The build-up was there, and the hype was evident with ESPN’s College Gameday in town as No. 5 Ohio State rolled into Lincoln to meet Nebraska. However, all of that did not correlate onto the field of play as the Buckeyes trounced Scott Frosts Huskers 48-7.
Though favored by 17 points at kickoff, this was tagged by some as the chance for Frost’s team to make their statement of being “back”. Far from it they still stand though, as Ohio State made it clear that they remain the class of the Big Ten.
Nebraska’s first drive ended six plays into it with an Adrian Martinez interception at midfield. Five plays later, quarterback Justin Fields capitalized on the turnover with a 15 yard TD run to start the part for the Buckeyes.
The interception was of three in the first 21 minutes of the game. OSU took advantage of those with 17 points of the Martinez picks, with the last one turning into a 24-0 lead with 8:26 still left in the 2nd quarter.
By the end of the first half, Ryan Day’s Buckeyes had a 38-0 lead on Nebraska. To break it down simply in stats, the Huskers had just 76 yards of total offense on 28 plays, while Ohio State brought home the bacon with 378 yards on 45 plays. JK Dobbs was already over the 100-yard threshold for OSU and Field had 88 rushing yards of his own to add to 140 yards through the air. Nebraska’s Martinez had -1 yard passing and led the offense on the ground with a total of 32 yards on six carries.
The might have slowed in the second half, but it certainly did not stop. With 3:51 left in the 3rd quarter, OSU had extended their lead to 48-0. The Huskers did break the seal, getting a touchdown on the ensuing possession as Dedrick Mills ran it in from 9 yards out.
The score for Nebraska capped a game-long 75-yard drive. Putting things into perspective again, they had a game total of 231 yards, just 156 if you take away the 75-yard play and that would leave them with only 80 yards in the 2nd half. They totaled 155 yards in the second half, for those that don’t wish to do all the math.
The Buckeyes finished with 580 yards of total offense and had 368 yards of that come on the ground. Dobbins ended the game with 178 rushing yards, 4th most in the nation this week. The team as a whole sits 7th in the country for the season with 1080 yards on the ground. Fields tallied 212 yards passing and 95 yards rushing, with four cumulative TDs. He now sits sixth in the country in touchdown passes with 13.
Now sitting at 5-0, Ohio State heads back to Columbus as they welcome the Spartans into town in a Top 25 matchup next Saturday at 7:30 pm ET. The winner will continue their climb in the ladder that is the hunt for a National Title.
Nebraska, on the other hand, will look to regroup quickly as not to let this loss spiral. They welcome the Wildcats of Northwestern to town, who just tangled with the 8th ranked Badgers this weekend and lost by only one score.
Written by Adrian Beecher
