Three key stats: Ohio State's defense racks up 13 tackles for a loss, Carnell Tate has a career day and the Buckeyes convert just one of their 10 third-down attempts

In a back-and-forth, low-scoring affair at Ohio Stadium, the Buckeyes emerged victorious, regaining the lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately prevailing over Nebraska 21-17 on Saturday afternoon.

Although it was a defensive game for both teams, the offenses played a key role at certain times, as Will Howard played solidly even with limited opportunities, while the running game was difficult and Ohio State's defense stepped up when needed.

We'll look at three important statistics about the Buckeyes' sixth win of the season.

102 receiving yards for Carnell Tate

While Jeremiah Smith (three catches for 70 yards and a touchdown) and Emeka Egbuka (three receptions for 20 yards) along with Tate led the team with four targets, the latter made the most of his opportunities against the Cornhuskers.

Tate caught all four passes thrown his way, rushing for a career-high 102 yards and a touchdown, highlighted by a 40-yard score for Ohio State's first points late in the first quarter.

Will Howard Carnell Tate. pic.twitter.com/iuHHJsbjy1

— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 26, 2024

While Tate has shown his playmaking talent when he got the ball, with so much talent in Ohio State's offense including at wide receiver, the sophomore totaled 15 catches for 232 in five games this season before Saturday yards. Tate's previous career high was 79 receiving yards on three receptions against Purdue in 2023.

13 tackles for loss

After Ohio State's defense only had two tackles for loss against Oregon, leading to a lot of questions on that side of the ball over the last two weeks, the Silver Bullets certainly made their mark and took a big lead away against Nebraska.

The Buckeye defense had 13 tackles for loss Saturday afternoon, the most since Oct. 23, 2021, when OSU had 15 tackles for loss in a 54-7 win at Indiana.

Cody Simon led the team with a career-high three tackles for a loss, followed by Tyleik Williams, JT Tuimoloau and Denzel Burke, who each had two tackles.

Whether it was Jim Knowles and Co. By devising various schemes, making turns along the defensive line or simulating pressure – the latter two taxing fans and reporters alike – Ohio State kept putting pressure on Dylan Raiola and Nebraska's running backs, even if it only led by three Sacks at the end of the day.

Converted just one of 10 third-down attempts

In what was quite a frustrating day for Ohio State's offense, especially in the second half, the problems can be attributed to a few things, but perhaps the most important is the fact that the Buckeyes only had one of ten third-down chances against the Cornhuskers converted, including missing all six third-down conversions in the second half. Will Howard's six-yard run on third-and-1 midway through the second quarter was OSU's only conversion of the game.

Ohio State converted only one of four third-and-down opportunities (within four yards) and was unsuccessful on both third-and-down opportunities (over nine yards), while the Buckeyes' average distance to third down was 5.9 yards compared to Nebraska's 9.1 yards.

Prior to the game against Nebraska, Ohio State converted 48.6% of its third downs (35 of 72) this season, the 15th-best mark in the FBS. Whether it was the issues on the offensive line making it difficult to get the running game going or something else, the Buckeyes simply couldn't do much on third down all game.