Nebraska football at No. 4 Ohio State

This will be an article about a different type of key. If you are new to the program, I write this article every week and give you three things the Huskers must do to beat their opponent.

It is intended to be an educational article. An article where I do the research for you and give you information that will make you seem like a genius at the bar or a prodigy at a party you attend.

I'm here to tell you that this key won't be like that.

I looked through the stats, I looked at the tape. There is no three-step method to beating the Ohio State Buckeyes. There isn't even one specific thing Nebraska can reveal to win. This has nothing to do with the Huskers and everything to do with the fact that Ohio State is such a well-rounded team.

They have the backs to drive the ball down your throat, the quarterback to wreak havoc on you in the passing game, the wide receivers to stretch the field, they have top-notch protection and all the future NFL talent on defense that you can imagine.

They rank in the top 5 in the country in defensive points per game, defensive yards per game, defensive yards per rush, defensive rush yards per game, offensive points per game, offensive yards per game, offensive points per game and reds Zone score and top 10 in offensive yards per rush, completion percentage, opposing red zone score and sack percentage.

Am I saying it's impossible for the Huskers to beat the Buckeyes? No, absolutely not. You play the games for a reason, and that reason is that anything can happen. There have been and will continue to be bigger surprises in college football.

But the Big Red has to be almost perfect. The offense must outrun hitters on first down, be creative on second down and convert on third down. When they get into the red zone, they have to score seven points every time. And most importantly, you definitely can't turn the ball over. Giving this insanely talented offense more and more opportunities to score is a recipe for a 50-point loss.

The defense needs to get to Will Howard. Disrupt the fifth-year gunslinger before he can get the ball to his dynamic pass-catchers. It's too much to ask Nebraska's corners to stop OSU's wideouts, but they can't allow explosive plays. Jeremiah Smith and Emeka Egbuka will get theirs; Nebraska just needs to make sure it doesn't consistently score six points.

Nebraska is a good football team. I realize this could be a hot call after their abysmal performance last week against the Indiana Hoosiers, but they are 5-2 for a reason. We have seen this team play elite football and compete with some of the best competition in this conference. I trust this coaching staff, from Matt Rhule to the ball boy. The work they did at Lincoln is astonishing considering how badly the program was left by the last administration.

But the fact is that it will be a few more years before they can compete with teams like the Ohio State Buckeyes. They just don't have the guys and depth to keep up…yet.

Every starter on this team needs to play the best game of their career and maybe, just maybe, they will beat the Ohio State Buckeyes at The Horseshoe.

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