Nebraska
Ohio State vs. Nebraska prediction: Who wins, and why?
Both coming off tough Big Ten losses, Nebraska and No. 4 Ohio State meet in college football’s Week 9 action on Saturday looking for a turnaround. Here’s what you should watch for in this matchup, with our updated prediction for the game.
Ohio State was just 1 point shy of taking out Oregon two weeks ago and needs to be on its A-game against the Cornhuskers with a trip to Penn State coming up after this one.
Nebraska also needs a pick-me-up after getting shellacked on the road against Indiana in a 56-7 decision that drops the team to a 2-2 mark in Big Ten play this season.
What can we expect as the Buckeyes play host to the Cornhuskers in this Big Ten clash?
Here’s what you should watch for as Ohio State and Nebraska meet in this Week 9 college football matchup, with our updated prediction for the game.
Ohio State is 1 of 6 teams nationally to average over 500 total yards per game, ranking No. 6 with 503 yards on average, and it places 5th in FBS with 7.53 yards per play.
Nebraska comes into the game ranked 87th in FBS with 370 yards per game on average, and is 88th nationally with 5.54 yards per play.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State is No. 2 in college football in defensive production, allowing 251.3 yards per game, and is 7th nationally by surrendering 4.37 yards per play to opponents.
Nebraska ranks 18th in the country in allowing 304.3 yards per game on defense, and is top 25 nationally in letting opponents post 4.87 yards per play.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State ranks No. 6 nationally in scoring output, putting up 43.5 points per game on average, and its 36 total touchdowns are good for 12th in the country.
Nebraska is No. 88 among 134 FBS teams by scoring 25 points per game, and is 81st nationally with 23 total touchdowns scored on offense.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State is 3rd nationally by allowing opponents to score 11 points per game on average, and is No. 1 in surrendering 66 total points on the year, while its 8 touchdowns allowed are 3rd fewest.
Nebraska is 19th nationally, allowing 17.7 points per game this season, and the 16 touchdowns the defense allowed are the 28th fewest in the country.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State ranks 15th nationally in third down production, converting 48.61 percent of its chances, amounting to 35 conversions on 72 attempts.
Nebraska is 41st in FBS by moving the chains on 41 of 94 opportunities (43.62 percent).
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State has allowed opponents to convert 27 of their 84 third down opportunities for a success rate of 32.14 percent.
Nebraska has surrendered 34 successful third down conversions against 91 attempts (37.36 percent), ranking No. 61 in FBS.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State is No. 1 nationally in red zone offensive production, scoring points on 100 percent of its 26 opportunities, and its 24 touchdowns are 5th best (92.31 percent).
Nebraska is just 126th in red zone percentage, but still efficient at 71.43 percent, coming away with points on 20 of 28 chances.
Of those, 16 are touchdowns (57.14 percent).
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State has allowed opponents to score 7 times out of 10 opportunities inside the 20 yard line (70 percent).
And while half of those scores (5) were touchdowns, that’s still the second-fewest in FBS this year.
Nebraska is 41st nationally by allowing opponents to score 16 times out of 20 chances (80 percent), and 13 of those scores were touchdowns (65 percent).
Edge: Ohio State
Nebraska averaged 0.326 points per play, good for No. 91 nationally, against an Ohio State defense that is No. 4 in FBS by surrendering 0.184 points per play.
And the Cornhuskers average exactly 5 yards per play this season, ranking 96th nationally, while the Buckeyes allow 4.2 yards per play, No. 7 in FBS.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State is No. 6 nationally with an average of 0.644 points per play against a Nebraska defense that is 37th in the country allowing 0.314 points per play.
And the Buckeyes are No. 4 in FBS by averaging 7.5 yards per play, compared to a Cornhuskers defense that is No. 21 in allowing 4.8 yards per play.
Edge: Ohio State
Ohio State is 32.5 points better than its opponents on average this season, a figure boosted by some dominant victories against non-conference teams.
