“Wow. I didn’t see that one coming,” Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said. “A lot of respect for Nebraska, and their coach is a friend of mine, and their only loss a hard-fought overtime game last week. One of those back-to-back night games, so just the wear and tear. But just an A-to-Z very good performance by our guys.”
PHOTOS: Ohio State vs. Nebraska
Star of the game: Ohio State quarterback J.T. Barrett completed 26 of 38 passes for 290 yards and four touchdown passes.
Biggest play: Barrett threw a 75-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel on the first play of the second half to extend Ohio State's lead to 38-3.
“It is a little relief to know that right now I saw some explosiveness that we kind of have been lacking in some positions,” Meyer said. “And I think relief is probably the correct word, that we’ve all been waiting for that to happen. No better time than the month of November to get that thing going.”
Standout stats: Samuel caught eight passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns and rushed five times for 41 yards.
Best play: Malik Hooker picked off a tipped pass and weaved his way to the end zone for a 48-yard touchdown to give Ohio State a 55-3 lead in the final minute of the third quarter.
Best drive: The Buckeyes drove 85 yards in 15 plays on their final drive of the half. J.T. Barrett threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Samuel with 3 seconds to play.
Turning point: Damon Webb intercepted Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong on the third play of the game and returned it 36 yards for a touchdown.
“Great momentum start and then the offense scored again, I think, I believe on our first drive again,” Meyer said. “And maybe we scored every drive. We didn’t punt, did we?”
Record breaker: Ohio State set a school record for most points scored against a top-10 team. Its previous best was 50 in a 50-14 victory against Michigan in 1968.
Big picture: The Buckeyes improved to 8-1 and 5-1 in the Big Ten with road games the next two weeks at Maryland (5-4, 2-4) and Michigan State (2-7, 0-6). With Texas A&M's loss, they will likely rise to at least No.5 in the College Football Playoff ranking Tuesday, unless the committee is so impressed with this victory it would jump them ahead of undefeated Washington.
Homecoming: Wayne grad Braxton Miller was honored on the field in the first quarter along with former Ohio State teammates Cardale Jones and Chase Farris.
HALFTIME RECAP
Ohio State dominated the first half, building a 31-3 halftime lead.
Star of the half: Curtis Samuel rushed five times for 41 yards and caught seven passes for 61 yards and a touchdown in the final seconds of the half. Samuel touched the ball on Ohio State's first two plays.
Key stat: The Buckeyes completed 7 of 8 third downs.
Best offensive play: Ohio State's Mike Weber scored on a 23-yard run thanks to a strong stiff arm inside the 5-yard line.
Scary moment: Armstrong was taken off the field on a backboard on a cart and then taken away from the stadium in an ambulance after suffering an injury in the second quarter. According to a statement by Nebraska, he was briefly unconscious but was moving all extremities. He returned to the sideline later in the game.
About the Author
