It’s do or die for Ohio State and Nebraska

It doesn’t get much better than this in the college football regular season.

#6 Ohio State hosts #9 Nebraska in a primetime showdown.

Both teams come into play 7-1.

The winner of the match is still alive in the Big Ten Championship race and also still has a shot at reaching the College Football playoff.

The loser is unlikely to reach the conference title game, but will still be in line for one of the best bowl games outside of the playoff.

Among the many factors to watch for include how Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer gets running back/wide receiver Curtis Samuel involved.

The dynamic playmaker has gained 558 rushing yards on 71 carries in eight games this season, scoring five rushing touchdowns.

He also has caught 44 passes for 538 receiving yards, scoring three receiving touchdowns.

That adds up to 115 touches for 1,096 total yards and eight total touchdowns.  That’s 9.5 yards per touch.

It might be a good idea to give him the football, early and often. Coach Meyer knows that, but in Ohio State’s lone loss of the season at Penn State, Samuel carried the ball twice for 71 yards and scored one rushing touchdown.

He caught eight passes in the game for 68 yards, but the lack of carries was a bit of a surprise, considering the workload he has been accustomed to in most games this season.