Ohio State managed to survive with a win over Nebraska, but it didn’t come without some drama.
The No. 4-ranked Buckeyes defeated the unranked Cornhuskers on Saturday by a 21-17 final. Despite Nebraska taking a 17-14 lead in the fourth quarter, Ohio State responded with a go-ahead touchdown pass from Will Howard to Quinshon Judkins with 6:04 remaining and held off Nebraska on the final two possessions to earn the victory.
On Nebraska’s very last possession of the game though, Ohio State got hit with a very controversial targeting call. Buckeyes linebacker Arvell Reese broke up a pass to Cornhuskers receiver Jahmal Banks by a delivering a hard hit to Banks (but did not lead with his helmet to do so). Still though, Reese was deemed to have made contact with Banks’ head/neck area and was ejected from the game for targeting upon replay review.
Here is the video of the hit.
Ohio State is called for targeting on this play
Nebraska's offense stays on the field, trailing 21-17 with 3:14 to go in the 4th pic.twitter.com/D5mNZVskr9
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 26, 2024
In response to the controversial call, Buckeyes fans were seen throwing trash (namely, water bottles) onto the field in protest.
#Buckeye fans rain bottles onto the field after a targeting penalty was assessed to Arvell Reese, disqualifying him from the game. pic.twitter.com/VwCPztxGlB
— Lantern Sports (@LanternSports) October 26, 2024
It sure looks like Reese did everything that he could there to make a clean hit. He led with his forearm and seemed to be going for Banks’ chest area rather than for his head. The officials clearly did not see it that way though.
The targeting call ultimately did not matter since Ohio State managed to get a game-ending interception on Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola before the Cornhuskers were even able to cross over into Buckeyes territory. But this whole thing was definitely reminiscent of last week when Texas fans also threw trash onto the field to protest a call.
