Sunday Look Ahead: Ohio State vs. Nebraska
9/22/2019 3:46:47 PM | Football
THE BASICS
Nebraska vs. No. 5 Ohio State • Sat., Sept. 28 • When: 7:30 p.m. ET • Where: Memorial Stadium • TV: ABC • Play by Play: Chris Fowler • Analyst: Kirk Herbstreit • Sidelines: Maria Taylor
OHIO STATE, NEBRASKA PRIMED FOR A B1G SHOWDOWN SATURDAY NIGHT
With the non-conference portion of their schedule in the rear view mirror, No. 6 Ohio State heads to Lincoln, Neb. for a Saturday night showdown against Nebraska in the first of eight straight conference games.
The Buckeyes and Cornhuskers are two of the most historic programs in college football, evidenced by their over 1,800 combined wins, 13 national championships and nine Heisman Trophies. Saturday will be their sixth meeting as members of the Big Ten Conference.
Both teams are coming off wins on Saturday, as Ohio State rolled to a 76-5 win over in-state foe Miami (Ohio) while Nebraska came from behind to outlast Illinois on the road, 42-38.
KNOW THY OPPONENT
• The state legislature chartered the university in 1869 as a land-grant university under the 1862 Morrill Act, two years after Nebraska’s statehood into the United States.
• Memorial Stadium’s capacity of 91,585 is famously larger than the population of Nebraska’s third-largest city (Bellevue, Neb. – a suburb of Omaha).
• Between 1900 and 1916, Nebraska had five undefeated seasons and completed a stretch of 34 consecutive games without a loss, still a program record.
• Three alumni have won the Nobel Prize, eight have won the Pulitzer Prize, 22 have been selected as Rhodes Scholars, one has been selected as a Marshall Scholar, 29 have been selected as Goldwater Scholars and 15 have been selected as Truman Scholars. In 2010 NU was named a Truman Scholarship Honor Institution.
• Ohio State is the only team that ranks in the top five in both scoring offense and scoring defense. The Buckeyes are No. 3 in both categories, scoring 53.5 points/game while giving up just 9.0.
• In Saturday’s win over Miami (Ohio), QB Justin Fields became the first Ohio State quarterback with six touchdowns responsible for in a quarter. Fields is currently No. 2 nationally in both total points responsible for (114) and points responsible for per game (28.5).
• Speaking on touchdowns, Fields is the first Big Ten player with a passing and rushing TD in each of his first four games of a season since Antwaan Randle El in 1999 for Indiana (source: @ESPNStatsInfo).
• The Buckeyes’ defense has held each of its first four opponents to 300 or less yards of total offense. The last time that occurred was 1996 when Ohio State did it to Rice, Pittsburgh, Notre Dame and Penn State.
• Ohio State and Nebraska are two of just five schools to ever reach 900 all-time wins. The Cornhuskers joined that exclusive club last week with a 42-38 come-from-behind victory at Illinois.
