Nebraska junior quarterback Adrian Martinez presents a fairly unique challenge to the Ohio State defense on Saturday: he wants to run the ball.

Martinez recorded 144 rushing attempts last season- tied for the most by a quarterback who faced off with the Buckeyes in 2019. His 626 rushing yards ranked No. 1 in the Big Ten by a quarterback, and he has registered 1,255 yards on the ground in two seasons at Nebraska.

The junior was inaccurate and inconsistent throwing the ball as a sophomore and his decision-making has been unreliable for the better part of his time in college, but he uses his feet as a major weapon. Nebraska will keep the ball on the ground in a variety of ways, but Martinez’s threat to break any play open enhances his danger.

In 17 of his 21 starts at Nebraska, Martinez has finished with double-digit carries. He has picked up over 80 yards on the ground in nine of those games, including a 118-yard performance at Illinois last September and 125 yards against Minnesota as a freshman.

The obvious caveat to those absurd numbers is that more than a fair share of them came against subpar defenses.

No matter who he put up numbers against, Martinez is a capable runner against any defense. He finds holes and has explosive speed. The junior was an Ohio State recruiting target for a reason.

That leaves one major question: how has the Ohio State defense fared against dual-threat quarterbacks, and how will this inexperienced group handle Martinez on Saturday?

With a defensive line anchored by Chase Young, most quarterbacks did not have much of a chance against Ohio State in 2019. They racked up rushing attempts against the Buckeyes because of a lack of available time in the pocket but had very low levels of success moving the ball.

During the regular season, starting QBs ran just under nine times a game against the Ohio State defense.

With sacks factored in, those quarterbacks averaged 8.25 yards rushing per game. Yikes. Half of those starters that attempted to run against the vaunted Ohio State D-line finished with net-negative yards on the ground.

There were, of course, exceptions to the utter destruction the Buckeyes caused. The two most fleet-footed quarterbacks Young and company faced (Martinez and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence) posted above-average games on the ground. Martinez ended up with 81 yards rushing on 15 carries and Lawrence was the only man behind center to run for over 100 yards on the Ohio State defense.

Those two quarterbacks put together some big plays on what was normally a very stout, conservative defense. Martinez exploded for a 56-yard sprint late in the third quarter at Ohio State and Lawrence burst through the front line for a memorable 67-yard score to bring his team back to life in the Fiesta Bowl.

Ohio State lost five of its top six players in terms of tackles for loss. Young and Malik Harrison were both elite run-stoppers and placed many hits on opposing quarterbacks looking to break free. With a younger defensive line and less mobility in the linebacking group entering 2020, opponents could see more time in the pocket and have wider spaces to move around in.

Its first two opponents boast dual-threat quarterbacks. Martinez had success last season against the top-tier Ohio State defense and may have even more room to work with on Saturday. Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford put up over 400 yards on the ground last season even with the zero-burger he registered at Ohio Stadium.

The potential is certainly present for Ohio State to take a step back against mobile quarterbacks. It dominated last season due to the unstoppable pressure of a group of players who aren’t on the roster anymore and gave up decent games to the two quickest quarterbacks it faced.

Players like Martinez will pick and choose spots to dart past the line of scrimmage. If the Nebraska offensive line can buy him time, the third-year quarterback could find large chunks of open field if the defense fails to provide pressure. It comes down to how quickly Ohio State can adjust to the speed of the game and the Nebraska quarterback in the open field.

In two years against Ohio State, Martinez has piled up 153 yards rushing. That’s the most by a quarterback against the Buckeyes over that time- he has clearly found some level of success running the ball.

Saturday will be an interesting test for a remade defense that has normally succeeded against quarterbacks on the ground.