COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Will Howard threw 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 certainly didn’t look like the well-oiled machine they should be against four-touchdown underdog Nebraska .

The Cornhuskers had kept it close all day with three field goals from John Hohl. Ohio State punted five times, gave up the ball on downs, missed a field goal and survived an interception by Howard.

Dante Dowdell gave Nebraska its first lead of the fourth quarter with a 1-yard touchdown, and the Huskers converted the 2-point conversion to take a 17-14 lead with just under 11 minutes left.

Howard regained the lead with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Quinshon Judkins with 6:04 left.

Nebraska got the ball back for a final drive with 3:36 to play and had the ball near midfield after Arvell Reese was sent off for hitting receiver Jahmal Banks. The Huskers suffered a false start, losing yards on consecutive plays before Dylan Raiola missed the target on a pass intended for Isaiah Neyor and Hancocked it away. Howard knelt three times to run out the time.

The takeaway food

Nebraska: The Huskers certainly played better than last week, when they were defeated by Indiana 56-7 but were denied a sixth win that would have given them bowl eligibility 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 mostly one-dimensional, rushing for just 64 yards without explosive plays from stars Quinshon Judkins and TreVeyon Henderson. They avoided their first home loss in 10 years against an unranked opponent (Virginia Tech).

Impact on the survey

This game was closer than it should have been, and some voters might punish the Buckeyes for that.

Injuries

Ohio State starting safety Lathan Ransom and tight end Will Kacmarek were sidelined with unspecified injuries. … Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson was sidelined with a concussion.

Next

Nebraska: hosts UCLA next Saturday.

Ohio State: Visits No. 3 Penn State next Saturday.

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