When Mike Riley first looked over the 2016 schedule months ago, part of him was excited about the opportunity that awaited at the end of October and early November.

He knew that a two-game road stretch at Wisconsin and then Ohio State could be a golden opportunity for Nebraska to make a major statement on the national stage.

Now that he’s in the thick of it, however, exciting might not be the word he would use to describe the Huskers’ current situation.

“When it’s months away, it’s kind of exciting,” Riley said. “And then you’re in it.”

Nebraska nearly pulled off an overtime road upset over then-No. 11 Wisconsin last weekend but ended up suffering its first defeat of the season. The Huskers have had no time to sit back and dwell on the defeat, however, as they immediately turned their attention to sixth-ranked Ohio State this weekend.

The Buckeyes have established themselves as the class of the Big Ten over the past few years under head coach Urban Meyer. In fact, Riley compared OSU’s dominance to what he experienced with USC in the 2000s while he was at Oregon State.

As a result, it’s worth asking how much of an intimidation factor the Huskers could face as they try to stay in first place in the Big Ten West. Riley said he wasn’t worried about his team not being ready for the challenge ahead.

His players agreed.

“They’re a different kind of animal,” senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp said. “They’ve been so good for so long. This is a huge game for us. We know how good they are, but they’re beatable. We’re going to watch film this week, see they’re tendencies and have a real good film study and real good practices, and we’ll be ready to go…

“They are beatable. Teams have been able to do stuff on them. We will watch those games obviously and real close and come up with an awesome game plan.”

- Robin Washut

In reading off his list of standout players from Saturday’s loss at Wisconsin, Riley made sure to add an extra note on how well he thought senior defensive tackle Kevin Maurice played.

“Kevin Maurice is an all-star,” Riley said. “He’s a really good player. If you take the time to watch him and see what he does, it’s big.”

Riley’s praise wasn’t just for Maurice’s play against the Badgers, either.

The 6-foot-3, 300-pound native of Orlando, Fla., has posted a solid 18 tackles, four tackles for loss and ranks second on the team with 3.0 sacks. But Riley said it goes far beyond the numbers to quantify how well Maurice has played this season.

Few players on Nebraska’s defense had bigger shoes to fill going into this season, as Maurice returned as the lone senior defensive tackle after NU lost two early-entry NFL draft picks and another transfer at the position.

Maurice downplayed his coach’s compliments, saying he’s merely done what he expected he would do all year.

“I just go out there and try to play hard every snap,” Maurice said. “Just do what I am supposed to do, and I have been in position to make some plays and I think that is just about it… Just as simple as that, just doing your job.”

Maurice has also helped set the tone for NU’s slew of talented young defensive tackles coming up. Redshirt freshman Carlos Davis has had an impressive debut this season in his own right, and he credited Maurice’s veteran leadership as a key piece in his development.

“He is a big role model for me,” Davis said. “Just playing with him, I try to get as much as I can from him and watch his tendencies and what he does. He is a tough guy and a great guy off the field too, so I’m just going to learn as much as I can from Kevin.”

- Robin Washut

De’Mornay Pierson-El finally recorded his first receiving touchdown of the season two weeks ago in Nebraska’s win over Purdue. Now he’s looking to cross off his first score on a punt return.

The junior has gotten close a couple of times this year, but he still remains without a runback for a touchdown since his true freshman season in 2014, when he took three back to the house (one shy of the school record).

“It’s a long time coming, but I know it’s coming,” Pierson-El said. “Everyone just gels together and gets one big push. Everybody just finishes and everything. One will get taken back.”

It might be easier said than done for Pierson-El to finally get one this week at Ohio State.

The Buckeyes come in boasting one of the best punt teams and punters in all of college football. Senior Cameron Johnston leads the Big Ten and ranks fourth nationally with an average of 47.5 yards per punt, including a 70-yard bomb that stands as the longest kick in the conference this year.

Not only is Johnston booming the ball downfield, his coverage team has been as good as any by allowing just 1.1 yards per return on 34 punts.

To his credit, Pierson-El currently ranks second in the Big Ten with 9.7 yards per punt return, but he knows the challenge that lies in store on Saturday.

“I can only do what’s in my control, and my control is to catch the ball, make people miss, and run very fast,” Pierson-El said. “I think it’s just execution. I think everybody kind of gets it. Like literally it’s one block away or just that punt could be the punt that he takes back.

