The Buckeyes rolled over the Nebraska Cornhuskers, 52-17, in Columbus on Saturday afternoon behind an offensive onslaught and a defense that was eventually dominant after a lackluster opening drive.
In this edition of Three Key Stats, we'll take a look at the domination of Justin Fields, the strong start for the receiving corps, and a slow start for the defense that quickly turned around.
Justin Fields was a near-perfect 20-for-21 passing
Fields made sure to pick up exactly where he left off last season
The 2019 Heisman Trophy finalist gave us a near-perfect performance, completing 20 of his 21 passes with his lone incompletion coming from a 50-yard pass that was dropped in the end zone.
42 yard bomb. This year is gonna be fun. pic.twitter.com/rkXnOIhW5l
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) October 24, 2020
Fields' single-game completion percentage of .952 is good for second in Ohio State history. Ironically, enough, he's behind only Tate Martell in the record books, who completed 10-of-10 passes against Rutgers in 2018.
Two receivers combined for 233 yards.
Ohio State showed on Saturday that it might have the top wide receiver duo in the country as Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson proved to be nearly unguardable, tallying a combined 233 yards and one touchdown.
Wilson, making his debut in the slot, led the way with a career-best seven catches and 129 yards along with one long 42-yard touchdown reception. Olave eclipsed the 100-yard mark as well, finishing with 104 yards on six catches, but left the game early after a big hit in the third quarter.
The pair were expected to be Ohio State's top receivers entering the season, and they did not disappoint on Saturday.
Nebraska averaged 18.75 yards per play on the first drive, but 5.8 yards per play after.
The Buckeyes got punched in the mouth on the first drive of the game on Saturday, allowing Nebraska to go 75 yards for a touchdown in just four plays, averaging 18.75 yards per play.
It was no doubt concerning, giving some Buckeye fans flashbacks of the 2018 season, but Ohio State turned it around in a hurry. After that first drive, the Buckeyes held Nebraska to a much better 5.8 yards per play, allowing the Huskers to put just 10 more points on the board.
The Silver Bullets were also back to their chaos-creating selves.
SCOOP AND SCORE @SevynBanks picks it up and takes it to the house for another @OhioStateFB touchdown! pic.twitter.com/VfD4qWAidx
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 24, 2020
All thee starting linebackers finished with five or more tackles in the game and both Zach Harrison and Haskell Garrett were able to get into the backfield for sacks.
It turned out to be the Buckeye defense we expected to see, after all, it just took a drive for them to settle in.
