COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — No. 4 Ohio State had an off week to stew on its devastating loss to Oregon. But despite the 32-31 setback in Eugene on Oct.
12 , the Buckeyes didn't take a nosedive in the AP Top 25, nor do they have to abandon their national championship hopes. It's just that the margin for error got a little smaller. One more loss and the Buckeyes (5-1, 2-1 Big Ten), recognized as a top national championship contender since the preseason, may get left outside the 12-team College Football Playoff.
So, everything from here on out just got a little more urgent. “It was a long (off) week for all of us,” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said. “A lot of hours in here talking about it.
You sit on it, you chew on it and eventually you move on and look forward, and that’s kind of where we are.” Now comes Nebraska (5-2, 2-2 Big Ten) to the Horseshoe for a Saturday game with the Cornhuskers still reeling from a 56-7 rout by surprising Indiana. “I know we want to talk about last week, but we have a heck of a challenge in front of us this week,” Nebraska coach Matt Rhule said.
“And if you go out there against Ohio State and you don’t challenge them, and you just want to bail and play off coverage and hope that you don’t get beat, you’re going to get run off the field with these guys." When the season started, this matchup with Nebraska looked like one of the tougher games on the Ohio State schedule. But the ‘Huskers come in as four-touchdown underdogs, and Ohio S.