“I think everybody is kind of getting a lot more excited about it, and they’re actually finishing blocks and everything like that and kind of giving me a little bit more time. Coach Riley has harped on just giving me a little time. Coach (Bruce) Read has been preaching about it. So it’s something that we’ve been working for.”

- Robin Washut

Ohio State’s offense has been as good as any in the country this season, and it’s not hard to identify the one player who has been making the Buckeyes tick.

Junior quarterback J.T. Barrett stands as the frontrunner to earn first-team All-Big Ten honors and could potentially be a Heisman Trophy finalist by the end of the season.

Barrett currently ranks second in the Big Ten with 275.8 yards of total offense per game, including 121 carries for 531 rushing yards while owning a completion percentage of 63.9 with 1,675 passing yards.

Most impressive has been Barrett’s ability to capitalize on all that yardage with points. He has already racked up 23 total touchdowns on the year (17 passing, six rushing) and owns the OSU career records for touchdown passes (62) and touchdowns responsible for (90).

In fact, his 90 career total touchdowns stand just five short of tying Drew Brees’ all-time Big Ten record.

“When you have a guy that’s as good an athlete as this and then they use him in multiple ways, both obviously as a run-pass option guy, as a runner and as a passer, he’s one of those guys that is really good all around,” Riley said. “You have to have a plan to defend what they do, generally offensively, how they approach the game.”

Because of that dual-threat ability, Riley hinted that Nebraska might utilize a defender to spy Barrett on certain situations, especially on passing downs because of well he scrambles.

The Huskers are also preparing for a heavy dose of designed quarterback runs.

“We let a couple draws get out last week, so that will probably be something they will look up to,” Maurice said. “They already run a ton of draws with him and try to get him in space, so it is going to be real important to contain him in the pocket and not let him get loose.”

- Robin Washut

***Tight end Cethan Carter was back in pads Tuesday for the first time suffering a dislocated elbow against Illinois on Oct. 1. The senior went through mostly all of the early practice drills and warmups while wearing a supportive brace on his left arm.

***As for players who sat out of Tuesday’s practice, that list included linebacker Dedrick Young (elbow), right tackle David Knevel (foot), and right guard Tanner Farmer (ankle). Young was running on the side and went through pre-practice warmups, so he doesn’t look far off from returning. Neither Knevel or Farmer had a visible brace or wrap.

***Both running backs Terrell Newby and Devine Ozigbo, who suffered ankle injuries at Wisconsin, fully practiced on Tuesday.

***Defensive coordinator Mark Banker said the first comparison that came to mind when asked to describe Barrett was Nebraska’s own Tommy Armstrong. While Barrett is a little bigger than Armstrong, Banker said they’ve seen much of the same skill set every day in practice from Armstrong that they will see vs. Barrett on Saturday.

***Banker said Barrett is known for his dual-threat ability, but he also has a “very, very strong arm.” Combine that with a wide receiver group Banker said was “like a track team”, the Huskers will have to be very disciplined in the secondary as to not let OSU beat them deep for big plays.

***While Mike Weber comes in as Ohio State’s leading rusher, Banker said their No. 2 back, Curtis Samuel, was as unique of a weapon as NU will have seen. Banker said the Buckeyes have lined up Samuel in the backfield, in the slot, and out wide on the perimeter. Banker said with going from Weber to Samuel, “the only change of pace is going from fast to fastest.”

***Banker said he was very proud of how physical Nebraska’s defense was vs. Wisconsin. He said it started up front with the defensive line, and then the linebackers did a nice job of playing down hill. He even went as far as saying the Blackshirts knew UW’s offense as well as the Badgers themselves, but they got burned on two plays - a draw and sweep at the end of the game - that were merely “microcosms” of Wisconsin’s scheme.

***Cornerback Chris Jones said Nebraska had a “really good practice” on Tuesday, and he hasn’t seen anyone walking around with their heads down since the loss.

***Linebackers coach Trent Bray compared Ohio State’s offense a lot to what they saw against Indiana, especially with the play-action passing they use out of the shotgun.

***Linebacker Josh Banderas was credited with eight tackles against Wisconsin in the final stats, but after NU watched the tape again, the coaches credited him with 13 tackles in the game.