When Urban Meyer took over as Ohio State football coach, he sometimes would talk to his offense about scoring 100 points in a game.

It didn’t matter whether he was serious or not. His belief in the Buckeyes — and his confidence in his system — had the desired effect of starting to change the way his players would think about what was possible.

“He’s always hungry for more,” left tackle Jack Mewhort said. “He told us it would happen here, that we would score 100 points. He loves it. He’s crazy. He would score 100 points if he could. He’s always thirsty for more.”

The Buckeyes may never reach triple digits, but they would be happy with a weekly output of nine touchdowns like they put up in a 63-38 win over Nebraska on Saturday before an Ohio Stadium-record crowd of 106,102.

OSU climbed to No. 8 in the Associated Press poll Sunday, leapfrogging LSU, Georgia and Florida State, all top-5 teams that lost Saturday. Texas also was defeated, and retreated in the poll.

The Buckeyes, who were 12th last week, are 6-0, matching their win total of last season when they tumbled to a 6-7 record. Michigan, at No. 25, is the only other ranked Big Ten team.

When Meyer was asked after the game whether a new era of offensive football had arrived in Columbus, he smiled slightly and said, “I like the sound of that.”

But he also pointed out how feeble the Buckeyes were in the first quarter against the Huskers: 13 plays, 21 yards, no first downs, no points.

“It was a dark day there in the first quarter,” he said.

But a zig-zagging, 72-yard run by Braxton Miller seemed to unleash the offense. The Buckeyes finished with 498 total yards, including 371 on the ground. The sophomore from Wayne High School broke his rushing record for OSU quarterbacks by gaining 186 yards on 16 carries. He passed for another 127 yards.

Meyer said the unit has surprised even him after seeing what he inherited on the offensive line.

“Being as honest as I can, they weren’t very good,” he said. “They didn’t look the way we wanted them to look in January. Good kids, though, tough kids.

“They’re the ones who have really developed. I mean, like really developed. And even early in the season I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel us change the line of scrimmage against those early teams. I’ve started to feel us change the line of scrimmage against some very good defensive lines. The last two we played (including Michigan State), those are some very good defensive lines.”

Although they still have their flaws, the offensive outburst has infused the Buckeyes with optimism.

“We’re trying to go 12-0, win every single game,” said cornerback Bradley Roby, who had two interceptions. “Try to get that AP No. 1. Go and win a national championship.”