College football: Ohio State trounces Nebraska to open COVID-delayed Big Ten football season

Justin Fields picked up the last couple of yards by spinning into the end zone to avoid a pair of Nebraska defenders.

That 17-yard touchdown run and Blake Haubeil’s PAT kick put the Buckeyes up 31-14.

They added to their lead seven plays later when Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez fumbled at midfield and Sevyn Banks returned it 45 yards for a touchdown.

After a 22-yard field goal by Nebraska, the Buckeyes tacked on two more touchdowns to win going away.

The first was a spectacular back-of-the-end zone grab by freshman Jaxson Smith-Njgiba, the second TD pass of the day for Fields.

The second came with just 18 seconds left when freshman quarterback Jack Miller took it in from two yards out.

FIRST HALF RECAP

A sharp Justin Fields completed 12 of 13 passes for 187 yards as Ohio State built a 24-14 half-time lead against Nebraska.

The Cornhuskers took the opening kickoff and marched 75 yards in just four plays for a touchdown.

Adrian Martinez kept the ball and outran a defender to the goal line from 10 yards out to start the scoring, but the big play on the drive was a 47-yard run by backup quarterback Luke McCaffrey.

Ohio State struck back with a 75-yard scoring drive of its own but used 11 plays, the last a 1-yard run by Master Teague for a touchdown.

After forcing a punt, the Buckeyes took over at their 24 and went 76 yards in just six plays to take their first lead of the season. That came via a 42-yard pass from Fields to Garrett Wilson, who ran away from a Nebraska cornerback on a post route.

The Huskers had an answer five and a half minutes later when they put together a methodical 78-yard, 11-play drive capped by Dedrick Mills' 3-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State looked poised to go back up a touchdown with under four minutes left in the second quarter, but the Buckeyes had to settle for a 34-yard field goal by Blake Haubeil with 3:12 on the clock.

The Buckeyes extended their lead just 2:02 later when Teague cut back and found the end zone from six yards out with 1:10 remaining.

Ohio State gained 277 total yards in the first half, somewhat overshadowing some struggles by a new-look defense against a veteran Nebraska offense.

Martinez completed 7 of 9 passes for 72 yards and ran for 22 yards in the first half while McCaffrey ran for 69 yards on five attempts.

Wilson was Fields' favorite target in the first half as he hauled in five passes for 104 yards, but Chris Olave was not far behind (four catches for 71 yards).

Ohio State’s running backs had a hard time getting untracked. Teague ran nine times for 31 yards, averaging 3.4 per attempt, while Oklahoma transfer Trey Sermon carried five times for 13 yards (2.6 average).