OSU v. Nebraska: Offensive Analysis

With an improved gameplan to constrain the defense, and Braxton Miller's ability to penalize Nebraska for playing man coverage with his legs, Ohio State was able to finally establish a cohesive offensive performance.  Nebraska made significant second half changes, however, and without Miller's running ability, OSU could not move the football against Nebraska's more aggressive approach.  The Buckeyes were unable to overcome Nebraska's offensive onslaught versus the normally reliable Ohio State defense, leading to a heart wrenching defeat in a season of ignominious performances.  

A First Half Surprise

Ohio State came out and surprised everyone by successfully moving the football against Nebraska and jumping to a three touchdown lead with 11 minutes to go in the third quarter.  Nebraska came out in a base 3-4 defense, with the strong safety coming up in run support (see initial clip).

OSU  was able to succeed against the Nebraska defense in four ways.  Ohio State ran nearly all of its base lead zone run plays to the weak side away from Nebraska's safety support.  The best example is Carlos Hyde's 62 yard touchdown run (1:21 mark).  OSU was set up with twins to the field.  OSU then ran lead zone weak, and Hyde saw the cutback lane behind Reid Fragel's block.  Ohio State's offense--with the return of all-American level LT Mike Adams--was able to control the line of scrimmage with this approach, and OSU was able to successfully run the football even though Nebraska generally knew it was coming.   

From there, Ohio State apparently learned from the Michigan State fiasco and ran constraint plays.  The coaches' intention to do so was clear from the beginning, with OSU running a pistol bootleg (18 second mark above), and outside zone read on consecutive plays.  Perhaps no play better epitomized this approach, however, then the fake 'Dave' play-pass, TE screen throwback to Jake Stoneburner (:48 second mark). 

When Ohio State did pass, they did a better job employing the timing based drop-back game that Braxton Miller clearly feels more comfortable with.  In particular, OSU repeatedly used all curl (See first clip above), smash, and snag to throw mid-range routes.  

Most importantly, though, OSU was able to continually sustain drives by using Braxton Miller' s legs to punish Nebraska's defense for playing cover-1 man to man coverage.  Teams have played ample man defense against Ohio State's green receivers who have had difficulty getting open (on a side note, Corey 'Philly" Brown's return was a big boost to the OSU offense, as he was able to beat man defenses).  In hindsight, perhaps the biggest failure against Michigan State was that MSU was able to get away with playing such man coverage without any concern for Braxton Miller scrambling.

OSU had no such problems against Nebraska, however.  Miller was repeatedly able to exploit Nebraska's back seven turning and running with OSU receivers.  For example, at the :40 second mark above, Braxton Miller sees a defense he may never see again.  Nebraska brought 2 blitzers and played cover 0.  OSU exploited this with a QB draw, which was easing pickings for Miller.  Between these factors, OSU was able to build a comfortable lead.

Second Half Adjustments (and Bad Luck)

The idea of 'halftime adjustments' is greatly overrated, yet Nebraska did make a sizable second half shift.  Nebraska discarded its base 30 defense for a one-gap, 4-3 under front with at least one safety walked up in run support.  Nebraska's defense generally took on a more aggressive posture.  The OSU offense handled this well enough with Braxton Miller in the game, but with his injury and the entry of Joe Bauserman, things took a different turn.  Without the concern with Miller's legs, Nebraska discarded any hesitation and played 8 and 9 man fronts with aggressive man coverage.  Ohio State had no answer to this--it slowed down OSU's run game, and the Buckeyes could not throw the ball with any success.  In hindsight, OSU should have likely continued to run the football and not throw so often.  Perhaps the most glaring example is where OSU was in 2d and 13 at the Nebraska 31 yard line.  OSU could have run the ball twice there, and at worst attempted to gain yards to make a field goal possible.  Instead, Ohio State threw twice there, missing wide open receivers both times, and forcing a punt (though a field goal should have still been attempted).  Without any ball control ability, the OSU defense was left to fail against Nebraska's onslaught.

A Road Ahead?

Nebraska's game has several takeaways.  The return of Mike Adams and Philly Brown demonstrates just how decimated OSU has been by suspensions and injuries, and how much a difference getting back even a few playmakers can make.  Boom Herron's return is another shot in the arm.  Conversely, it demonstrates how thin Ohio State has been left, and that even one crucial injury can effectively derail any semblance of offense. 

Nowhere is this more obvious than the QB position.  The coaching staff began putting Braxton Miller in positions to succeed, and he demonstrated that his running threat can add the necessary dimension to complement Ohio State's run game.  Ohio State's run game has continued to demonstrate its effectiveness.  As noted, Mike Adams' return paid huge dividends.  Carlos Hyde has continued to improved, with much better vision and a physical running style.  Jordan Hall played better than some have given him credit for.  With Herron's return, OSU has a nice compliment of tailbacks.  But Miller's athleticism is critical.  Without his legs, OSU goes stagnant.  This was fully demonstrated for the last 25 minutes on Saturday.  Miller has shown significant improvement, and in hindsight one wonders where OSU would be if he started the season.  Nevertheless, Ohio State demonstrated Saturday that they can continue to improve offensively to put themselves in a position to win games--if Miller can stay healthy.