Adrian Martinez made some mistakes against Ohio State.

The true freshman threw a questionable backward pass in the red zone in the second quarter, resulting in the Buckeyes maintaining a 16-7 lead. He missed an open receiver or two on plays that would’ve extended drives. But that’s picking nits in No. 10 Ohio State’s 36-31 win over the Huskers.

In many ways, Martinez is the only reason Nebraska hung around with the Buckeyes.

He finished 22-for-33 with 266 yards passing, 72 yards rushing and a trio of touchdowns. When it mattered most, Martinez led the Huskers on a pair of scoring drives in the fourth quarter to give Nebraska a chance to win at the end of the ball game.

The Huskers lost, dropping to 2-7. But Martinez flashed brightly in the process. That’s why he’s the 247Sports True Freshman of the Week.

“I'm going to get tired of talking in superlatives about Adrian and complimenting him," Nebraska head coach Scott Frost said postgame, per Husker247. "You guys see what he is. There's been some freshmen mistakes, but not very many.”

It’s not often a player receives this award in a losing effort. Yet Martinez showed to be special against the Buckeyes. Just consider this fourth quarter pass to Stanley Morgan. Martinez feels the pressure, flushes out right, sets his feet and launches a 50-yard-plus pass on a dime despite getting hammered half a beat after releasing the football. Some freshman QBs can make that throw. Some freshman QBs would feel the pressure and extend the play. Few, if any, freshman QBs would take the hit and deliver a perfect pass.

Ohio State’s defense isn’t what it’s been in the past, but Martinez’s effort is still notable against the nation’s most talented team per the 247Sports Team Talent Composite.

When Frost took the Nebraska job, his priority target was Martinez. The nation’s No. 139 overall prospect in the 2018 class, Martinez picked the Huskers over offers from Tennessee and Alabama, among others. Frost called Martinez his favorite quarterback in the 2018 class. That’s proved prophetic.

Martinez ranks second among true freshman with 1,922 yards passing. He’s completing 66.4 percent of his passes, while averaging 8.1 yards per attempt and carrying a 2-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. Martinez has also rushed for 480 yards through eight games (he missed Nebraska’s game with Troy due to an injury).

The Huskers are only 2-7, and Martinez isn’t one for moral victories.

“We came into this game expecting to win, and we didn’t,” Martinez said. “At no point is losing acceptable.”

That’s the right thing for the freshman QB to say. But there’s also no doubt Nebraska’s future is bright with Martinez leading the way.