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Will it be a frightful game or hold serve with how most of the games in this series have gone through the years? This game is slated to go off on Halloween (at least that is what is planned now, keep it locked in here to see if games actually go off on their scheduled dates or not) and the Buckeyes are hoping for a treat much more than a trick.

Remember when the Huskers joined the Big Ten and felt that they were going to be a force within the conference, maybe even thinking they would bully the existing 11 members of the conference? Nebraska has one divisional title, the 2012 Leaders Crown. Nebraska then went on and had 70 hung on them by Wisconsin in Indianapolis.

Nebraska has done no better than 10 wins in any season in the conference and that was in that 2012 season. Since then the Huskers have three nine-win seasons and then a bunch of sub-.500 seasons.

In short, it has not been a great marriage in terms of football success for the Huskers. Nebraska is on its third coach since joining the Big Ten and Scott Frost was supposed to be the savior. That has not been the case either as the Huskers have not broken .500 since joining the league and are a combined 9-15 since the former Husker star took over.

2019 was supposed to be "the year" for the Huskers as they had turned it around late in 2018 and while they did not win all their games, there was cause to be optimistic.

Now 2020 is supposed to be "the year" with Wan'Dale Robinson and Adrian Martinez each a year older, the Huskers recruiting more players that might work within Frost's system and a "if not now, then when" belief among many.

Can the Huskers find a defense? Over the past seven seasons, Nebraska has only rolled out a top-30 defense one time, in 2016 Nebraska was 30th in total defense. Outside of that? The Huskers were 64th last season, an improvement from its 94th ranking in 2018.

Will this be the year? Joe Bauserman is not walking through that door.

Series History: Ohio State leads the series 7-1.

Last time played: The Buckeyes traveled to Lincoln (Neb.) and thoroughly dismantled the Huskers in a 48-7 contest that was not even as close as the score would indicate.

Stop me if you have heard this before, Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins each had big games. Dobbins rushed for 177 yards but strangely enough was kept out of the end zone as Master Teague III capped off drives for two scores on the ground. Fields was 15/21 throwing the ball for three scores and 212 yards.

On defense, the Buckeyes racked up four sacks and 11 TFLs. Ohio State also picked off Adrian Martinez three times, including a pair by Jeff Okudah. One of those picks was during a promising Nebraska drive and a tipped Martinez pass found its way into Okudah's arms while he was on his back.

The Huskers would end the game with 231 yards of total offense and much of that came late in the game when this one was in-hand. Many Ohio State fans will remember the day of this game was the same day that North Carolina took Clemson to overtime and for some odd reason, Mack Brown ran a really poorly designed option play in going for two, despite the fact that UNC still had momentum in the game.

But I digress.

Nebraska is not going to suddenly figure out how to play defense. I am not entirely sure the Huskers are ever going to return to a Blackshirts level of defensive play. That is sad from a general college football standpoint, growing up watching some dominating defenses in the past.

It is more of an offensive game these days and the Huskers have no favors when it comes to natural recruiting territories. That is not to say that they don't get a couple of guys who would really do well in the right system, but there are just not enough of them and the system sure seems to be broken, regardless of who the Huskers put into that key DC position.

Nebraska is going to have to outscore you and the Huskers certainly are starting to put some playmakers into key roles. Let's not forget, UCF could not play a lick of defense under Scott Frost and just would lap opponents on offense, to the tune of 48.2 points per game.

The problem is, Scott Frost is not facing AAC defenses, he is facing Big Ten defenses. He is not able to just plug in the players he could land at UCF, either through recruiting or transfer and suddenly be the most athletic team on the field.

I guess at this point I should talk about how I see this game going down.

Ohio State scores a lot of points, Nebraska can't do anything on defense. Ohio State keeps scoring.

Nebraska will have some success on offense, maybe Adrian Martinez ends up having a good day, maybe not. Maybe the Huskers are able to run the ball. Probably not. The Huskers will score and some keyboard warriors will lose their marbles on game threads and on social media.

But it will be short-lived and Ohio State will be able to get its 2nd and 3rd team in as the Buckeyes will boatrace the Huskers. Ohio State 52 Nebraska 21

Additional Stat Line: Julian Fleming, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Gee Scott, Mookie Cooper combine for 11 receptions, 150 yards and 2 TDs

I don’t know if the Cornhuskers will be hyped up again as a possible downfall for Ohio State, but they would be hard pressed to put up a worse performance than the 48-7 drumming that occurred in Lincoln, Nebraska last season.

Justin Fields and Jeff Okudah were able to have field days against Nebraska, and while a repeat performance will be hard to come by against a Scott Frost team that will be both improved and more motivated, the talent gap mixed with the home environment should set the Buckeyes up for another victory.

Returning from a trip to play Penn State will not do the Buckeyes any favors, but even a slow start will easily be overcome against a Nebraska team that is likely a year or two away from returning to relevance.

Ryan Day has been able to motivate his guys to play any opponent in the past, but this one will be especially difficult considering the difference between playing Penn State on the road and Nebraska at home.

I think the Buckeyes will be able to handle their business quite easily even if they are not as sharp as they normally are, and the passing game will be a big reason why. I expect Fields to continue his march toward New York City in hopes of winning the Heisman, and the wideouts should have enough experience to start putting together consistency on the field.

If the wide receivers are making plays, look for Chris Olave to make the biggest contribution. Olave will have one of the best chemistries with Fields, and another year in the system should only help his development.

Buckeyes win big and get to 8-0. Ohio State 45 Nebraska 17

Additional Stat Line: Chris Olave - 7 catches, 115 yards, 1 TD

All told, Nebraska at home last season against the Buckeyes may have been one of the most embarrassing home performances of any team Ohio State faced on the road. Indiana and Northwestern had no real chance going into the games. Michigan is Michigan, at least they put up 27 points. Even Rutgers had three touchdowns!

But Nebraska. Oh, sweet Nebraska. They weren't shut out, but Ohio State put up 48 points before the Cornhuskers could get on the board. Even College GameDay came out because they thought it might be a good contest between Scott Frost's up and coming team against the first-year head coach in Ryan Day. For everyone hoping for a good game, it was unfortunately pretty much over by the end of the first quarter.

I don't expect this time around to be different. Yes, Adrian Martinez and the Nebraska offense will be a year more experienced, but if they got blown out at home by the Buckeyes, I'm not sure this is a Cornhusker squad that will be mentally prepared to come into Ohio Stadium.

On Ohio State's end, J.K. Dobbins had a strong performance last year in Lincoln, but Trey Sermon and Master Teague III should more than make up for his absence. The game against Nebraska was one of Ohio State's strongest showings on offense with 583 yards of total offense, and with Justin Fields and his ridiculous group of receivers, they should have a fun Halloween in The Horseshoe.

Going into year three of the Frost era, there just hasn't been much evidence that he can perform yet in the big games. In six games against ranked opponents, Frost's teams have lost all six by an average of 21.3 points.

My only hesitation is that Ohio State could be caught off guard after a two-game stretch on the road, but I feel safe in assuming that the Buckeyes will be ranked for this matchup, and I don't expect Nebraska to buck the trend at this point. Ohio State 55 Nebraska 13

Additional Stat Line: Ohio State holds Nebraska to fewer than 250 total yards of offense