COLUMBUS, Ohio — During pregame warm-ups, most of the attention from media members on the field was directed toward Ohio State quarterback Braxton Miller.

While the sophomore was tossing passes to a student manager, even ABC sideline reporter Holly Rowe broke out her cellphone to snap photos of Miller.

Meanwhile, Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez didn't even draw the attention of Ohio State homecoming king and queen candidates while he warmed up at the north end. They were too busy taking photos of each other.

Smile, Urban

Ohio State coach Urban Meyer also attracted more attention from television and newspaper photographers than NU coach Bo Pelini on his coaching homecoming at his alma mater.

Meyer was much more animated during pregame drills than Pelini. Meyer blew a whistle to signal the start of drills and also was so amped up at times he was bouncing on his toes and jumping up and down in place.

Ready for roundball

Among the many pregame guests on the sideline were members of Ohio State's basketball team and coach Thad Matta.

The Buckeyes' 2011-12 Final Four team was honored during one of the first-quarter breaks. Also on hand to congratulate Matta was former Buckeye linebacker James Laurinaitis, who is in his fourth season with the St. Louis Rams.

Making his point

One of the few times Pelini got in a player's face in the first half was when Ameer Abdullah brought a kickoff out of the end zone and was stopped at the 8-yard line.

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Pelini firmly advised Abdullah that it wasn't the right thing to do and pointed his finger at Abdullah a few times to drive home his point.

Important passenger

A red golf cart was slowly rolling through campus about two hours before kickoff. Every time it went past a group of tailgaters, the passenger flashed a big smile and happily waved to everyone.

Two-time Heisman Trophy winner Archie Griffin was the passenger. Griffin is the president and CEO of the Ohio State Alumni Association.

Nice touches

Ohio Stadium has its own nickname — the Horseshoe. Like many seasoned stadiums, it has a nice blend of history and the latest technology.

Woody Hayes and Paul Brown — Ohio State's most legendary coaches — have their achievements posted on lighted boards on the south corners of the east and west stands.

The north end zone — the closed end of the horseshoe — has some stands that go almost as high as those at Texas A&M;'s Kyle Field. There are only four banks of lights — two on each side — to light the playing surface.

Also in the north end zone, the years of Ohio State's seven national championship teams are listed, including the 1970 squad. The Buckeyes weren't selected by either the Associated Press (writers) or United Press International (coaches). The National Football Foundation gave them that honor before the bowl games were played.

Flags say it all

Another unique feature of Ohio Stadium is the flags displayed for Big Ten schools across the top of the east stadium. Ten of the 12 flags fly there, while the Ohio State flag is on the southeast column next to the American flag.

The location of the 12th flag is on the column directly across from the Ohio State flag. That's where the Nebraska flag was displayed. On Oct. 20, the Purdue flag will be in that spot when the Boilermakers visit.

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There also were flags of Vanderbilt, Miami (Ohio) and Cincinnati flying. Those are current and future Ohio State nonconference opponents.

Messing with tradition

While the Ohio State marching band was scripting Ohio after its halftime tribute show to video games, Nebraska kickers Brett Maher and Mauro Bondi came on to the field to begin warming up for the second half.

Both were roundly booed by the Ohio Stadium crowd because they started kicking before the word was spelled and a designated tuba player had dotted the “i.” They moved about 15 yards away, but that gesture of good faith still wasn't appreciated by most fans.

Close quarters

Maher needed as much practice time as he could get on the playing surface. That's because there was not much green on either sideline.

There was less than five yards of turf behind the white sideline area. Filling the rest of the area to the stands was a gray tartan surface seen more on outdoor tracks.

That left precious little real estate for Maher to take practice kicks. Staff members had to keep moving people out of the way so they wouldn't be hit by Maher's practice swings. When he wasn't warming up, Maher wore sweatpants and a stocking cap to keep warm.

A hand for Tom

A video tribute to retiring Nebraska Athletic Director Tom Osborne was presented to the crowd before the game.

Even though Buckeyes fans booed the Husker players as they entered and left the field, they gave the tribute to Osborne a warm round of applause.

Simmer down, fans

Following the interception of a Taylor Martinez pass by Ohio State's Bradley Roby for a 41-yard touchdown in the first quarter, Buckeye fans in the first couple of rows behind the Nebraska bench were chirping at Husker players with a myriad of not-so-polite comments.

Almost as quickly as the insults began to fly, an Ohio State official intervened and told the fans — both verbally and with hand gestures — to knock it off. They obliged.

— Steve Beideck

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>> Video: NU's Bo Pelini after the Nebraska-Ohio State game:



>> Video: The Huskers arrive at Ohio Stadium: