Ohio State Football: Grading the Buckeyes' Week 6 Loss at Nebraska

For about 40 minutes in Saturday night's game in Nebraska, Ohio State looked like they were going to pull off the road upset.

What followed in the final 20 minutes might have been among the biggest collapses in Ohio State history, as Nebraska scored the final 28 points to stun the Buckeyes 34-27.

While a loss at Nebraska was almost expected by Buckeye fans, most could not imagine how they lost, and that Joe Bauserman would throw the game away as he did.

The defense played its worst game since the 2008 loss at USC, letting Nebraska's option attack gash the outside play after play.

Here is the report card for the Buckeyes' loss.

Quarterbacks: C-

After the disastrous loss to Michigan State a week ago, Braxton Miller looked like a completely different player in Nebraska.

He was able to find running lanes and made a few good throws as well.

Unfortunately, he turned over the ball on a fantastic play from Nebraska's superstar LB Lavonte David and got hurt towards the end of the game.

The reason this grade is so low is Joe Bauserman's relief performance.

One completion, and his road QB rating is in the low single digits.

It's still stunning how the coaches continue to play him game after game when he continues to bring absolutely nothing to the table.

Running Backs: B+

In the last game before Dan Herron's (hopeful) return from a now six-game suspension, Carlos Hyde showed that he is deserving of some touches the rest of the way.

The big back had his longest run of his collegiate career by housing a 64-yard run early in the second quarter and had over 100 yards in the game.

Jordan Hall didn't have that good of a night, getting only 49 yards rushing.

But Hall will likely be moved to his slot position with Herron's return next week.

With Herron and Hyde probably being the 1-2 punch in the backfield, the Buckeyes should at least have a solid running game the rest of the season.

Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: C+

The unit had only six combined touches on the night, but Jake Stoneburner did get his fifth touchdown of the season on a 32-yard screen pass.

Corey Brown was also good in his return from an ankle injury, reeling in three receptions for 61 yards and looking much better.

Having Brown back in the offense might be a huge difference, as his speed should help pull some of the defenders away from the line of scrimmage so as to respect his explosiveness.

It showed a little bit, but these receivers may have to settle for days where they may only get one or two catches a piece.

The lack of experience at QB almost dictates it.

Offensive Line: A-

Welcome back, Mike Adams.

The return of Ohio State's All-Big Ten left tackle made the offensive line look completely different from the one that gave up nine sacks to Michigan State last week.

They opened up many more running lanes for Miller and the running backs and gave him time to throw.

Miller did have a couple of losses, but those were mostly on designed running plays.

Getting Adams back was monstrous, and the offense can only hope something similar happens when Dan Herron returns next Saturday.

Defensive Line: C

John Simon and Johnathan Hankins did a good job last night of disrupting the flow of the Nebraska offense as well as getting some shots on Taylor Martinez for most of the game.

But they were rendered very ineffective when Nebraska attacked the edges of the defense and stayed away from arguably Ohio State's two best defensive players.

Unfortunately for the Buckeyes, they are in dire need of finding a pass rusher, and Nathan Williams could still be out for a few more games after having his knee scoped.

Freshman Michael Bennett was solid last night, but they do lack quality depth, and it's starting to take its toll.

Linebackers: F

There is no way to sugarcoat this: The OSU linebacking corps was horrible in Nebraska.

This starting group may be one of the worst OSU has started in several seasons.

Andrew Sweat was OK, but he doesn't have the elite athleticism to be a dominant force.

And Etienne Sabino is starting to look like a five-star bust, as he was out of position and missed tackle after tackle.

Freshman Ryan Shazier was solid, but he doesn't have the experience needed to be a difference-maker at this stage of his college career.

Defensive Backs: D

Orhian Johnson's interception of Taylor Martinez is the only thing keeping this grade from being an F.

The defensive backs need to learn how to tackle better, as both Travis Howard and C.J. Barnett, among others, missed numerous tackles.

This unit also committed a rush of totally unnecessary penalties, which kept late drives going for Nebraska.

Bradley Roby seems to be slowly emerging as a player, but he needs some help from his friends around him in the second level.

And they need to learn to play more with their heads and not with their hearts.

Special Teams: B+

Drew Basil continued his good kicking last night, nailing a pair of field goals as he seems to have gotten past his early-season slump.

Ben Buchanan also had some good punts, including a 55-yarder, and he buried a pair of kicks inside the Nebraska 20 yard line.

But it seems as if the Ohio State return game has not been as good as it was a year ago, when it was No. 5 in kick return average.

Jordan Hall had some good returns, but not a game-breaker like we've seen at times this year and last year.

But special teams did have another good performance last night.

Coaching: C-

I have been very critical of the offensive coaching staff for weeks now, but I will give them credit for having a solid gameplan last night.

They used a lot more misdirection, and they seemed to get out of some natural tendencies, which is good to see.

Whether it was a byproduct of realizing on their own that they needed to get better or by a reported incident where Mike Vrabel tossed an offensive playbook during a coaches meeting, they stepped up and the offense looked pretty good last night.

But for whatever reason when Bauserman took over, they stopped running the football with the lead.

That is a huge brain cramp and something you would never have seen under Jim Tressel.

That alone is a major head-scratcher that bumped this grade down significantly.

Intangibles: F

When Braxton Miller was taken out of the game due to injury last night, it seemed to suck the wind out of the entire football team.

The defense collapsed entirely, and Luke Fickell appeared to look more lost than ever on the sideline.

Whatever the case may be, it seems like this team has lost their heart and still does not have any leaders stepping up and trying to pick their team up.

Mike Adams helped, but they need more of that from anyone of the defensive side of the ball.

Anyone can be a leader on the defense, and it seems like everyone is waiting for someone else to step up instead of doing it themselves.

While it was a much better performance this week than last week, the result was much more heartbreaking. And it seems like this team is slowly giving up on itself.

They need a big win, and they need it bad; otherwise, they might not need the NCAA to tell them they can't play in a bowl game this year.

Ohio State might just do it to themselves.

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