Ohio State should be terrified of Indiana after a lukewarm start vs. Nebraska

It’s not about how you start, but… sometimes it’s a little bit about how you start, right? Last week, the Indiana Hoosiers jumped on Nebraska early and led 28-7 at halftime. The game never felt evenly balanced and Indiana was clearly the better team all day. In week 9 the State of Ohio Buckeyes – who are on a bye – had a chance to do the same to Nebraska, but didn’t. Not at all.

At halftime the Buckeyes led Nebraska 14-6, but the first half was anything but convincing from Ryan Day’s team. Even a dominant second half should make Buckeyes fans a little nervous about the difference between how Indiana came out against Nebraska and how Ohio State did. If these two teams play each other like this, Indiana might be in a boat race against Ohio State just like Nebraska was.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was basically perfect in the first half, going 9 for 9 with 167 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 60-yarder against freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith. But those two touchdowns were all managed by Ohio State, and the offense didn’t look particularly explosive on the other drives.

The Hoosiers should be taken seriously, and Ohio State should be a little concerned about the stark difference in how it looks against Nebraska and how Indiana looked against Nebraska last week. The Cornhuskers aren’t a bad team — they’re 5-2 and both of their losses have come against ranked teams — but there’s no reason for Ohio State to look this sluggish no matter who they play, especially as a fellow -Big Ten competitor trampled that same team a week ago.

With a trip to Happy Valley next on the schedule, it’s not crazy to think Ohio State has overlooked Nebraska and already moved on to Penn State. But that might be even more concerning because a team with National Championship hopes is overlooking everyone coming off a loss and a bye week. Someone wake up Ryan Day’s team!