By comparison, Nebraska is averaging around 3.5 points better than its opposition, a number that came down after losing by 49 to Indiana last week.
Over the last three games, the Buckeyes have been 19.3 points better than opponents, while the Cornhuskers have averaged 8 points worse than their opposition.
In that time, Ohio State has averaged 34.7 points while Nebraska scored 16.3 points over that span.
At home, the Buckeyes are 41.3 points better than opponents, while the Cornhuskers are 15.5 points worse than teams when playing on the road this season.
Ohio State is scoring 48 points per game at home and Nebraska posts 17.5 points on the road.
When playing in the red zone on the road, the Cornhuskers have come away with points on 37.5 percent of their possessions, compared to the Buckeyes at 100 percent when playing at home.
Most analytical models favor the Buckeyes against the Cornhuskers in this Big Ten clash.
That includes the College Football Power Index, a computer prediction model that uses data points from both teams to simulate games 20,000 times to pick winners.
Ohio State comes out ahead in 96.5 percent of the computer’s most recent simulations of the matchup.
That leaves Nebraska as the expected winner in the remaining 3.5 percent of sims.
Ohio State is projected to be 29.7 points better than Nebraska on the same field in both teams’ current composition, according to the model’s latest forecast.
Ohio State is a 25.5 point favorite against Nebraska, according to the lines at FanDuel Sportsbook.
FanDuel set the total at 48.5 points for the game (Over -110, Under -110).
And it set the moneyline odds for Ohio State at -6000 and for Nebraska at +1800 to win outright.
Don’t underestimate the Cornhuskers’ front seven to marginally curtail the Buckeyes’ ability to get whatever they want right away, especially as the latter just lost left tackle Josh Simmons to a season-ending knee injury.
But after the performance of the defense, or lack thereof, last week against the Hoosiers, it’s a safe bet that Ohio State’s blue-chip skill players will eventually take the top off this secondary.
College Football HQ picks …
When: Sat., Oct. 26
Time: 12 p.m. Eastern
TV: Fox network
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OMAHA, Neb. (WOWT) – A deeper look tonight as First Alert 6 continues to dig deeper into the state of mental health care in Nebraska and possible solutions, ever since last week’s two instances involving law enforcement.
A Douglas County sheriff’s deputy was shot responding to a domestic call. Investigators said the suspect, Brian Huggins, had a history of behavioral health issues. Huggins died by suicide.
And then Noemi Guzman, who police say kidnapped a 3-year-old from inside an Omaha Walmart and cut him in the arm and face with a stolen kitchen knife. Omaha police officers shot and killed her before she could strike again.
Guzman had been on a court-ordered mental health treatment plan since last summer for her schizophrenia. According to court records, psychiatrists determined she could live in the community. Remember, this was after she was arrested for setting her father’s house on fire and threatening a priest with a knife.
Monitoring system
We wanted to know who is part of the system monitoring those who may not be following their mental health treatment plan and are a risk to others or themselves. When that happens, the Board of Mental Health will often notify the local sheriff so a warrant can be issued and deputies can track the individual down.
Here are the numbers since 2023:
In 2023, 842 warrants were issued for those not following their treatment plans according to the Board of Mental Health. In 2024, 756. In 2025, 690. So far in 2026, 190.
But out of these 2,500 warrants, 85% of them didn’t have a second warrant, meaning deputies picked them up, got them back into treatment and the individuals continued to thrive after the one hiccup.
But in 15% of these cases, the individuals messed up again and had another warrant issued by the Board of Mental Health. Twenty-five individuals had five or more issued in Douglas County.
Sheriff Hanson said there has to be a better way, a more team approach for this.
One model to explore is the way Nebraska’s problem-solving courts work like drug court and veterans’ treatment court where experts from a variety of stakeholders help individuals who are on the fringes to do everything to make them productive citizens.
Copyright 2026 WOWT. All rights reserved.
(InvestigateTV) — Sometimes sports are about more than the final score.
