The last time Ohio State traveled to Lincoln, the Buckeyes snatched defeat from the jaws of victory, blowing a 21-point third-quarter thanks a 1-for-10 passing performance from Joe Bauserman where he had more interceptions than his quarterback rating.
This time, it was uh... different.
Ohio State game to Lincoln and pillaged it. The Buckeyes scored more points in Memorial Stadium than any conference opponent ever while holding the Huskers scoreless until the third quarter.
The game was over well before the half, and unfortunately for the Huskers, Bauserman never came out of the locker room to save them .
Let's debrief.
The Short Story
This one, like the previous four, was ugly. The Buckeyes hopped out to an early lead and the game was over before the half. Ohio State outclassed Nebraska on both sides of the ball from start to finish, on the way to a 56-14 beatdown.
Quick Breakdowns
Offense
I'm running out of ways to say that this offense looks really, really good, especially in *gasps* the passing game.
Saturday was Ohio State's fifth-straight game of over 300 yards passing, and fifth-straight game of over 500 yards of total offense – and they looked great doing it.
The Buckeyes distributed the ball around to athletes underneath and picking Nebraska apart over the top. All the while, both J.K. Dobbins and Mike Weber got theirs, dominating the Huskers on the ground.
I know it's against inferior competition, but it's really hard to ignore how good this offense has been since the hiccup against Oklahoma.
Defense
It's also getting difficult to explain just how good Ohio State's defensive line has been, and the Buckeyes were at it again on Saturday night.
Even if the numbers don't necessarily show it, as Ohio State finished with only one tackle for a loss, the Buckeye defensive line dominated the trenches the entire game, making life difficult on Nebraska quarterback Tanner Lee when he dropped back to pass, and nearly impossible to run the ball effectively.
Down the field, the Buckeyes also looked much improved. Though Damon Arnette's first-quarter suspension shook things up a bit with Damon Webb moving to the nickel spot Erick Smith and Jordan Fuller occupying both safety spots for those packages, the Buckeyes limited Nebraska's downfield passing attack, especially in the first half.
Buckeye Leafs
Offense: J.T. Barrett
J.T. Barrett has been absolutely masterful since Ohio State's loss to Oklahoma, and that continued on Saturday.
Ohio State's signal caller accounted for seven total touchdowns on Saturday, rushing for two and passing for five, and tying his own school record for touchdowns accounted for in a single game in the process.
Barrett finished the game going 27-for-33 with 325 yards passing and five touchdowns. He threw just one ball off-target in the first half and for the fifth-straight game did not throw an interception.
He finished with a quarterback rating of 214.5, and Ohio State scored a touchdown on every single offensive possession while he was in at quarterback. That's absurd.
Meyer calls Barretts efficiency tonight, elite.
— James Grega Jr. (@JGrega11) October 15, 2017
To top it off, Barrett rushed 10 times for 48 yards and two touchdowns.
Put in Dwayne Haskins.
Defense: Jordan Fuller
It was hard to pick one standout player on the defensive side, as it was a team effort, but I'm going to go with Jordan Fuller.
Fuller finished the game with a team-high five solo tackles (seven total), had one pass breakup and made a great effort play, making a shoe-string tackle to save what would have been a very long touchdown.
I think Fuller deserves recognition for not giving up on that play and making a tremendous chase-down tackle even when his team was up 28 points.
Plays of the Game
Offense
J.T. Barrett made a lot of beautiful throws on Saturday night, but none were prettier than this 31-yard touchdown to Terry McLaurin.
The play action to Mike Weber set this play up. Barrett faked to Weber, freezing three linebackers and a safety in the middle of the field, five yards off the line of scrimmage. With a three-man rush, this meant one-on-one coverage downfield, which in turn mean touchdown.
It was a great play and execution all around.
Defense
Nick Bosa just might be unblockable.
On this play, the younger Bosa ruined Nebraska left tackle Nick Gates with an uncanny combination of quickness and hand technique.
It shouldn't be possible to get around the edge that quickly, and I don't even think the play was designed for Bosa to necessarily get there – it was drawn up for Chris Worley, who joined Bosa in the backfield.
