LINCOLN, Neb. - Ohio State continues to roll.
The Buckeyes, playing in Lincoln for the second time since Nebraska joined the Big Ten, avenged their 2011 loss in a big way, defeating the Cornhuskers 56-14 on Saturday night.
Ohio State scored on all five of its first half possessions as J.K. Dobbins opened the scoring with a 52-yard scamper up the Buckeye sideline, capping a 96-yard scoring drive. Dobbins finished the game with 12 carries for 106 yards and the score.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 9 OHIO STATE | 14 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 56 |
| NEBRASKA | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
From there, quarterback J.T. Barrett took over. The fifth-year senior quarterback accounted for four first-half touchdowns and 249 yards of offense in just 30 minutes of game action.
Barrett tossed touchdown passes to K.J. Hill (16 yards) and Terry McLaurin (31 yards) in the first half, and added three more passing scores in the second half. The Wichita Falls, Texas native finished the game 27-of-33 passing for 325 yards through the air and seven total touchdowns on the night.
Ohio State opened the second half with a 9-play 75-yard drive that ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Barrett to tight end Rashod Berry, his second of the season. The Buckeyes' starting tight end Marcus Baugh got in on the action one drive later, scoring on an 18-yard pass from Barrett.
Before giving way to the second-team offense, Barrett closed his night with a second touchdown pass to Hill, this one from just six yards out.
| OHIO STATE | NEBRASKA | |
|---|---|---|
| 633 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 393 |
| 279 | RUSHING YARDS | 44 |
| 47 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 16 |
| 5.9 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.8 |
| 3 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 354 | PASSING YARDS | 349 |
| 31-39 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 27-47 |
| 11.4 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 12.9 |
| 5 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 41 | 1st DOWNS | 15 |
| 18 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 2 |
| 19 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 12 |
| 4 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 1 |
| 86 | TOTAL PLAYS | 63 |
| 7.4 | YARDS PER PLAY | 6.2 |
| 6-7 | RED ZONE | 1-2 |
| 10-13 | 3rd DOWNS | 5-15 |
| 2-3 | 4th DOWNS | 2-4 |
| 7-53 | PENALTIES | 12-104 |
| 35:15 | POSSESSION | 24:45 |
Defensively, the Buckeyes were stout once again, pitching a first-half shutout and allowing just five first half first downs. Ohio State had plenty of familiar faces return to action against Nebraska, as Michael Hill returned from his six-game suspension and Chris Worley saw his first game action since suffering a leg injury against Army on Sept. 16. Worley collected just one tackle while Hill did not record a stat.
Dre'Mont Jones also returned to action and was back in the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a leg injury in a locker room incident the week leading up to the Rutgers game. Jones finished the game with three tackles. Erick Smith also saw his first action since Ohio State's win over UNLV, playing in the Buckeye's nickel package.
Nebraska's offense struggled for most of the night, but did accumulate 393 yards of offense. Tanner Lee completed 23-of-38 passes for 303 yards and two scores, but the Cornhuskers were limited to just 44 yards rushing on the night.
The highlight of the game for Nebraska came early in the third quarter, when Lee found JD Spielman for a 77-yard score over the middle. Spielman, who finished the game with 11 receptions for 200 yards, is the adopted nephew of former Ohio State linebacker Chris Spielman.
Mike Weber, getting most of the carries in the second half, rushed for 82 yards on 18 carries in the Ohio State victory.
Game Notes
- Sean Nuernberger broke a Big Ten record for most consecutive extra points made following Ohio State's second score of the night, a 6-yard touchdown run by Barrett.
- Demetrius Knox started at right guard for Ohio State, in place of Branden Bowen who is out for the season.
- Parris Campbell left the game early in the first quarter with an undisclosed injury after taking a hard hit on a bubble screen. He did not return to action.
- Jalyn Holmes left with an injury midway through the third quarter and did not return. He walked off the field under his own power.
- Ohio State has won a Big Ten record 500th conference game with its win over Nebraska. Ohio State joined Michigan with 500 Big Ten Conference wins with both teams accomplishing the feat today. Ohio State now has an all-time Big Ten record of 500-173-24 in its 105th season for a winning pct. of .734. Michigan’s 27-20 OT win over Indiana gives it a 500-203-18 conference mark for a winning pct. of .706 in this, its 111th season of Big Ten play.
- Barrett is now tied for seventh in Ohio State history with 35 rushing touchdowns. Tim Spencer is sixth with 36 and Carlos Hyde is fifth with 37 rushing TDs.
- Barrett has climbed into 24th place in NCAA history with 2,824 career rushing yards by a quarterback. He passed BYU’s Taysom Hill and Kansas State’s Ell Roberson tonight against Nebraska. Next on the list at No. 23: Florida’s Tim Tebow with 2,947 career rushing yards.
- Dobbins’ 52-yard touchdown run in the first quarter matched his career long run. He also had a 52-yard TD run versus Army. Dobbins also finished with 100 yards or more rushing for the third time this season.
- The Buckeyes’ opening drive that covered 94 yards was the team’s third 90-yard or more scoring drive this season. Additionally, each of Ohio State’s first three TD drives covered at least 80 yards.
- In the last two weeks, Ohio State has outgained its opponents (Maryland and Nebraska) 390-35 in the opening quarter.
- Ohio State set a school record with its fifth consecutive game of 500 or more yards of total offense.
- The Buckeyes set a record for the most first downs by a Nebraska opponent with 35. The previous record belonged to Wyoming (2013) and Kansas (2007) with 34 each.
- Ohio State reached the 50-point mark for the fourth consecutive game, tying a school record set in 2014. It was the 23rd time in the Urban Meyer-era Ohio State reached 50 points.
- The 56 points scored by Ohio State was the most-ever allowed by Nebraska against a conference opponent at Memorial Stadium.
