Ohio State has plenty to be excited about after Saturday.
The Buckeyes followed up their impressive win over Rutgers last week with an even more impressive 66-17 shellacking of Maryland at home this weekend, racking up 598 yards of total offense and nine touchdowns in the process.
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley was so baffled by the Buckeyes’ offensive success that he came up with an abstract analogy to describe exactly what the Ohio State wide receiver corps did to his secondary Saturday.
“We had guys looking like they fell out of airplanes they were so wide open,” Locksley said after the game.
Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba combined for 17 catches, 307 yards and four touchdowns, while C.J. Stroud had his second-straight five-touchdown performance for the Buckeyes. The redshirt freshman had the second 400-yard game of his career as well.
Five different Buckeyes caught at least three passes against the Terps, and seven hauled in receptions overall. Stroud was glad to have spread the ball around as much as he did, and said it makes for a happier locker room when several different players can contribute like they did Saturday.
“It’s fun giving everybody the ball. Everybody’s happy,” Stroud said. “Nobody’s looking at you trying to mean-mug you. No one does that on our team, but it wouldn’t be a good feeling. I definitely am pleased and happy that all of my receivers ate today.”
The Buckeye pass attack appears to be firing on all cylinders in recent weeks, and even though the run game sputtered at times against Maryland, TreVeyon Henderson still wound up with a 100-yard day on the ground. Olave believes the Buckeyes have the right balance offensively, and thinks opposing teams will have to watch out if that continues through the rest of the season.
“I feel like we’re still building with this offense. We’re just starting to build more chemistry, especially on gameday,” Olave said. “So I feel like this offense can be scary and unstoppable, we just got to keep building and keep getting better.”
As far as Stroud goes, Day is happy with what he’s seen in the past two weeks. Against Rutgers and Maryland, the California native has 736 passing yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. Still, Day said Stroud can reach another level.
“I think his preparation’s been excellent. I think he sees the field well. He’s got some good players around him, but he’s also making some really good throws,” Day said. “His timing’s been right, he’s seeing the field, he’s making good decisions, so that’s allowing us to run the offense and be very efficient. Is he there yet? Absolutely not. He’s still got a long way to go, but I’m very encouraged by what I’ve seen the last two weeks.”
On defense, the Buckeyes held their opponent under 20 points for the third-straight week, intercepted Taulia Tagovailoa two times and held the Maryland run game to a yards per carry average of 1.6.
Kerry Coombs may no longer be calling plays for Ohio State, but Day said the Buckeyes’ defensive coordinator was given the game ball after the win.
“I see confidence, I see a defensive staff that’s working together. Kerry Coombs got the game ball today,” Day said. “It’s because of everything that he’s been through the last couple weeks, and he’s just continued to show up everyday, and he’s a huge part of the defense. But at the same time, we’ve reconstructed a few things and we’ve got a little rhythm going. I think he’s doing a great job of seeing it from the box, I think Matt’s doing a great job of calling it, I think Larry’s doing a great job with his guys up front, Al Washington’s starting to build some stability at linebacker. Those guys all working together, they’re starting to see it through one lens, and you can see it out there.”
Steele Chambers, who tied for the team lead in total tackles with seven at linebacker Saturday, said the entire team was happy to see Coombs be rewarded after the game.
“Everyone was pumped up,” Chambers said. “I mean, I don’t know what else you could really feel. He’s been through a lot and nothing’s changed for him. He’s a great guy and just a great guy to learn off of.”
One Buckeye defender that was particularly fired up before and during Saturday’s game was Marcus Williamson, who received his first start since last season. When asked about the energy he displayed in the lead-up to kickoff, the Westerville, Ohio, native discussed how much the opportunity to play for the Buckeyes means to him.
"I'm born and bred in Ohio. This football stuff, it means a lot to my family, it means a lot to me," Williamson said. "Just to be able to show that passion on the field, show that energy, it means the world to me."
