The #6 Ohio State Buckeyes dominated #9 Nebraska at Ohio Stadium on Saturday night, cruising to a 62-3 victory.
It was clear from the Cornhuskers’ first drive that the Buckeyes were fired up for this game.
Damon Webb intercepted a Tommy Armstrong pass and ran it back 36 yards to put the Buckeyes on the board less than two minutes after kickoff.
It was the fifth interception returned for a touchdown this season by the Buckeye defense, setting a school record for most “pick-six’s” in the season.
Nebraska was able to tack on a field goal on their next drive, but that would be all for the rest of the night.
The Buckeyes scored 55 unanswered points, including four passing touchdowns from J.T. Barrett and a 23-yard rushing touchdown from Mike Weber.
Barrett found Terry McLaurin for a seven-yard score in the first quarter, and hit Curtis Samuel with a one-yard jump-pass just before halftime.
The nail in the coffin was a 75-yard bomb from Barrett to Samuel on the first play from scrimmage to start the second half.
On a somber note, Cornhuskers quarterback Tommy Armstrong was carted off the field after a vicious head injury. Nebraska released the following statement during the game.
Statement about QB Tommy Armstrong Jr. pic.twitter.com/TdqqJW0D36
— Nebraska Huskers (@Huskers) November 6, 2016
Nebraska’s offense, already inefficient with Armstrong under center in the first half, was even more stagnant in the second half and the Cornhuskers could not get going with backup Ryker Fyfe at the helm.
Perhaps the best news of the night for Nebraska came early in the third quarter, when Armstrong was seen walking in the tunnel, apparently recovered from his head injury.
Not long after TV cameras showed Armstrong in the stadium, Barrett found Noah Brown for a six-yard touchdown pass to make it a 45-3 game with 10:00 left in the third.
Armstrong returned to the sidelines in street clothes right after the touchdown, prompting cheers from the fans.
The Buckeyes continued to add onto their lead and Malik Hooker ran back an interception 48 yards for a touchdown, the second of the game for the Buckeyes and the sixth of the season for the team.
Backup quarterback Joe Burrow scored a 12-yard rushing touchdown with 7:19 to play to increase the lead to 59.
Weber picked up 72 yards on 11 carries, scoring his seventh rushing touchdown of the season. DeMario McCall entered the game with nine minutes left in the third, as Weber was not needed to play for most of the second half in the blowout.
McCall ended up with 73 yards on 16 carries.
Tyler Durbin was perfect on two field goal attempts on the night, both from 29 yards out.
Ohio State improves to 8-1 and is likely to move up in the College Football Playoff rankings due to Texas A&M’s loss to Mississippi State.
Perhaps the Buckeyes can jump undefeated Washington in the standings, but it’s unclear how much the committee will value this quality win over a top ten opponent.
Ohio State travels to Maryland (5-4) next week.
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