MY THOUGHTS.....Maryland

 

Ohio State overcome a sluggish start on offense in the first half with a 17-point third quarter, to deal with a game Maryland squad, 43-30.  After going down the field to score on their first possession, Ohio State’s offense struggled, managing only a field goal, and not getting much of anywhere on the ground.  It didn’t help matters that TreVeyon Henderson, after the first drive in which he caught a swing pass and took it the distance, came up hobbled again and sat out most of the rest of the way.  With Miyan Williams unavailable, the offense turned to freshman Dallan Hayden, and he delivered, giving Ohio State’s up-and-down rushing attack a shot in the arm with 146 yards and three touchdowns.  Time and again, Hayden ripped off yards through the Maryland defensive line in the second half.  Quarterback C.J. Stroud did nothing to hurt his Heisman front-runner status, going 18-for-30 for 241 yards and a touchdown.  Emeka Egbuka led the way with six receptions and Marvin Harrison Jr. caught five, making a serious claim to the Bilitnikoff Award as the nation’s best receiver.  Lathan Ransom started the second-half resurgence with a blocked punt, while Tommy Eichenberg once again, led the way with 13 tackles and a TFL.  Ronnie Hickman came up with seven tackles, while Zach Harrison was disruptive in Maryland’s backfield when a play had to be made, getting two sacks, including on the last play when he hit Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, popping the ball in the air, which Steele Chambers caught and took it in to score.  Up until that point, Tagovailoa was a thorn in the side of Ohio State’s defense, throwing for 293 yards and two touchdowns and running for another score.  Maryland’s 402 total yards and 30 points are second only to the 482 total yards and 31 points put up by Penn State. 

            Everything will be on the line next week; a battle of unbeatens in The Game for the fourth time (1970, 1973, 2006).