Ohio State should be terrified of Indiana after tepid start vs. Nebraska

It's not about how you start, but... sometimes it's a little bit about how you start, right? Last week, the Indiana Hoosiers jumped on Nebraska early and had a 28-7 lead at halftime. The game never felt in balance, and Indiana was clearly the better team all day long. In Week 9, the Ohio State Buckeyes — who are coming off a bye — had a chance to do the same thing to Nebraska, but didn't. At all.

At halftime, the Buckeyes lead Nebraska, 14-6, but the first half was anything but convincing from Ryan Day's team. Even a dominating second half should have Buckeyes fans a little nervous about the difference between how Indiana came out against Nebraska versus how Ohio State did. If these two teams play like this against each other, Indiana might boat race Ohio State just like it did to Nebraska.

Ohio State quarterback Will Howard was actually perfect in the first half, going 9 for 9 with 167 yards and 2 touchdowns, including a 60-yarder to freshman phenom Jeremiah Smith. But those two touchdowns is all Ohio State managed, and the offense didn't look particularly explosive on its other drives.

Indiana is a real threat to Ohio State in the Big Ten

The Hoosiers are to be taken seriously, and Ohio State should be a tad worried by the stark difference in how it looks against Nebraska versus how Indiana looked against Nebraska last week. The Cornhuskers aren't a bad team — they're 5-2 and both losses have come against ranked teams — but there's no reason for Ohio State to look this slow no matter who they're playing, especially when a fellow Big Ten competitor stomped that same team just a week ago.

With a trip to Happy Valley next up on the schedule, it's not crazy to think Ohio State overlooked Nebraska and has already started for Penn State. But that might be even more concerning that a team with National Championship hopes is overlooking anyone coming off a loss and a bye week. Someone wake up Ryan Day's team!