LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Ohio State was supposed to get its first big test of the season at Nebraska. It hardly turned out that way.
Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns and ran for another, Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez was intercepted on three of the Cornhuskers' first four series, and the No. 5 Buckeyes turned in their most impressive performance of the season in a 48-7 victory Saturday night.
Ohio State (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) scored on its first six possessions and led 38-0 after a dizzying first half. By the time Nebraska finally scored, the Buckeyes had rolled off 124 straight points since trailing Miami (Ohio) 5-0 last week.
"I think we're very confident right now," Fields said. "We came into Lincoln — the crowd is amazing here — and it was loud at the beginning. We handled it well, jumped on them early and didn't let up."
Nebraska (3-2, 1-1) didn't go over 100 yards of total offense until late in the third quarter, just before its only TD, and it was obvious early that second-year coach Scott Frost's program is still a ways from returning to national prominence.
"We're all disappointed," Frost said. "I thought we had a puncher's chance if we came out and played a really good game, and we didn't, so that's the end result. I told the team we can't doubt for a second where this is going, what we're doing to get it there, the improvement we've made. I want the guys to go to bed tonight and put this behind them."
The Buckeyes had come to Lincoln off four straight lopsided wins but the question remained: just how good are they?
Based on this performance, they're really good.
"We talked about what it would take to win this game on the road," Buckeyes coach Ryan Day said, "and we hit on all cylinders. We assumed it would be hard. We've been preparing for this game for a while. Any time you have to go on the road and win a night game, we know that's not easy in this league."
Fields, the transfer from Georgia who has played himself into the first tier of Heisman Trophy candidates, threw for 212 yards and kept alive his streak of no interceptions this season. He added 72 yards rushing. He now has had a hand in 23 touchdowns, 16 through the air.
J.K. Dobbins ran for 177 yards and a TD on 24 carries and became the 11th player in Ohio State history to surpass 3,000 career rushing yards. He's gone over 100 yards against Nebraska three straight years.
The Buckeyes scored on their first eight full drives — one ended as time ran out in the half — and didn't punt for the first time until early in the fourth quarter.