From mid-August to early September, Ohio State and Nebraska were united and at the forefront of the battle to reinstate the season, but Saturday they’ll clash as enemies.
Following a prolonged offseason, the Buckeyes are finally set to begin their quest for a fourth-straight Big Ten title and a run at the national championship. The journey starts with a storied Nebraska Cornhusker program that has fallen on hard times in recent years. However, Ohio State head coach Ryan Day said he has a great respect for the program.
“I remember it really well, watching them play for national championships and being a powerhouse,” Day said Tuesday in a conference call. “Nothing but respect, a lot of great players have come before.”
As the two programs led the charge against the Big Ten’s postponement of the season, Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said Monday that he hopes Ohio State wins every game except for Saturday’s matchup between the two teams.
Following similar ups and downs throughout the offseason, Nebraska dealt with an extra challenge at the quarterback position. The Huskers held a quarterback competition between junior two-year starter Adrian Martinez and redshirt freshman Luke McCaffrey.
Although Frost said he thinks Nebraska has “two first-string quarterbacks,” Martinez won his job back Monday and earned the start against the Buckeyes.
“I think it brought the most out of myself and Luke and as well as the team surrounding us,” Martinez said Monday. “I think it was only a positive change.”
Martinez had a rocky second season at the helm of the Nebraska offense; in 10 games he threw for 1,956 yards with 10 touchdowns and nine interceptions. He added 626 yards on the ground along with seven rushing touchdowns.
Last season, the Buckeye defense punished Martinez in a 48-7 win as they held him to just 47 passing yards and forced three interceptions.
Ohio State then-redshirt freshman running back Master Teague III (33) scores a touchdown in the first half of the game against Nebraska on Sept. 28. Ohio State won 48-7. Credit: Casey Cascaldo | Lantern File Photo
However, this time around, Martinez won’t be throwing against players such as Jeffrey Okudah, Damon Arnette and Jordan Fuller — nor will he be chased down by Chase Young.
Although just four starters are returning on the defensive side of the ball, Ohio State co-defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said he is “very optimistic” about what he called a “special group.”
“We understand that an opener is always a great challenge and they’re a very good football team — there’s no question about that,” Mattison said Wednesday. “All I can go by is what our players have done, what they do every day, how they have taken care of and fought against this COVID, and what they’ve done to make sure they could play in this game.”
A major task for the new-look Buckeye defense will be containing sophomore wide receiver Wan’Dale Robinson, who is a dynamic presence in the Nebraska offense.
Robinson split time in the backfield and as a receiver in 2019, hauling in 40 passes for 453 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while adding 340 yards on the ground and three touchdowns in his freshman campaign.
Mattison said that playing against Robinson last season helped the Buckeyes in their preparation for him this season.
“The fact that they did that a lot last year with him and they did a lot of things throughout the season with him, we’ve really tried to make sure we’ve covered every base,” Mattison said.
Up front, the Cornhuskers are returning all five starters on the offensive line, all of which started every game a year ago.
The experienced unit is one that Ohio State graduate linebacker Tuf Borland said will be a challenge to compete against.
“Those guys are big, tough, physical guys, and I think it’s one of the strengths of their offense,” Borland said Wednesday. “We just got to go out and try and match them — in their physicality — and be gap sound and let our technique and preparation take over from there.”
Flipping over to the defensive side of the ball, Nebraska saw its entire defensive line head to the next level, with two being selected in the NFL draft.
Despite the new look in the Nebraska front seven, Ohio State offensive line coach Greg Studrawa said that the Buckeyes offensive front will have their hands full on Saturday.
“It’s gonna be a test for us to move them off the ball,” Studrawa said Tuesday. “We’ve got to come off (the ball) with low pad level and be physical against a group like this.”
Although both universities’ efforts to bring the season back did not go unnoticed, it didn’t come without any caveats, including the fact that no fans will be allowed in Ohio Stadium Saturday.
The unfamiliar environment places a new aspect to the season opener. Day said that he’ll miss multiple aspects of a regular game day.
“I’ll miss running out of the tunnel for sure, that’s my favorite thing,” Day said Thursday in an appearance on 97.1 The Fan. “There will be a lot that we’ll miss, but we’ve accepted that and we’ll just save that for next year. In the meantime, we’re gonna play with imagination and imagine them in the stands, cheering us on.”
