COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Watching Justin Fields play quarterback at Ohio State has become less of a ‘What can he do?’ conversation and one more of ‘What can’t he do?’

Last Saturday at Michigan State, Fields ran for two touchdowns and a career-high 104 yards. He added 199 yards through the air and two more scores.

But Fields took off after a Spartan defender and made a block to key Trey Sermon’s first touchdown as a Buckeye.

“It kind of just came naturally,” Fields said. “Started running and I just didn’t stop.”

The Buckeyes were up 28-0 in the third quarter and faced a third-and-one play. Fields set up in shotgun formation with Sermon to his right.

Harry Miller - who was making his first-career start at center - snapped the ball to Fields, who turned to his right and handed it to Sermon.

To that point in the game, Sermon had rushed for 43 yards and felt as if he built up enough momentum and was bound to cash in at some point, and said postgame that he was constantly building his confidence.

“I definitely felt like it was going to happen,” Sermon said. “Just knowing I can go out there and make those plays. Each week I felt like I was gradually getting better, getting more in-sync with the offensive line and getting used to playing with those guys.”

The Buckeyes offensive line pushed the Spartans defensive line to the left, opening a hole on the right in which Sermon poked through. The Oklahoma graduate transfer found daylight, and juked to his right once he reached the right hash at midfield.

From there, it was Sermon, Spartans safety Tre Person and Fields racing down the far sideline toward the end zone. Fields had run straight up the right hash with Person to his right and Sermon on the opposite side of Person.

Once he reached the 10-yard line, Fields crossed over and side-blocked Person just in the nick of time for Sermon to reach the end zone and tumble in relief.

At home, head coach Ryan Day - who had tested positive for COVID-19 the week prior - watched from his television. He said during his radio show on 97.1 The Fan on Thursday he knew Fields was a threat with his legs.

"He’s a strong runner. He’s worked really hard on that," Day said. "He hands the ball off and then chases the guy down. Beats him, gets in front of him, for Trey Sermon. That’s what being a leader is all about."

"I think he’s taken some giant strides in that area.”

Fields sometimes runs and blocks in practice to get more conditioning. He said on Tuesday that he doesn't look to make contact, even when he's the one carrying the ball.

“I don’t know if I enjoy initiating contact but I’m going to do it if I need to," Fields said. "If I’m going to get yards and I see guys merging on me, of course I’m going to be smart and get down. If we need the first down, I’m going to help my team out and do whatever. Give my full effort and play with selflessness. I lift a lot, so I think my body’s built for it.”

Perhaps a block-in-the-back penalty may have came across the minds of viewers, but it wasn't called and Fields agreed with the decision.

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Fields and Sermon both finished with over 100 yards rushing, marking the first game in which two Buckeyes did so in a single game since September of 2019 at Indiana.

More recently, however, Fields was coming off the Nov. 21 game against Indiana when he had one of his off-performances. He threw three interceptions during the Buckeyes 42-35 win over the ninth-ranked Hoosiers.

"I was just telling myself to calm down," Fields said. "The biggest thing was to get the dub and we went out there and did that. Whether that was running the ball 30 times or passing the ball 30 times, do anything to get the win.”

ALSO: Fields' legs lift Buckeyes to early lead, blowout win at MSU

Nonetheless, Fields dazzles with his arm and legs week in and week out. In each of the last three games, he's thrown at least two touchdowns and ran for at least one more.

But to Day, Fields' block during Sermon’s touchdown run showed more than statistics ever could.

“When everybody on the team can see your quarterback doing something like that, that makes a difference,” Day said. “You can throw for as many yards as you want, but when you’re showing your effort, you’re showing your love for your teammates on something like that.

“That’s special.”