The Nebraska Cornhuskers bring a big offensive line, a ball-hawking defense and a 3-1 record into Saturday’s game (7:30 p.m. ET, ABC) against the No. 5 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes with ESPN’s College GameDay in town.

But really, two words matter most in OSU’s preparations: Adrian Martinez.

The sophomore dual-threat quarterback has already passed for 1,053 yards and rushed for 234 through four games this season, putting him 15th in the country in total offense.

He is a no-brainer choice as Ohio State’s biggest matchup challenge at Memorial Stadium.

Adrian Martinez vs. OSU defense

Martinez, a highly regarded recruit out of California, has lived up to the hype as far as individual statistics go, through Nebraska’s 5-8 record with him as a starter (he missed a game in 2018 with an injury) wasn’t what many Cornhuskers fans probably would have expected.

Martinez is leading the Big Ten in passing yards, passing yards per game (263) and total offense per game (321.5 yards) this season.

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He is part of a three-headed rushing triumvirate for the Cornhuskers which also includes running back Maurice Washington (268 yards) and Dedrick Mills (229 yards).

Martinez led last week’s comeback victory over Illinois in Nebraska’s B1G opener with a team-high 118 yards rushing and a game-high 328 yards passing. His 445 yards of total offense in that game was a new career high for Martinez.

So how do you contain a quarterback that OSU coach Ryan Day called, “by far the best quarterback we’ve seen” so far in 2019?

In a word, speed.

It’s going to be a lot of fun watching All-American defensive end Chase Young pin his ears back and get after the elusive Martinez.

And if any Buckeyes linebackers come on a blitz, a couple of them — notable Malik Harrison — will probably have the speed to get to Martinez, or perhaps force him into making a bad throw.

If they can’t, the Buckeyes are going to see Martinez make a lot of big plays, just like he did last year. The quarterback accounted for three total touchdowns (two rushing, one passing) and 328 yards of total offense as the Cornhuskers threw a scare into the Buckeyes before OSU prevailed 36-31 in Columbus.

For anybody who might have forgotten how many ways Martinez impressed viewers against Ohio State in 2018, here is a refresher:

This, however, is a much better OSU defense than last season.

The Buckeyes are No. 2 in the nation in total defense through four games, allowing just 222 yards per contest. Players like Young and Harrison are providing energy and tenacity to go along with their talent, and younger players like cornerback Jeffery Okudah are developing just as Day and his staff would have envisioned.

Martinez is joined by weapons such as top receiver JD Spielman and multi-talented running back Wan’Dale Robinson.

But Martinez vs. the talented Ohio State defense is going to be the matchup many fans on both sides will be looking forward to on Saturday.