COLUMBUS — In so many ways, the Ohio State Buckeyes performance Saturday was unbelievable.

Obviously, their absolute domination and destruction of Michigan State, which had been tied with Ohio State atop the Big Ten East standings, was first and foremost.

The immediate thought, though, as the Buckeyes piled up 35 points and 320 yards before halftime, was back to last week’s debacle at Iowa. And with that thought came questions like, ‘what if? How? Where was this performance last week?’

But, to hear offensive lineman Billy Price tell it, that’s just for the fans and media. The players and those in the program didn’t look at things that way.

“Everyone was kind of stunned and you do take a moment to look back and think, ‘what happened?” Price said. “We still had all of our goals in front us and as a captain and offensive leader, you have to make sure units do not start to deteriorate or turn their backs on each other.”

The first test since the meltdown in Iowa City was passed with flying colors. And it came as no surprise to anyone in the Ohio State locker room.

“We use the term around here, quite often, laser-like focus,” Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer said. “I wish we could put them on a desert island. We talked about Penn State far too long and now this one is over.”

Meyer’s message to his players was simple. Enjoy the victory now, but prepare to come back to work to begin preparations for Illinois, which will serve as Ohio State’s senior day.

“I think, A-to-Z, (this performance) was what we needed and it was well-deserved,” Meyer continued. “The players deserved that. They worked hard this week.”

And after the 48-3 demolition of the Spartans, the Buckeyes are firmly back in the driver’s seat to win the Big Ten East and get to Indianapolis in three weeks for the Big Ten Championship Game.

“All of our goals are out in front of us,” Price said.

A big reason for the Buckeyes’ performance and lop-sided victory was their commitment to the running game. That was a directive that Meyer presented after highly regarded freshman J.K. Dobbins had only five carries last week against the Hawkeyes.

While we’re not privy to the coaching staff meetings, the fact that the Buckeyes ran for 335 yards and four touchdowns and only threw 21 passes tells us all we need to know. Taking that a step further, Dobbins had 18 carries for 124 yards.

“There was a mandate to make sure (Dobbins and Mike Weber) touched the ball,” Meyer said. “Mandates are easy. The execution was outstanding.”

Indeed.

With Price, who made his Ohio State record 51st consecutive start, leading the way, the Buckeyes physically dominated the Spartans, who had been ranked near the top nationally in rush defense. Actually, OSU had accumulated 102 yards on the ground in the first quarter, which is a number Michigan State hadn’t allowed as a total in any Big 10 game all season.

While Dobbins got his fair share, it was also nice to see Mike Weber, the red-shirt sophomore from Detroit, became more of a viable option. He rushed only 9 times, but he had two “big hits.” He scored on a 47-yard burst and then in the second quarter he went 82 yards en route to finishing with 162 yards, which is a career high.

Not bad for a guy who almost was shut down for the season because of a hamstring injury that many believed would need surgery.

“It felt good to (to break those), but I still had to look around to make sure no one was going to catch me,” Weber joked. “Now we have to get back to work, have a similar week like we did last week and focus on every little detail.”

SETH’S SCOOPS

* ANOTHER WEEK and another Buckeye was shown the gate for targeting. Dre’Mont Jones was ejected in the second quarter for a blow to the head of the Michigan State quarterback. It didn’t sit well with his head coach.

“I was very upset about that,” Meyer said. “They’re definitely aware (of the rule). I was irate when it happened. We just have to continue to keep coaching ourselves through it.”

* MEYER AND the defensive coaching staff were scrambling in the middle of the week when they learned that neither Jerome Baker nor Dante Booker would be available because of injuries.

“There was a little bit of anxiety because you had to start moving guys around,” Meyer said. “(Chris) Worley and Malik Harrison really did a nice job.”:

* OHIO STATE’S 45-point victory is the largest ever in the series with Michigan State. The previous high of 42 had stood since 1979.

Staskey can be reached via email at sstaskey@timesleaderonline.com or at twitter.com/TLSportsSeth