Ohio State-Maryland Preview

Maryland (1-1 Big Ten, 4-1 overall) @ #7 Ohio State (2-0 Big Ten, 4-1 overall), Saturday 10/9 at Noon on FOX at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, OH. Line: Ohio State -21

Ohio State and Maryland will play their seventh matchup since the Terrapins joined the Big Ten in 2014. The Buckeyes are 6-0 in the series, with the last matchup being in 2019 where OSU won 73-13. The two programs were scheduled to face off in College Park, MD during November of last year, but the game was canceled due to COVID issues in the Maryland program. 

Buckeyes fans are feeling much better about the team after a 52-13 win at Rutgers last week, in which Ohio State was only a two touchdown favorite. C.J. Stroud threw for five touchdown passes and 330 yards against what was the 18th best passing defense in the game, showing Stroud is clearly better than how he looked vs Tulsa. The pollsters are feeling better about the Buckeyes as well, as Ohio State jumped from 11th to seventh in the recent AP Poll.

Maryland rolled into their game vs Iowa last Friday night 4-0, and were slight three point underdogs against the fifth ranked Hawkeyes. The Terrapins, however, got stomped 51-14 at home last Friday night. Turnovers downed Maryland in that game, as the Terps gave away the ball seven times, and Taulia Tagovailoa threw for five interceptions in the blowout loss. Was last week's game a flukey blowout loss for Maryland because of seven turnovers, or is Maryland not as good as they looked in their first four games?

When Buckeyes pass

On paper, Ohio State should have a great game throwing the ball against Maryland. OSU has the Big Ten's first ranked passing offense (8th in FBS), and Maryland has the fifth worst passing defense (ranking 71st best in FBS). Maryland does have a formula to stop Ohio State's passing attack, as the Terrapins have 18 sacks this season which is the best in the Big Ten and fourth in the country. The Terps pass rush is led by Sam Okuayinonu who has five sacks so far. It's not just Okuayinonu leading the way, as four others have at least two sacks. Maryland has had at least two sacks in every game, and their pass rush is how they must stop OSU's air attack.

When Buckeyes run

OSU has a strong run game, as Ohio State is 23rd in the nation in rushing yards per game, but second in yards per carry. TreVeyon Henderson has emerged as Ohio State's feature back, as he once again had an impressive game in the time he had against Rutgers, with a 44 yard rushing touchdown and 8.9 YPC. Maryland's rush defense is better than their pass defense, as the Terps are sixth best in the Big Ten (37th in FBS) in rushing yards allowed per game. The Terrapins allow 3.2 yards per carry, 22nd best in the country. Overall this matchup still favors Ohio State.

When Terrapins run

Unlike Rutgers last week, Maryland is mostly a passing team and not a rushing team, as the Terps throw the ball roughly 58 percent of the time. Maryland's rushing offense is rather pedestrian, as their rush yards per game ranks ninth in the Big Ten and 77th in the country. The Terps leading rusher is Tayon Fleet-Davis, who has 331 rushing yards (7.0 YPC) and seven rushing touchdowns. Ohio State's pass defense numbers don't jump off the page either, as the Buckeyes defensive YPC ranks 63rd in the country with 3.9 YPC, but that figure is down to 2.6 YPC allowed in the last three games.

When Terrapins pass

Maryland's passing attack will be a challenge for Ohio State's secondary on Saturday afternoon. Maryland throws the ball 58 percent of the time, and they've been quite good at it. QB Taulia Tagovailoa is 10th in the country with 1,497 passing yards. He did throw for five picks last week, but only had one in the previous four games. Tagovailoa's top target, WR Dontay Demus is out for the season with a knee injury suffered against Iowa. His 507 receiving yards is the most in the Big Ten. Rakim Jarrett is now Maryland's top WR, as he leads the team with four receiving TDs. Ohio State's pass defense is still a major question mark for the team, as the Buckeyes pass defense ranks third worst in the Big Ten and 98th in FBS. Maryland needs to go for the big plays and win the game throwing the ball if they are to pull off an upset.

How will the game play out?

Ohio State will be stronger when they have the ball, especially when the Buckeyes are throwing against the Maryland secondary. The Buckeyes pass protection vs Maryland's strong pass rush is by far the most important matchup of the game, as Maryland's pass rush will need to have their best game of the year if they want to hang around. If Ohio State's pass protection is strong, it will be a long day for the Terps defense. When Maryland has the ball, both teams have meager production levels on run offense and defense, but Taulia Tagovailoa and the Maryland pass game poses a threat to the Buckeyes young secondary. Ohio State's defense has certainly improved over the last two weeks, as the pass rush had a great game vs Akron (nine sacks) and OSU's D appears to be setting the edge, which they did not do against Oregon and Tulsa. Tagovailoa looks to be the best quarterback Ohio State has faced this year. Is Ohio State's secondary back? We will find out on Saturday at Noon. 

Update: Maryland WR Dontay Demus is out for the season with a knee injury