The Buckeyes led 14-6 at halftime but went three-and-out to start the third quarter.
Nebraska then put together a long field goal drive, though it looked like they might be able to take the lead until J.T. Tuimoloau sacked Dylan Raiola on third down at the Ohio State 29 to force the field goal try.
The OSU defense then found itself right back on the field as Howard overthrew his intended receiver and hit Nebraska safety Malcom Hartzog Jr. instead. He returned it to the Ohio State 7, but the visitors weren’t able to capitalize as the Buckeyes stopped Dante Dowdell’s attempt to leap over the goal line on fourth down from the 2.
That didn’t matter for long as the Huskers forced another Ohio State three-and-out then put together a nine-play, 74-yard drive that ended with Dowdell diving over the pile for a 1-yard touchdown run.
They added a shovel pass to Nate Boerkircher for the two-point conversion to assume a 17-14 lead with 10:47 to go in the fourth quarter.
Ohio State responded with its best drive of the afternoon, going 75 yards in eight plays. It started with a 37-yard pass from Howard to Carnell Tate and ended with Howard finding Judkins in the end zone from nine yards out. Ohio State ran on five of the eight plays but needed to resort to a quick out pass on a fourth-and-1 to keep the drive alive at the Nebraska 29.
Nebraska had two more possessions after that but went three-and-out on the first then saw the second end when Jordan Hancock intercepted Raiola near midfield with 1:16 to go.
Howard ended up completing 13 of 16 passes for 221 yards with three touchdowns, and he ran for 14 yards.
Raiola was 21-for-32 passing for 152 yards and was sacked three times. He also ran for 31 yards despite the lost sack yardage, including a key 38-yard scramble in the first half.
Judkins and Henderson were held to 29 and 25 yards, respectively, on 10 carries apiece while Carnell Tate finished with 102 yards on four catches.
Cody Simon led the Ohio State defense with eight tackles, including three for loss.
Ohio State struck first when Howard hit Tate over the middle for a 40-yard touchdown. Tate had to slow down to catch a pass that seemed to die in the wind, but he had beaten the defense badly enough he scored anyway.
After Nebraska got a 39-yard field goal from John Hohl, Ohio State struck again from deep when Howard found Jeremiah Smith streaking open down the middle for a 60-yard score.
The Buckeyes looked to be driving for more later in the second quarter, but a possession that reached the Nebraska 22 resulted in no points because of pass protection breakdowns.
Ohio State recovered a Howard fumble for no gain on second down, then Howard was sacked for a two-yard loss on third down.
That set up a 42-yard field goal attempt by Jayden Fielding that went wide right.
Nebraska got the ball back with 2:02 on the clock and capitalized with an eight-play, 40-yard drive that resulted in a 55-yard field goal by Hohl.
The Cornhuskers also might have liked more on their last drive, but a questionable offensive pass interference call pushed them back to the Ohio State 45.
Howard completed all nine of his pass attempts in the first half for 167 yards, but the Ohio State running game struggled to produce (14 carries for 30 yards).
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