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Ohio State University
Buckeyes roll
over Nebraska
COLUMBUS, Ohio - On a night when pyrotechnics were part of the halftime
activities, the Ohio State and Nebraska offenses provided their own
impressive fireworks show.
But the Buckeyes had lots more firepower in their arsenal.
With quarterback Braxton Miller and running back Carlos Hyde lighting
the fuse, No. 12 Ohio State recovered from a slow start and burned No.
21 Nebraska with plenty of big plays in a 63-38 victory Saturday night
before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 106,102 on homecoming.
The win left the Buckeyes with a 6-0 record and as the only unbeaten
team in the Big Ten.
The 63 points were the most scored by Ohio State in a Big Ten game
since they routed Minnesota 69-18 in 1983. The Buckeyes and Cornhuskers
combined for 101 points, the most in a conference game since an 83-21
win over Iowa in 1950.
On a night for offense, Miller was the brightest light, setting a
school mark for quarterbacks with 186 yards rushing on 16 carries. He
ran for a touchdown and also completed 7 of 14 passes for 127 yards and
a TD.
Hyde complemented Miller's nifty running with his power and gave the
Buckeyes two 100-yard rushers. Hyde finished with career bests of 140
yards on 28 carries and four touchdowns. Reserve running back Rod Smith
added to the ground assault with a 33-yard run with 10:27 left in the
game.
Hyde scored the final touchdown with a 16-yard run with 48 seconds
remaining. Ohio State's dominant rushing attack torched Nebraska for
371 yards, recovering after rushing for just 10 yards in the first
quarter. The Buckeyes rolled up 498 total yards to Nebraska's 437.
"I don't believe this is what his offense is capable of. I believe it
could be better," said Miller, who's likely to gain more notice from
Heisman Trophy voters after another big game boosted his season rushing
total to 763 yards. "We made a couple of minor mistakes out there.
We've got a lot more to do." Miller joked after the game that Ohio
State coach Urban Meyer couldn't remember how many points the Buckeyes
had scored. Meyer looked down sheepishly when asked about that. He
preferred to heap praise on the offensive line. "Our offensive line
eventually took over that game," Meyer said. "We have two good runners
right now. We have a quarterback that's kind of ridiculous running the
ball and Carlos Hyde is a guy that's starting to learn a lot of respect
other than that darned fumble. He's running it hard.
"You can see what we are. We're kind of a pound-you offense right. I
don't mind that."
Any suspense about the outcome effectively ended early in the second
half. After Nebraska (4-2) closed to 35-31 on quarterback Taylor
Martinez's 3-yard touchdown pass to Ben Cotton early in the third
quarter, the Buckeyes hammered the Cornhuskers with three touchdowns to
open a 56-31 bulge.
Hyde culminated a 10-play, 75-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown dive.
Ohio State's Corey Brown followed with a 76-yard punt return for a
score, Smith added the icing with his TD run early in the fourth
quarter and Hyde put the cherry on top in the final minute.
Senior John Simon led the Ohio State defense with five tackles for
loss, including two sacks. Linebacker Ryan Shazier paced the Buckeyes
with 11 tackles, including two for losses. And they helped the Buckeyes
hold Martinez to 40 yards rushing and 214 passing yards with three
interceptions.
"We saw a lot of opportunities to make big plays because he's a really
good quarterback, but he loves to run the ball," Shazier said. "His
feet is his main weapon and his arm the secondary weapon, and we took
advantage of it today."
Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead gained 73 of his 119 yards rushing
on one carry and missed much of the second half with a leg injury.
Nebraska looked like it would take control of the game early in the
second quarter after opening a 17-7 lead on Brett Maher's 26-yard field
goal. At that point, the Cornhuskers had outgained the Buckeyes 148 to
17 in total yards.
Miller and turnovers shifted the momentum. Miller countered with a
72-yard run that led to a 1-yard touchdown plunge by Hyde, making it
17-14. Miller's scamper equaled the Buckeyes' longest play from
scrimmage this season.
After Bradley Roby's second interception of the half - he returned the
first 41 yards for a touchdown in the first quarter -- for the
Buckeyes, Miller found tight end Jeff Heuerman for an 18-yard scoring
pass, the sophomore's first career touchdown, and the Buckeyes were
back on top 21-17...
Read the rest of this article at Ohio State University Rivals
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