
Coming off a 6-7 season and playing under the cloud of NCAA violations from the watch of former coach Jim Tressel, Ohio State (5-0, 1-0) has played well for new coach Urban Meyer. Though the Buckeyes haven’t been dominant, a 17-16 road win over then-No. 20 Michigan State last Saturday showed that they might be the class of an underachieving conference.
“It’s been a team that’s been pushed around for a while,” Meyer said. “A lot of things have happened, a lot of things I’m probably not even aware of. But I could tell that it wasn’t a close team. It was a team with a lot of excuses. But (the togetherness) materialized over the weekend.
“I’m not saying we’re a great team. We at least have a chance of going to do some good things together.”
That type of collective effort helped the Buckeyes hold bruising Spartans running back Le’Veon Bell to 45 yards on 17 carries. Offensively, sophomore Braxton Miller continued to improve by going 16 of 23 for 179 yards and hitting Devin Smith for a 63-yard, go-ahead touchdown late in the third quarter. Miller also ran 23 times for 136 yards.
Continue Reading: Nebraska-Ohio St. Preview
