Columbus: The late Al Davis made the phrase “Just Win Baby” famous as owner of the Oakland Raiders.
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer would like to add, “and the rest will take care of itself.”
He hinted as much prior to Ohio State’s game against No. 10 Nebraska.
On Saturday, the No. 6 Buckeyes proved it under the lights in a 62-3 win over the Cornhuskers.
While talk swirls around the playoff rankings early each week, Ohio State (8-1, 5-1) keeps on winning and not worrying about what happens to the five teams in front of it.
With a month left, that theory is working as No. 4 Texas A&M lost to unranked Mississippi State, which undoubtedly will push Ohio State ahead of the Aggies.
With road games against Maryland and Michigan State, all that should stand in the way of the Buckeyes is a home game on Nov. 26 against No. 3 Michigan.
Win that and — as long as the Wolverines stay undefeated coming into Columbus or Penn State loses — Ohio State will head to the Big Ten Championship Game.
To date, the Buckeyes have three wins over top 15 teams — No. 8 Wisconsin, the No. 10 Cornhuskers (7-2, 4-2) and No. 12 Oklahoma this season.
It’s a resume tough to argue and one Ohio State added a few bullet points to with its win over Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers came in atop the Big Ten West Division with a conference-leading 15 interceptions.
They left Columbus scuffling.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett pushed past Michigan’s Denard Robinson into second place in Big Ten history for touchdowns accounted for with 94.
Barrett’s 66 passing touchdowns and 28 rushing touchdowns trail only Purdue’s Drew Brees (81, 14 and 95).
It should be noted that Wisconsin’s Russell Wilson had 132, but only 39 of those came in his one season with the Badgers.
Barrett tied Robinson with a 7-yard touchdown pass to Terry McLaurin late in the first quarter and went ahead of the 2010 Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year on a 1-yard touchdown pass to Curtis Samuel three seconds before halftime.
It was a score that pretty much sealed the fate of Nebraska, which gave up 55 unanswered points, as the Buckeyes that many saw at the beginning of the season came back out to play.
Barrett, who completed 26-of-38 passes for 290 yards and four touchdowns, wasn’t the only star as Samuel (eight catches, 137 yards, two touchdowns, 41 yards rushing) and Mike Weber (11 carries, 72, touchdown) got it done on offense.
Damon Webb and Malik Hooker shined on defense with a 36-yard interception return for a touchdown and 48-yard interception return for a touchdown, respectively, and Ohio State kept its foot on the throttle.
There was a frightening moment in the second quarter when Nebraska quarterback Tommy Armstrong Jr. was carted off on a stretcher following an 11-yard gain when the senior’s helmet bounced off the turf and he laid motionless for a while.
Armstrong was able to give a thumbs-up as he left the field.
The Cornhuskers released a statement saying Armstrong was briefly knocked unconscious, but was moving all extremities and talking while on the field.
He was taken to a local hospital for further evaluation and later returned to the field in street clothes.