COLUMBUS, Ohio — Will Howard tossed three touchdown passes, but No. 4 Ohio State needed an interception by cornerback Jordan Hancock with 1:16 left to seal its 21-17 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (6-1, 3-1 Big Ten) bounced back from their loss to Oregon two weeks ago but sure didn’t look like the well-oiled machine they are supposed to be in grappling with four-touchdown-underdog Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers had kept it close all day with three field goals by John Hohl. Ohio State punted five times, gave up the ball on downs, missed a field goal and survived a Howard interception.
Dante Dowdell gave Nebraska its first lead in the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown, and the Huskers converted the 2-point conversion to go up 17-14 with just under 11 minutes left.
Howard wrested the lead back with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Quinshon Judkins with 6:04 left.
Nebraska got the ball back for a last drive with 3:36 and had the ball near midfield after Arvell Reese was ejected for targeting for his hit on receiver Jahmal Banks. The Huskers were called for a false start and lost yards on consecutive plays before Dylan Raiola was off target with a pass intended for Isaiah Neyor and Hancocked picked it off. Howard knelt three times to run out the clock.
Nebraska: The Huskers surely played better than last week when they were drubbed 56-7 by Indiana but were denied a sixth win that would have made them bowl eligible for the first time since 2016. Nebraska has lost 27 straight against Top 25 opponents and 18 straight against ranked opponents on the road.
Ohio State: The Buckeyes were largely one-dimensional, running for just 64 yards with no explosive plays from stars Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. They avoided their first home loss in 10 years against an unranked opponent (Virginia Tech).
This game was closer than it should have been, and some voters might penalize the Buckeyes for that.
Ohio State starting safety Lathan Ransom and tight end Will Kacmarek were sidelined with unspecified injuries. … Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson was out with a concussion.
Nebraska: hosts UCLA next Saturday.
Ohio State: visits No. 3 Penn State next Saturday.
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