Preview: Ohio State Looks to Keep Momentum Going While Maryland Looks to Bounce Back

Ohio State will play the final game of its first half of the regular season on Saturday at noon when it hosts Maryland at Ohio Stadium. The Buckeyes are entering the game with the most positive momentum they’ve had all season after last week’s 52-13 win over Rutgers, and Saturday will be an opportunity to continue building that momentum going into their midseason bye week and the second half of the year.

MARYLAND TERRAPINS

4-1 (1-1 B1G) ROSTER / SCHEDULE

NOON – SATURDAY, OCT. 9 OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OHIO

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Ryan Day, however, doesn’t want his team thinking that far ahead. Until Saturday’s game is over, Day wants his team to be singularly focused on the task of beating Maryland, who will be looking to bounce back after suffering a 51-14 loss to Iowa last Friday.

“I really want them to focus on just playing really great on Saturday and not what’s coming next,” Day said. “Let’s just focus on winning this game and finding a way to win this game, however it looks, and then we’ll go from there.”

The Headlines

Buckeyes look to keep building

After an unsatisfying start to the season in which Ohio State lost its second game of the year against Oregon and led by just seven points with fewer than four minutes to play in its third game of the year against Tulsa, the Buckeyes finally seem to be hitting their stride. They’ve dominated each of their last two opponents, defeating Akron and Rutgers by a combined score of 111-20.

That said, Akron is 0-4 against FBS opponents this year while blowing out Rutgers is an annual tradition for Ohio State. Plenty of tougher opponents remain ahead on the schedule, so the last thing Day wants his team to do is get complacent.

Day has said multiple times this week that he believes Ohio State has gotten significantly better since it started the season a month ago. But he knows the Buckeyes must continue to prove that on the field every week, and he says that starts with having a strong week of practice, which he said Thursday he believes they did once again this week.

“We had one good week. Now we’ve got to do it again, and prove we can do it again,” Day said. “We still have a young team. We’re not all of a sudden out of the woods here. It’s still a work in progress. So we gotta bring it every week.”

Terrapins look to bounce back

Ohio State and Maryland are both entering this game with 4-1 records, but their most recent games couldn’t have gone much more differently. While the Buckeyes dominated Rutgers from the jump, Maryland had a night of horrors against Iowa, turning the ball over seven times in a game that included a 31-0 second quarter in the Hawkeyes’ favor.

That should be all the more reason for the Terrapins to be motivated to elevate their game this week, though, and Day doesn’t believe last week’s game is indicative of who their upcoming opponent really is.

“This is a team that’s gonna come in hungry and play, and they’re dangerous,” Day said. “Coach (Mike) Locksley’s really kind of changed that roster the last couple of years and brought in some different guys, and they have a lot of skill. They have a lot of athleticism. They’re fast. And in all three phases challenge you.”

Before last week’s loss, Maryland started its season with four straight wins over West Virginia, Howard, Illinois and Kent State.

“I think we’re a better team than what we showed on Friday night, there’s no doubt about that,” Locksley said this week. “I’m confident that we’ll respond the right way both as coaches and players … we gotta put last Friday in our rear view mirror and not let it affect us going forward, and I expect us to do that.”

RELATED Across The Field: Q&A with Maryland Beat Writer Emily Giambalvo As Terrapins Look to Bounce Back Against Ohio State

Big test for the pass defense

Ohio State’s defense has had much more success in its last two games than in its first three games of the year, but it remains uncertain whether the Buckeyes’ defense has actually gotten better or if they simply took advantage of playing bad opponents, as Rutgers and Akron both rank outside the top 100 in total offense.

This week’s game will be more telling, as Maryland ranks 23rd nationally with 469.6 yards per game this season. The Terrapins have been specifically successful moving the ball through the air, throwing for at least 332 yards in each of their first four games of the season to rank 13th nationally in passing yards per game.

Even after throwing five interceptions against Iowa, Taulia Tagovailoa still has a higher rating than any other quarterback Ohio State has faced this season. He ranks sixth nationally in completion percentage (72.2), 10th in passing yards (1,497) and tied for 11th in passing touchdowns (12).

The Terrapins’ passing offense won’t be at full strength against Ohio State, or for the rest of the year, after leading receiver Dontay Demus Jr. suffered a season-ending knee injury against Iowa. But Tagovailoa and the playmakers he will have around him could still present a tougher test through the air than any opponent the Buckeyes faced in their first five games, as Maryland will be the first team Ohio State’s faced all year that’s averaging more than 300 passing yards per game.

“He gets the ball out quick, he’s competitive, he sees the field, accurate. He can make long throws, he can make short throws, he can anticipate with touch and you can tell he’s a student of the game,” Day said of Tagovailoa. “He’s a very good quarterback … and they have really good players around him.”

Taulia Tagovailoa will be the best passer Ohio State has faced so far this season. (Photo: Ben Queen – USA TODAY Sports)

Keep An Eye on These Guys

Maryland WR Rakim Jarrett

Even without Demus, Maryland still has one of the Big Ten’s most talented wide receivers in Rakim Jarrett, who already has 38 catches for 528 yards and six touchdowns in just nine career games as a Terrapin.

A five-star recruit out of high school, Jarrett was also recruited by Ohio State and just about all of the nation’s top programs before ultimately choosing to stay in his home state. And the Buckeyes haven’t yet faced a wide receiver of his caliber this season.

Possessing the speed to make big plays down the field, and with a capable quarterback in Tagovailoa throwing him the ball, Jarrett will put Ohio State’s cornerbacks to the test in deep coverage. He’s also now the Terrapins’ lead kickoff returner with Demus sidelined, so Ohio State will need to be prepared for his speed and playmaking ability on special teams, too.

