Buckeyes Bruised, Blow Big Lead

The Buckeyes offense has been anything but impressive this season.

On Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska, it looked as though Ohio State was finally on their way to figuring out their identity under the direction of true freshman quarterback, Braxton Miller.

Miller and the Bucks built a 27-6 lead and appeared on their way to a much needed, road conference victory against the Cornhuskers. Then, in the third quarter, Miller went down with a sprained right ankle injury and did not return. The entire momentum in the game shifted and the Buckeyes' offense went dormant with backup Joe Bauserman.

Nebraska's offense on-the-other-hand caught fire.

Cornhuskers quarterback, Taylor Martinez, ran for a touchdown and passed for two others while bringing No. 14 Nebraska back from a 21-point second-half deficit as Nebraska defeated Ohio State 34-27 in their first Big Ten game at Memorial Stadium.

The devastating loss for the Bucks drops them to 3-3 on the season, including 0-2 in the conference.

Miller ran for 91 yards and went 5-of-8 passing for 95 yards before he got hurt. Bauserman completed only one of his 10 passes the rest of the way.

Running back, Carlos Hyde, had a solid performance rushing the ball for the Buckeyes, scampering for 104 yards and two touchdowns.

But the story of the game was the tale of two halves and the turning points in the third quarter.

Huskers star linebacker Lavonte David stripped the ball from Miller in the middle of third quarter to start the rally.

That's when Martinez took over. He ran 18 yards for a touchdown, threw a 36-yard TD pass to Quincy Enunwa and tied the game with a 30-yard catch-and-run to Rex Burkhead following a Stanley Jean-Baptiste interception of Bauserman.

Overall, Martinez ran for 102 yards and was 16-of-22 passing for 191 yards for Nebraska (5-1, 1-1) while Burkhead ran 26 times for 119 yards.

If there was any solace for the Buckeyes on Saturday, it was the play of Miller and the offense under his leadership before the injury. Compile that with Bauserman's inept ability to even complete a pass, and interim head coach Luke Fickell's quarterback controversy should be put to rest.

OSU hopes that Miller we be available to play next Saturday as they face yet another tough, conference opponent on the road traveling to Illinois to take on the undefeated Fighting Illini in Champaign.

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