The Nebraska defense had absolutely no answer for a Buckeye offense that was nearly perfect behind the leadership and play of quarterback J.T. Barrett.
Ohio State’s first three drives went for 97, 85 and 75 yards respectively, all ending in touchdowns and set the tone of total domination the rest of the way.
The Buckeyes put 21 points on the board in the first quarter, 14 of them before the Huskers registered a first down. The onslaught slowed a little in the second period when OSU scored just two more touchdowns to take a 35-0 halftime lead.
Freshman tailback J.K. Dobbins got the scoring avalanche rolling with a 52-yard gallop around left end to make the score 7-0. From that point on it was more of the same for OSU on the ground and in the air. Barrett concluded the second drive with a 5-yard touchdown run, then threw a 16-yard touchdown pass to K.J. Hill to cap the third scoring drive of the game. The first quarter ended with the OSU offense amassing 203 yards of offense in the first 15 minutes of play.
Ohio State rushed for 279 yards and passed for 354 more as the OSU passing game that has been missing since last season continued to improve under offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. Barrett threw for 325 yards on 27-33 passing. He threw five touchdowns with no interceptions.
Eleven different receivers caught balls for OSU, with H-back K.J. Hill leading the way with seven catches for 80 yards and two touchdowns. Barrett also rushed for 55 yards on ten rushes that also accounted for two touchdowns to give Barrett of total of seven TDs accounted for against Nebraska.
The OSU offense was unstoppable. The defense wasn’t all that far behind. Nebraska rushed for just 44 total yards and was reduced to a one-dimensional pass offense by game’s end. The Huskers did throw for 349, but most of those yards came late in the game far after the outcome had been determined. Both of their scores came in the third quarter after Ohio State had established a 42-0 lead. Each of Nebraska’s two scores was answered by an OSU touchdown on the ensuing possession.
Ohio State was extremely efficient on third down, converting their first eight in a row and ended the game with 10-of-13 third down conversions. They also converted two-of-three fourth-down conversions.
The game was all Buckeyes on the scoreboard, but it wasn’t all good news. A number of Buckeyes left the game with injuries, among them starting H-back Parris Campbell, starting left tackle Jamarco Jones, defensive end Jalyn Holmes and defensive tackle Haskell Garrett. After the game, Urban Meyer said none of the injuries were significant.
Ohio State has a bye week next week before resuming play at home against Penn State the following week.