My Thoughts.....Maryland

The Ohio State Buckeyes survived a dreadful defensive performance to come away with a 52-51 win at Maryland in overtime.  The Buckeyes never held a lead in regulation and if Maryland hadn’t been just off-target on a two-point conversion play in overtime, Ohio State would’ve gone down for the second time this season.  The Buckeyes were down by 14 points on three separate occasions, and needed a two-minute drive to tie the game late to send it into overtime. 

            Despite three turnovers, including a pick-six thrown by Dwayne Haskins on the first possession of the third quarter, the Buckeyes were able to run and pass for 688 total yards, the most ever in a conference game.  The pick-six was Haskins’ only poor play the entire game.  He recovered from that mishap to garner six touchdowns, including three on the ground.  I was surprised and pleased to see Haskins run the ball.  Although he was never going to run as effectively as J.T. Barrett, it was good to see a few designed runs for Haskins.  Speaking of running, J.K. Dobbins had the best game of his career.  Dobbins showed his trademark running style, always leaning forward and getting a push, as he picked up over 200 yards on a workmanlike 37 carries.  Haskins threw for 405 yards and I thought that Luke Farrell made some timely catches, as he had his most productive day as a receiver, hauling in four receptions for 44 yards.  Johnnie Dixon led all receivers with six catches, and his fingertip grab in the end zone to send the game to overtime, was a thing of beauty.  Haskins did his usual good job in spreading the ball around, as ten players caught passes.  

The offensive output was overshadowed by yet another terrible defensive performance, giving up six touchdowns and five plays of over 50 yards.  Once again, linebackers and defensive backs taking bad angles and missed tackles were the blame for giving up almost 300 yards to Maryland’s Anthony McFarland.  His 298 rushing yards was the second-most ever against an Ohio State team.  The Ohio State defense slowed him down somewhat in the second half, limiting McFarland to a mere 50 yards, however, Maryland QB Tyrell Pigrome made some timely deep throws.  Tuf Borland was a bright spot on this side of the ball.  His eight tackles led the team and he had a timely sack on a third down when Maryland was looking to extend a 17-3 lead.  His sack led to a missed field goal.  Malik Harrison and Dre’Mont Jones also had timely sacks and TFLs.  

The rushing game on offense has gotten better since the Purdue debacle, and Dwayne Haskins continues his outstanding play and outstanding leadership.  Yet the defense continues to regress.  Certainly the loss of Nick Bosa has affected the front seven, but somebody like Chase Young, Malik Harrison, or Robert Landers should’ve been able to step up on a consistent basis, and they haven’t.  This appears to be a coaching problem, particularly on DC Greg Schiano.  The 45 points given up in regulation are the most since they gave up 49 in a three-point victory at Indiana in 2012. 

In order to defeat Michigan and to have even a chance at the playoff, the defense will have to play at a level it has not played at yet this year.