COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Sound the alarms: Curtis Samuel only had nine touches in a football game.
Thankfully for the Buckeyes, he made them count, scoring three touchdowns during the team's 62-3 bashing of Maryland.
“He only touched it nine times?" Doggone it, we gotta do a better job," Urban Meyer joked after the game "That's ridiculous.”
Samuel's touches were limited because the game got out of hand in a hurry and he sat the entire second half while younger players got reps.
When he did play, however, Samuel was undoubtably the most explosive player on the field. He hauled in five passes 74 yards and a touchdown and had four carries for 38 yards and two touchdowns.
"I guess you just gotta fly to him, surround him and hope." –Sam Hubbard
“There’s not many guys like him who can do it all," Meyer said. "We’ve had tight ends before that were dual-purpose guys, but he’s a tough one to defend. He’s a really good player.”
The do-it-all player showed off yet another dimension to his game this week. In the past, Samuel had been utilized primarily on slant routes, screen and seam routes. Saturday, we saw him lined up out wide on an island with one of Maryland's top cover corners.
“It was definitely part of the game plan," Samuel said. "Just put me one-on-one out there with one of their guys and see who comes down with the play.”
Ohio State did just that, and Samuel delivered.
"Sometimes teams want to play man against us and with that," said quarterback J.T. Barrett. "We're going to have to take our shots and that's what we did today."
Curtis Samuel hauls in a 36-yard strike from J.T. Barrett to put Ohio State up 213. pic.twitter.com/vGz7FIEYOp
— Eleven Warriors (@11W) November 12, 2016
“When we saw they pressed him we felt real confident in him and his ability to punch the ticket deep," Meyer said.
On the ground, Samuel was equally uncontainable, scampering for two first-half touchdowns with relative ease.
"Curtis, he does a lot for our offense," Barrett said. "He creates mismatches all the time."
Samuel now has 637 rushing yards and 750 receiving – the only player in the country to eclipse 500 yards in both statistical categories. With strong showings to close the season, he could become the first player in NCAA history to account for 1,000 receiving and rushing yards.
Wherever you put him on offense, he's electric. And now there's yet another opportunity to find the end zone with him stepping in as the team's punt returner.
He's untouchable. No defense has found a way to contain him yet, not even his own.
"I'm glad we don't have to chase him," said defensive end Sam Hubbard when asked about how to stop Samuel. "I guess you just gotta fly to him, surround him and hope."
