Ohio State's defense was suffocating from the opening whistle, with Jeff Okudah picking off Adrian Martinez twice in the first quarter alone to set up early scoring opportunities. The Buckeyes struck quickly on those short fields, with Justin Fields scoring on a 15-yard run and a 2-yard pass to K.J. Hill to build a commanding early lead. Nebraska's offense was completely stymied throughout, managing just 231 total yards and three turnovers, while Ohio State methodically dominated time of possession 36:54 to 23:06. Fields orchestrated a relentless attack in the second quarter, connecting with Austin Mack for an 18-yard touchdown and overseeing two Master Teague III scoring runs to put the game away well before halftime. Though Nebraska scraped together a late touchdown run by Dedrick Mills in the third quarter, the defensive breakdown and turnover margin made this a complete demolition, with the belt-holding Buckeyes never in serious jeopardy.
Written by Claude from the box score and play-by-play on this page — a plain-English recap of the numbers below, not a substitute for them.