The Buckeyes had a bye week to recover from the loss in Eugene before taking on Nebraska at home. In the meantime, we had a lot to say about the team following the loss, with heavy scrutiny on pretty much all parts of the defense, but especially the secondary, the pass rush, Knowles, and LJ. 

Going into Week 9:

• Tough injuries - Ohio State was now down Will Kacmarek for a while and Josh Simmons for the rest of the season. OL depth was a huge concern for a lot of fans going into the season and we lost the player many thought we could least afford to lose. Zen Michalski would get the chance to take the mantle in his place. As for the tight end room, Gee Scott would take the reins. He had been steadily playing more snaps but some fans were yet to really trust in him. We would find out that he had come a long way over his time here. We would also get to see more of highly-anticipated Jelani Thurman. 
• "8,000 times" - Ryan Day did not take the loss to Oregon lightly. On 97.1, he said he relived every swing of the Oregon game 8,000 times.  You know, at the time, I thought this was hyperbole. Given the events of the Rose Bowl... maybe he was speaking literally? For absolutely no reason whatsoever, I'd like to highlight two quotes from his appearance:

"Every time you take a loss here at Ohio State, you've got to really stick together. We talked about that after the game, making sure that's the case. ... It's all in front of us, but we need to make the adjustments." 

"Coaches, players, everybody in the building's gotta own it. ... The team that continues to grow, that continues to learn from these types of games ... is going to be the ones who are strongest at the end." 

• Across the Field - 11W alum Zack Carpenter discusses Nebraska. He's high on Dylan Raiola, who sported a completion rate above 70% through the first five games, but struggled in the two games after that, versus Rutgers and Indiana. Carpenter praised Raiola's preparation and processing. The WRs, however, did not get any praise. Indiana was able to shred Nebraska's defense, but overall, it remains a strong point for the team. 
• Trailer Vol. 7: It's About Now
• Game Preview - All eyes on the defense now. Where would we see improvement? Getting after the QB? Better coverage in the secondary? Zen would be tested against Nebraska's capable defensive line. Would Raiola make us wish we could hang onto him?
• Last Call - A lot of the same questions: pass rush improvement, OL adjustment, Burke bounceback all on the mind. Hopefully an angry OSU could make a statement today. 
• Pregame Picks - 11W writers expected a dominant victory, with the vast majority expecting north of 40 points for the Buckeyes and 10-17 points for the Cornhuskers. 

Week 9 vs Nebraska in 40 Minutes: 

Open Threads: Q1 | Q2 | Halftime | Q3 | Q4  

Coming out of Week 9

• Game Summary - The Buckeyes would, in fact, not dominate, but they did survive against Nebraska with a 21-17 victory despite trailing at the beginning of the fourth quarter. The Zen Michalski era at Ohio State was short-lived, having sustained an injury late in the 4th quarter. He would eventually play 9 snaps against Texas, but otherwise did not play the rest of the year. The unit overall struggled to run the ball or protect Howard. Donovan Jackson would swing out to LT, a move we would come to love. This performance did little to restore confidence among the fanbase. There was not a lot of positivity in the comments.
• Presser Bullets - Day was highly critical of the OL, not giving them an out with Josh Simmons' absence, saying they were "not even close" to good. He singled out the poor run game as the top factor in the offense's struggles. The defensive intensity was there, though. He appreciated the toughness of the team in seizing control in the fourth quarter to secure victory, a quality he would like to see in the team, though he did not necessarily want to find themselves in that situation in this particular game. 
• Arvell Reese was ejected for targeting late in the fourth quarter. The ejection was overturned the following Monday after Ohio State submitted an appeal to the Big Ten. 
• Three Key Stats - Carnell Tate led the WR room with 102 yards and recording a 40-yard touchdown. The defense rebounded with 13 tackles for loss. The offense went 1/10 on third down. 
• Five Things - Howard rose to the occasion, playing effectively despite little in the way of pass protection, creating two long touchdown passes: a 40-yarder to Carnell Tate and a 60-yarder to Jeremiah Smith. He would complete 13 of his 16 passes (81.25%) and put up 82.5% of the total yards that game. The #FireFrye movement woke up from its slumber this week. 
• Stock Up/Stock Down - The pass rush improved and Ohio State's passing attack went deep. The defense showed it could clutch up. The OL and run game had a day they would rather forget. 
• Criticisms loomed large. Doubts about Ryan Day grew, Zach Boren said the team shows zero emotion and zero fight, the offensive line looks lost without Simmons, and fans were ready to write this season off. Although the comments are understandable at the time, this is a big reason why I wanted to do this series. 

Up Next: Week 10 @ #3 Penn State