Biggest Surprise
The starters played into the fourth quarter of a game that was clearly well at hand. It's hard to question a coach like Urban Meyer from the safety of my keyboard, but it seems unwise to play such important players in a game that's clearly over. Jalyn Holmes, Mike Weber and Jamarco Jones all left the game banged up when the game was very much over.
Jim Tressel's Least Favorite Moment
The Tressel's are not big fans of jack-o-lanterns, but they do love pumpkins. And with yet another late kickoff, Jim and Ellen had an afternoon to spend at the pumpkin patch.
The pair went to a local farm where they took a hayride, bobbed for apples and even visited a petting zoo before picking out a vast collection of pumpkins and gourds to take home.
They got home early enough to garnish the house with fall decor and make a from-scratch pumpkin pie before the start of the Ohio State vs Nebraska game, which Jim was excited to watch after the team's abysmal performance last week – at the important positions anyway.
Jim was cautiously optimistic as he turned on the game – after all, it couldn't possibly be worse than last week's performance.
Right off the bat, the opening kickoff flew out of bounds.
"I'm going for a walk," Jim said to his wife.
Fortunately, Jim returned to the house soon enough to see Sean Nuernberger break the Big Ten record for most consecutive extra point makes, which put a soft smile on his face.
He was disappointed the rest of the game, however, as his favorite player, Drue Chrisman, sat on the sideline the entire game as Urban Meyer elected to go for it on fourth down three times.
Biggest Blunder
If there's one thing to be concerned about coming out of this game, it might be Ohio State's ability to defend a hail mary.
Right before half time, Nebraska sent a heave to the end zone as time expired. Despite Ohio State playing prevent defense and having plenty of defenders back, the ball somehow got through and really should have been caught by the Nebraska receiver.
Even if it would have connected, it wouldn't have hurt very much when you're already up 35 points at the half, but it could definitely could kill you in a close game.
Also, you know you played well if the biggest blunder is "Nebraska almost scored in the first half."
Underrated Things
No Parris
The Buckeyes dismantled the Huskers with one of the team's most important offensive pieces on the sideline.
Parris Campbell left the game with an injury on the first drive of the game, but Ohio State didn't miss a beat. 11 different players caught a pass on Saturday night and four caught a touchdown.
K.J. Hill, in particular, filled in nicely for Campbell at the h-back position, catching seven passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns.
No Punts
Ohio State didn't punt on Saturday night, which might be sad for punter Drue Chrisman, who essentially flew to Lincoln, Nebraska for a nice vacation, but it was very satisfying for J.T. Barrett and company.
The Buckeyes didn't punt tonight and didn't punt against Nebraska last season, meaning OSU hasn't punted against Nebraska since Oct. 6, 2012
— Kevin Harrish (@Kevinish) October 15, 2017
The funniest part about this whole situation is that Ohio State also didn't punt last year, meaning the Buckeyes haven't punted against Nebraska since Oct. 6, 2012.
Meech Eating
Earlier this week, Urban Meyer said the right guard spot was wide open – it seems like Demetrius Knox has closed that competition.
Last week, Matthew Burrell went in for the injured Branden Bowen, but Knox got the nod on Saturday night and filled in nearly flawlessly. His play drew praise from the commentators throughout the game and he will almost certainly grade out a champion when they are announced on Monday.
Big Nut is... Good?
Folks, it may have switched – Big Nut might be good. Reports from Lincoln indicate that he did something amazing.
The Big Nut just commandeered the hot dog cannon and shot it out over the press box and out of the stadium. Still can't believe what I saw.
— Colin Hass-Hill (@chasshill) October 15, 2017
I will be filing a FOIA request for the security tapes from this game immediately.
It Was Over When...
Ohio State went nine plays for 96 yards for a touchdown and nine plays for 85 yards and a touchdown with Nebraska netting just five yards of offense in between. It was clear the Buckeyes were going to have no trouble scoring and Nebraska was going to have all kinds of trouble even moving the ball.
Biggest Question Going Forward
We've seen it against inferior opponents, but can Ohio State do that against elite competition? The good (or bad) news is, we're not going to ask this question much longer. The next time the Buckeyes take the field, it will be what looks to be a top-10 or top-5 matchup against Penn State. Two weeks from this moment, we will know the answer to this question.
