Ohio State vs. Nebraska: Keys to victory, HOL score predictions

Nebraska and Ohio State will wrap up their six-game crossover series today in Memorial Stadium when the Buckeyes come to Lincoln for an 11 a.m. game on FOX.

OSU has played itself back into the College Football Playoff mix after an early-season home loss to Oregon.

Here are today's keys to victory for Nebraska vs. Ohio State. The Buckeyes are currently a 15.5 point favorite for today's game.

KEY 1: Yards after contact on Henderson

Nebraska is going to have its hands full with TreVeyon Henderson. 35 of his 106 rushing attempts have converted first downs. 574 of his 838 rushing yards have come after contact. He has 24 runs over 10+ yards and 14 runs of 15 yards or longer. The good news is they don't have to worry about quarterback C.J. Stroud as a runner, as he has just 12 designed run yards and 45 scramble yards on the season.

KEY 2: The good Martinez needs to show up

A big part of this game is what version of quarterback Adrian Martinez will show up? Will we see the one we saw vs. Northwestern and even Michigan, or the one the last two games vs. Minnesota and Purdue? If Martinez cannot be a threat on the ground, it could be a very long day for the Huskers.

KEY 3: Limit Ohio State's downfield throws

Ohio State's top three receivers in Garrett Wilson, Chris Olave and Jaxon Smith-Njigba have a combined 18 touchdown receptions on the season, and a113 catches for 1,817 yards in eight games. That an average of 14 catches for 227 yards and 2.25 touchdowns per game. I'm not sure there's a better trio than that in all of Power Five football. Can the Huskers limit the big plays downfield? Last week Purdue had a long pass play of just 21 yards, but the Boilermakers took a ton of free yards underneath. Can they force Stroud into some tougher throws?

KEY 4: Tight end play

I feel like the one area Nebraska has a significant advantage in over Ohio State is with their tight ends. The Huskers need a big day out of Austin Allen and Travis Vokolek.

KEY 5: Avoid a disastrous start

This will be the sixth straight year Nebraska and Ohio State have played. Only in 2018 has NU not gotten off to a bad start. If the Buckeyes jump up big early, the Huskers are just not built to come back like that, especially if they have to abandon their run game.

Sean Callahan - HuskerOnline Publisher

Nebraska will find a way to make this an interesting game into the third quarter, but the Buckey have too much and they will wear down the Blackshirts down the stretch.

Ohio State 41, Nebraska 24

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Robin Washut - HuskerOnline Senior Writer

Today is arguably the most daunting challenge Nebraska has faced this season, and it arguably comes on the heels of the lowest point of the year yet for the Huskers. Ohio State presents too many challenges in all three phases for NU to keep up in this one, and it will likely be a matter of how competitive the game will even be going into the fourth quarter.

Ohio State 48, Nebraska 21

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Jim Rose - 1110 KFAB Radio Sports Director

Why in my wildest dreams do I think Nebraska will make this a four-quarter game? I have no earthly idea. But I do. I just do.

Ohio State 35, Nebraska 31

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Mike'l Severe - 1620 the Zone

Ohio State offense has the trifecta of stats leading the country in total yards, yards per play and total points. The defense however has shown some vulnerability, especially vs the pass. I think Martinez could have some success with off-schedule runs and in the middle of the field throwing it. The Buckeyes also commit a lot of penalties and are prone to slow starts versus good teams.

Ohio State 41, Nebraska 24

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Andy Kendeigh - KETV Channel 7 Sports Director

Ohio State has too many weapons on both sides of the ball including two projected first-round NFL draft picks at wide receiver. My hunch is Nebraska hangs around, makes it a game and then the Buckeyes pull away in the end thanks to a mistake or two by the home team --sound familiar?

Ohio State 34, Nebraska 17