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On a third-and-10 from near midfield in the second quarter Saturday, Nebraska’s freshman quarterback kept a drive alive in a way the Ohio State defense didn’t expect — with his legs. He weaved toward the left sideline, even switching the football to his outside left arm and using his right to stiff-arm a defender while finishing a 38-yard run, among the longest for any Husker this season.

The 19-year-old Raiola figures he has had a handful of lengthy rush plays in his football career. Just not recently.

“I don’t know if you want to count them — Pop Warner,� Raiola said with a small smile. “But yeah, I’ve had a few of those.�

The Nebraska offense last weekend showed a few new wrinkles to suggest the nation’s No. 95 scoring attack won’t be too predictable with the Nos. 99, 42, 24 and 25 scoring defenses waiting in November.

There were two defensive linemen — 6-foot-3, 285-pound Elijah Jeudy in front, 6-6, 310-pound Ty Robinson behind him — serving as path-clearing fullbacks for the Huskers on two goal-line occasions, the second of which produced NU’s go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter. There was tight end Thomas Fidone, following his most productive offensive game against Indiana with his second-most against the Buckeyes with four grabs for 55 yards.

And there was Raiola, a former baseball catcher who hadn’t shown any enthusiasm for running from the pocket until the season’s eighth game. The Buckeyes were not the only ones caught off guard.

“Shoot, I didn’t know he could run like that, to be honest with you,� Nebraska offensive coordinator Marcus Satterfield said Tuesday. “I’d never seen it.�

“He finna (going to) be out there like Michael Vick next week,� cornerback Ceyair Wright said with a grin, referencing the former dynamic-running NFL quarterback. “… He knows he can do it now.�

Raiola found motivation to scoot from a play two weeks earlier at Indiana. Trailing 28-7 and facing a third-and-4 near midfield with less than a minute left in the first half, the QB took a shotgun snap and stepped forward with a swath of open space to his left. He opted to pull back and throw an off-balance sidearm pass toward the right boundary that landed short of the receiver.

“I think that pissed him off,� Satterfield said. “I think he just subconsciously did it (Saturday) just to prove he could.�

Offensive tweaks early in the season included deploying freshman receiver Jacory Barney on sweeps and backup quarterback Heinrich Haarberg on Wildcat looks. A new one in The Horseshoe was tapping Robinson and Jeudy for spot blocking duty after starting fullback Barret Liebentritt endured a season-ending injury in practice last week.

Defensive line coach Terrance Knighton texted his players in the runup to Ohio State an old video of a goal-line scrum. Those lead blockers are you guys now, he said. They practiced it once Friday before using it twice in the game. The second one opened a lane for running back Dante Dowdell to hurdle into the end zone from short range.

“I literally hand the ball off and I just hear a bunch of people, like — I don’t even know — grunting,� Raiola said. “Probably can’t feel good getting hit by those two guys.�

Meanwhile, Fidone for a second straight week thrived as a downfield receiving option. His biggest play came early in the fourth quarter on a right-to-left crossing route when the 6-6, 255-pounder beat his defender in man coverage and sprinted down the sideline for a 33-yard gain that set up the go-ahead score.

Coach Matt Rhule said Monday that Fidone came to him and Satterfield earlier in the month asking how he could be more involved in the pass game. Nebraska has since been more intentional about playing to Fidone’s “long speed� downfield and ability to make 50-50 balls much better than coin-flip propositions.

“I think Dylan feels it; I think the coaches feel it,� Rhule said. “Now they’re always trying to get him involved.�

Said Raiola: “He goes and makes plays and gets his YAC (yards after catch). … He’s starting to see the fruits of his labor pay off.�

The offense has plenty of areas for November growth, Satterfield said. Nebraska still needs to move the ball more efficiently in the traditional run game, shore up perimeter blocking and develop its play-action attack.

All of it can be at least marginally easier if defenders are planning to see blocking defensive linemen or a big-armed quarterback with a sudden taste for taking off.

“It definitely adds a whole other layer to the game,� Wright said.