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Nebraska Football: Three toughest games on 2019 schedule

By Cullen Jekel

LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads the team on the field before the game against the Bethune Cookman Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images)
LINCOLN, NE - OCTOBER 27: Head coach Scott Frost of the Nebraska Cornhuskers leads the team on the field before the game against the Bethune Cookman Wildcats at Memorial Stadium on October 27, 2018 in Lincoln, Nebraska. (Photo by Steven Branscombe/Getty Images) /
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Ohio State Buckeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers  (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Ohio State Buckeyes and Nebraska Cornhuskers  (Photo by Adam Lacy/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Toughest Game No. 1

Week 5 vs Ohio State Buckeyes

Some of the main pieces from last year’s Ohio State’s team will be different this season, including its full-time head coach (Ryan Day replaces Urban Meyer) and quarterback (Justin Fields replaces Dwayne Haskins). Despite those changes, the Buckeyes will be just as dangerous as they have been in recent years.

Nebraska gave Ohio State a hell of a battle last season even though they entered that game at 2-6 with wins against Minnesota and Bethune-Cookman. The Buckeyes, on the other hand, were 7-1 and coming off a shocking 29-point pummeling at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers, a loss that kept them out of the College Football Playoff.

At halftime, Nebraska led 21-16, but Ohio State scored two touchdowns in the third quarter and never looked back, hanging on to win 36-31. After that, the Buckeyes rolled, winning the final five games on their schedule, including the Big Ten Championship against Northwestern, 45-24, and the Rose Bowl against Washington, 28-23.

Nebraska went 2-1 the rest of the way to finish 4-8, going 4-2 after starting off 0-6.

Husker to Shine: Adrian Martinez, Quarterback

On the game’s biggest stage, the quarterback and team leader needs to step it up.

For the Huskers to have any shot at winning this early season showdown, quarterback Adrian Martinez must shine. He’ll need to hit his receivers while also making plays with his feet in order to take down the Buckeyes. In addition to putting points on the board, he’ll also have to kill the clock to keep the Buckeyes’ offense on the bench.

Buckeye to Fear: Chase Young, Defensive End

As a sophomore, Young led the Buckeyes in sacks with 9.5. He looks to only be improving, and very well may be the No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2020 NFL Draft. Young is going to make lives hell for opposing Big Ten quarterbacks in 2019, and he’ll be geared and ready to go for this contest after cupcakes against Florida Atlantic, Cincinnati, Indiana, and Miami (Oh.) to start the season.

If Young makes a couple of timely stops to get the Huskers offense off the field and Fields & Co. back on it, Ohio State will win this game more easily than they did last year’s match-up. But if he’s contained, Nebraska has a realistic chance at an early season upset that would reverberate through college football for the rest of the season.

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