Jason
Contain.Keep Taylor Martinez in the pocket and force him to beat them downfield with his arm. He’s much more dangerous with his feet.
Defensive line dominance. Continue moving the line of scrimmage one to two yards into the backfield. Keep the gaps plugged and force Burkhead to bounce his runs outside.
Be smart. No silly turnovers and penalties from the offense. Nebraska is going to give them a lot of different looks, some they haven’t seen this year. Keep your head in the game.
Carpe Diem. While being smart, enjoy the moment and seize the opportunity! “Who’s going to make a big play first? Me!” should be the thought on everyone’s mind. It’s national television in prime time, this is why you came to Ohio State.
Feed Carlos. Carlos Hyde had a pretty decent game vs Nebraska last year. He took the team, with the offensive line, on his shoulders in the closing minutes in East Lansing and won the game by the running the ball right into the teeth of the Spartan defense and keeping the clock moving. Now feed him! Let’s see a good dose of Carlos Hyde bashing into the Nebraska front seven!
Jim
Shut down the run, again. We did it last week with great success, but it may be more difficult this time around since Nebraska has more than one weapon on the ground.
Force Martinez into bad decisions. Nebraska’s QB has improved his throwing since last season, but he is still inconsistent at best. If the Buckeyes can get pressure on him and force him to make some mistakes that will severely limit the Husker offense.
Attack the middle of the defense. I don’t know if it is because the coaches don’t trust Miller to make the reads, but I have felt for weeks that the middle of the opposing defense has been extremely vulnerable and we haven’t taken advantage of that. Teams are focusing on stopping the run and the quick passes into the flats, leaving the middle of the field relatively open. I’d like to see the offense attempt to exploit that weakness a bit more this week.
Less read option runs from Miller. He’s still not very good at making those reads and it showed in the first half against the Spartans. Granted, that D was damn good which didn’t help, but I’d like to see us ease off those plays (just like we did in the second half against MSU) until Miller proves he can execute them consistently.
Eric
No turnovers from the Bucks.This should be obvious. The three turnovers we gave up against Michigan State, while picking up none in return, were just not what OSU needed to help put MSU away. The Bucks have to do a better job tomorrow night.
Improvement in the Corey Brown Screen. We’ve been hearing a lot from Meyer that he needs someone that can make a man miss or break a tackle on those screen plays. Brown could be it, particularly considering his running back past. I’d like to see him try to find that again.
More. Shots. Downfield. It’s there for the taking. Take it. Repeatedly.
Improvement from the defense. I’m still not ready to give them back the label. If they can prove that they can get better one game at a time, I’ll consider it. Also – by itself that strip play is enough to keep me from giving it back. That was boneheaded.
Joe L.
Lockdown Defense. Less than 17 points again this week.
Win the turnover battle. Last week we didn’t do this and really let MSU stay in a game they shouldn’t have been in.
Big plays of 20+ yards. I would like to see some from someone other than Braxton, but I also understand the higher the total for the team the better. Here is to many explosive plays from our offense.
No stupid penalties. If they are guys trying to make a play ok, but I don’t want to see dead ball fouls, roughing the passer, offside, false start type penalties. Ed. – If Mali asked too, we’re doomed.
Malibuckeye
Tight End Attack.Almost non-existent against MSU, the Huskers were gashed across the middle with intermediate routes by UCLA. Jake Stoneburner’s not still in the doghouse, is he?
“Bad” Martinez. Taylor has really REALLY improved from last season, but does have the tendency to get in panic mode and throw off his back foot under pressure. He’ll be in the shotgun most of the night, and will have to face a controlled rush due to his great mobility. That being said, he’ll be facing one of the best defensive fronts in the country.
That One Thing. We were three plays away from perfection in East Lansing… Ed. – Well…there ya go.
Trench Dominance. Nebraska brings pressure from a lot of different angles; the Buckeye front will need to continue making strides in order to keep the game in check.
No Late Magic. Last year, Ohio State needed some heroics to pull out the Homecoming win… and Nebraska did the same to us in Lincoln. Here’s to a game that’s well under control by the good guys from early on.
Janelle
Get off the Field on 3rd Down. The defense did a pretty good job of this last week, but this week they’ll face a more dynamic offense in Nebraska on Saturday night so it’ll be a tougher challenge.
Pass Rush. Yes, we’ve heard about Taylor Martinez and how much he’s improved since last season, but old habits die hard. I want to see the defense get to him and force him into making bad decisions.
No Turnovers. Fortunately, the defense played well enough so that the three turnovers against MSU last week didn’t cost us the game. Let’s not put that kind of pressure on them this week. Protect the football.
Electricity in The ‘Shoe. We all know this is a big game. I want the ‘Shoe to be so loud that after the game, everyone will be saying the crowd noise was a factor.
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