MY THOUGHTS.....Maryland

 

The Ohio State Buckeyes started quickly and never looked back in dismantling the Maryland Terrapins 66-17. Ohio State scored on their first nine possessions (aside from taking a knee to end the first half) and for the second game in a row, quarterback C.J. Stroud threw for five touchdowns in going 24-for-33 for 406 yards. Ohio State’s wide receivers again proved to be too much for the opposing defense,  Chris Olave finished with seven receptions for 120 yards and two touchdowns. His two scoring catches moved him into third place in Ohio State history with 29 career TD catches. Jaxson Smith-Njigba had five catches for 103 yards and Garrett Wilson accounted for the first score of each half en route to his five catches for 84 yards. TreVeyon Henderson got off to a slow start. It was evident that the Terps were focused on putting seven and sometimes eight men in the box to affect the ground game. However, this left the flat wide open and Ohio State took advantage with Stroud throwing short, wide passes, picking up chunks of yardage. Henderson got going better in the second half as the Maryland defense wore down and finished with 102 yards and two rushing scores. Henderson was also utilized very well as a receiver out of the backfield, with 67 receiving yards, and a receiving touchdown.

                The Ohio State defense continues their upward trend, limiting Maryland’s high-powered offense to 335 yards. The dual-threat, elusive Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa was sacked five times and pressured into two picks, both by Craig Young, the second of which he returned 70 yards for a touchdown. As bad as the defense looked in the first three games, there appears to be a significant turnaround. I’ve seen more pressure in opposing quarterbacks the last three games and fewer long gains by the opposition. Granted, the opposition in the last three games was Akron, Rutgers, and Maryland, hardly CFP contenders, but there is no denying the significant improvement on that side of the ball. In each of Ohio State’s five wins, the defense has scored a touchdown (four interception returns and one fumble return).

                Ohio State heads into the bye week riding a lot of momentum, and with the tougher part of the schedule coming up, they will need to continue that momentum.