For Jack Burke, a high school football player in Nebraska, a medical diagnosis at birth has never stopped him from competing — and a touchdown catch in his first play back from open heart surgery proved it.
Born with a rare heart defect
Burke was born with Scimitar syndrome, a rare heart defect in which babies are born with an underdeveloped right lung and pulmonary artery. The condition also affects blood flow to the right lung. Treatment often includes surgery, and many adults with the condition go on to live healthy lives.
“As a kid, I never really understood,” Burke said. “It was always natural for me that I had to push myself harder to keep up.”
His mother, Bridget Burke, says the condition was not initially considered dangerous for sports participation.
“His Scimitar Syndrome never really came into play as being dangerous for him to play sports,” she said.
The decision to operate
That changed in the spring of 2025, when Burke’s family and doctors decided it was time for a surgery that had been anticipated for years.
“I’ve kind of known I’ve had to get surgery my whole life,” Burke said. “Once I knew I could get the surgery sooner, I was all in. I wanted to get it so I could get back to sports.”
His father, Ryan Burke, says the timing was deliberate.
“This will be done before school gets started, and still have a chance to do almost everything you want to do,” Ryan Burke said.
Jack Burke underwent open-heart surgery, leaving a visible reminder of what he went through.
“There’s a six-inch scar in the middle of his chest that represents a pretty big thing that happened,” Ryan Burke said.
For Bridget Burke, the moment her son was taken to the operating room was difficult.
“When the rubber hits the road and your kid is being wheeled back to the OR, it is scary and emotional,” she said.
The comeback
Burke eased back into football following his cardiologist’s recommended recovery timeline. His return came in week three of the season.
“Before the Schuyler game I talked to his dad and he’s like, ‘I think we might be ready,’” said coach Jay Landstrom.
Bridget Burke says the family approached the return with caution.
“I mean, I was nervous. We didn’t really know how much he would play. It was going to be some cautious situations,” she said.
Those concerns were set aside — at least for a moment — when Burke caught a touchdown pass on his very first play back.
“All the parents were high-fiving everybody and they were like, ‘Was that really Jack?’” Bridget Burke said.
Landstrom called it a special moment.
“It was just meant to be and that was really special,” he said.
For Burke, the touchdown meant something beyond the scoreboard.
“I just remember one of my teammates came up to me and said, ‘He’s back. He’s back,’” Burke said. “It kind of shows something that tried to stop me — I hurdled that obstacle.”
Burke says the surgery has given him a new sense of freedom.
“Now I can do whatever I want. Nothing can hold me back,” he said.
Copyright 2026 Gray Media Group, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
The results are in for the Nebraska Lottery’s draw games on Sunday, April 19, 2026.
Here’s a look at winning numbers for each game on April 19.
Winning Pick 3 numbers from April 19 drawing
4-3-3
Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Pick 5 numbers from April 19 drawing
14-19-24-30-34
Check Pick 5 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning 2 By 2 numbers from April 19 drawing
Red Balls: 01-02, White Balls: 09-26
Check 2 By 2 payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning MyDay numbers from April 19 drawing
Month: 08, Day: 16, Year: 61
Check MyDay payouts and previous drawings here.
Winning Millionaire for Life numbers from April 19 drawing
32-42-52-53-55, Bonus: 05
Check Millionaire for Life payouts and previous drawings here.
Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news & results
When are the Nebraska Lottery drawings held?
- Powerball: 9:59 p.m. CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Mega Millions: 10 p.m. CT on Tuesday and Friday.
- Pick 3, 5: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lucky For Life: 9:38 p.m. CT daily.
- 2 By 2: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- MyDaY: By 10 p.m. CT daily.
- Lotto America: 9:15 p.m CT Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.
- Millionaire for Life: 10:15 p.m. CT daily.
This results page was generated automatically using information from TinBu and a template written and reviewed by a USA Today editor. You can send feedback using this form.
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