Maryland DE Sam Okuayinonu

Maryland is currently tied for fourth nationally with 18 sacks already this season, and Okuayinonu has been a huge reason why. After recording just two total sacks in his first two seasons as a Terp, Okuayinonu has been a breakout star on Maryland’s defensive line this season, recording five sacks in its first five games.

Tied for the second-most sacks and fourth-most tackles for loss (6.5) in the Big Ten, Okuayinonu will be one of the most productive pass-rushers Ohio State has faced all season. The Buckeyes’ pass protection has been strong so far in 2021, allowing just seven sacks in five games, but they need to be prepared for a test on the edge from Okuayinonu, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound defensive end who Locksley has said “is as explosive as any player in the country.”

Defensive lineman Sam Okuayinonu records his third sack of the season ending the Fighting Illini's drive forcing them to punt.

Terps will start will on their own 33-yard line. pic.twitter.com/J82SJL10TL

— Testudo Times (@testudotimes) September 18, 2021

Maryland S Nick Cross

Another highly-touted recruit who was also pursued by Ohio State and many of college football’s other powerhouses out of high school, Cross is the star of the Maryland defense's back end.

The junior safety, who already earned All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition in both 2019 and 2020, has been highly productive for the Terrapins so far this season, ranking second on the team with 22 total tackles while he's also tied for the team lead with two interceptions and has three pass breakups and one forced fumble.

An NFL prospect at 6-foot-1 and 215 pounds, Cross is capable of making big plays in pass defense and coming downhill to make big hits and is the player in the Terrapins’ secondary that Ohio State will need to be constantly aware of on Saturday.

Game Week Talk

“I’m not a fan of them anymore. I’m just ready to play them.”– Ohio State safety Bryson Shaw on Maryland

As an Eldersburg, Maryland native, Shaw said he grew up as a “big Maryland fan, more so a Maryland basketball fan.” He said he was recruited “pretty hard” by the Terrapins, but he isn’t thinking about that anymore – he just wants to beat them on Saturday.

“The key is to get it into the fourth quarter, and when you do that, anything can happen.”– Mike Locksley

Locksley knows his team is in for another tough challenge this week, but he believes they can give themselves a chance to compete by not making the mistakes they made last week and controlling what they can control.

“Nothing’s gonna be given. And I think that’s one thing that this team and this program understands right now is you’re not just gonna walk up and beat anybody. You gotta show up and you gotta play.”– Ryan Day

There’s much more optimism about Ohio State being a contender now than there was just a week ago, and that has many Buckeye fans expecting Saturday’s game to be an easy win. The game could end up being plenty competitive, though, if the Buckeyes don’t play with the same sense of urgency that they did last week.

Get Smart

• Ohio State has won all six of its matchups with Maryland dating back to 2014. The Buckeyes’ scheduled road game at Maryland last year was canceled due to COVID-19.
• Ohio State has won its last 23 consecutive games against Big Ten opponents (including Big Ten championship games) dating back to its 2018 loss against Purdue.
• The Buckeyes have won their last 21 consecutive home games against Big Ten opponents dating back to their 2015 loss to Michigan State.
• Ohio State’s roster includes three players from Maryland: Shaw, defensive tackle Taron Vincent and linebacker Mitchell Melton. Maryland’s roster includes just one player from Ohio: backup defensive tackle Anthony Booker Jr., a product of Winton Woods High School, the alma mater of Ohio State’s Jerron Cage and Miyan Williams.
• Saturday’s game will be this year’s Homecoming game at Ohio Stadium. Former Ohio State football captains and Ohio State’s contingent of Tokyo Olympians will also be honored during the game. Ohio State is encouraging fans to arrive early in anticipation of heavy traffic on Saturday morning; full gameday information for fans attending the game can be found at ohiostatebuckeyes.com.
• Ohio State’s status report of unavailable players will be released at 9 a.m. Saturday morning.

How It Plays Out

Line: Ohio State -21, O/U 71.5

Last week, just about everyone on the Eleven Warriors staff thought that Ohio State would only win by two or three scores against Rutgers, which proved to be giving Rutgers too much credit – or Ohio State not enough, depending upon your perspective.

This week, now that Ohio State seems to have found a groove and Maryland could still be reeling from a blowout loss in its own stadium, we’re more confident in a decisive Buckeye win even though the Terrapins are more talented than the Scarlet Knights. While Vegas lists Ohio State as a three-touchdown favorite for Saturday’s game, all 14 members of our writing staff are expecting the Buckeyes to defeat the Terrapins by at least 21 points.

Ohio State has scored at least 49 points in all six of its previous games against Maryland, and considering that the Buckeyes currently rank fourth in the nation in scoring offense, there’s reason for confidence they’ll be able to continue that trend. The Terrapins’ defense has been solid for the most part this year, holding each of its first four opponents to 24 points or fewer, but they haven’t faced an offense that’s anywhere near as explosive as Ohio State’s.

Maryland’s offense will likely make things more difficult on Ohio State than Akron and Rutgers did, but the Buckeyes’ defense looks more prepared for this matchup than it would have been a few weeks ago. The Buckeyes still might not yet be capable of shutting down Tagovailoa and the Terrapins the way Iowa did, but if they can hold the Terrapins to no more than three or four scores, that should be good enough for Ohio State’s offense – as long as C.J. Stroud plays at a similar level to last week – to score enough points for the Buckeyes to eventually pull away from their visitors.

Eleven Warriors Staff Prediction
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