Game Preview: Ohio State Not Overlooking "Always Dangerous" Maryland
Four years ago this week, Ohio State's Big Ten title hopes were nearly crushed in a 52-51 overtime victory at Maryland. Had the Terrapins converted their potential game-winning two-point attempt, the Buckeyes would have been eliminated from East Division contention.
Instead, Maryland's errant pass sailed out of the back of the end zone and Ohio State went on to crush Michigan the following week to clinch a spot in the title game, where it then beat Northwestern to capture its second-straight conference championship.
The stakes are a little bit different this week, though, as the winner of next week's game against the Wolverines will go to Indianapolis regardless of this weekend's results. Still, the Buckeyes are aware of how a loss to the Terrapins could impact their College Football Playoff hopes.
“Maryland’s always dangerous,” head coach Ryan Day said this week. “(They have) a lot of very good athletes, Mike Locksley is a very good coach, they’re good schematically and they’ve played some teams really tough this year.”
Ohio State overcame multiple double-digit deficits and a career-high 298 rushing yards from Maryland running back Anthony McFarland to escape College Park with the victory in the 2018 matchup.
Former quarterback Dwayne Haskins notably scored six touchdowns (three passing and three rushing) that afternoon, including the game-winning read-option keeper from five yards out in the extra frame.
“We barely got out of there,” said Day, who was in his second season as the Buckeyes' offensive coordinator and spent three games as the interim head coach that fall. “It’s not exactly a great memory … Games like that you’re like, ‘How quickly can we get on the plane and get out of here?’”
General Info
Date: Nov. 19, 2022
Where: SECU Stadium (College Park, MD)
Expected Weather: 44 degrees, cloudy
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. ET
Current Betting Numbers
Spread: Ohio State (-27.5)
O/U Total: 63.5
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!
How to Watch/Listen
Television: ABC
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Joe Tessitore (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst) and Katie George (sideline)
Local Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
Announcers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter)
Series History
Ohio State leads Maryland, 7-0
• OSU record on the road: 3-0
LAST TIME THEY MET
2021: Ohio State 66, Maryland 17
Coaching Matchup
Ryan Day
• At Ohio State: 4th Season, Record: 44-4
• Overall: Same
• Record vs. Maryland: 2-0
Mike Locksley
• At Maryland: 4th Season, Record: 19-27
• Overall: 7th Season, Record: 21-53
• Record vs. Ohio State: 0-2
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Ohio State Capsule
There’s no doubt the biggest question mark for Ohio State heading into the last two weeks of the regular season is the health of running backs TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, who are dealing with foot and ankle injuries, respectively.
Henderson has been sidelined for the last two weeks after aggravating his foot injury late in the 44-31 win over Penn State on Oct. 29, while Williams played through hand and knee injuries before going down in the second quarter of the 56-14 win over Indiana, unable to put any weight on his right ankle.
The Buckeyes were also without junior Chip Trayanum, who made the switch from linebacker to running back last month in order to add some much-needed depth to the position. However, Day said he would be “shocked” if all three weren’t available for Saturday’s game at Maryland.
“We feel like we have a really good chance to get all three of those guys back for next week,” Day said. “Maybe one of them won’t, but I’d be shocked if all three would not be available. Hopefully we’ll get at least two of them back and go from there.”
Freshman Dallan Hayden stepped up in their absence, rushing for 102 yards on a career-high 19 carries against the Hoosiers, while fifth-year senior wide receiver Xavier Johnson took his only carry of the game 71 yards for a score, showing Ohio State still has some weapons deep down the depth chart.
While Henderson, Williams and Trayanum could be available on Saturday, it would make sense for Hayden to get a bulk of the carries against the Terrapins. After all, getting them back to full strength for next week’s game against Michigan should be the goal.
“I guess it’s part of being a college football coach right now,” Day said. “There’s a lot of changes that go on, and you try to do the best you can to prepare for November in the Big Ten. There’s a lot of variables that come into play, and the only way to do that is to build a tremendous amount of depth.”
Meanwhile, time appears to be running out for junior wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba to return from a lingering hamstring injury that he suffered in the season opening win over Notre Dame, as the Buckeyes have just three to five games remaining this fall.
“I wouldn’t say ‘expecting,’” Day said when asked if he was expecting Smith-Njigba to play again this season. “I’d probably say more ‘hoping,’ but no (other) update at this point.”
That certainly means Smith-Njigba will be among those unavailable for Saturday’s game, as well as that his status for next week’s matchup with the Wolverines will be in doubt until the morning of. It would make for quite the story if he’s able to suit up that afternoon, though.
Maryland Capsule
Maryland’s success this season has been directly tied to the health of redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, as he completed 72.5 percent of his passes for 2,001 yards and 13 touchdowns to lead the Terrapins to a 5-2 start.
However, he suffered a sprained MCL in the 34-27 loss at Michigan on Sept. 24, aggravated the injury in the 38-33 win at Indiana on Oct. 15 and hasn’t looked the same since he returned to action following the Terrapins’ off week.
In fact, Tagovailoa completed just 46.7 percent of his passes for 151 yards and one touchdown with one interception in losses at Wisconsin and Penn State the last two weeks. Maryland was outscored in those contests by a combined 53-10 after averaging 39.0 points through the first seven weeks.
“The quarterback is a really good scrambler and playmaker,” defensive coordinator Jim Knowles said. “(He’s) a little banged up, so that’s why they’ve struggled a little bit, but I think everything flows through him. He’s dangerous and they have skilled guys at wide receiver and the tight end position.
“In a spread attack, they’re dangerous. I can see why they played well, maybe not recently. But when you look at the totality of the season, it gives you reason to believe you better be prepared.”
Tagovailoa’s No. 1 target is junior wide receiver Rakim Jarrett, who was one of Ohio State’s top priorities during the 2020 recruiting cycle. He leads Maryland with 37 catches for 406 yards and three touchdowns this season and notably had a 43-yard score in last year’s meeting in Columbus.
“We’ve got a really good opponent here in Maryland,” Day said. “They’ve played some teams really well this year. Mike’s done a good job of recruiting some really good athletes. I think Taulia is a very talented quarterback. They have some weapons on the outside and they’ve played good on defense.
“I think they’re stout over there and they’ve played well this season. We’ve been in battles with these guys before … We’re going to have to play really well.”
Major Storylines
- Not counting the pandemic-shortened 2020 season, when Ohio State played just eight games, the Buckeyes have won 10 or more games in 10 straight seasons. This marks the 29th 10-win season in school history, the fourth most nationally.
- This weekend will be Ohio State’s first trip to College Park since 2018, as the 2020 matchup was cancelled due to a coronavirus outbreak within the Maryland program. It was one of three games the Buckeyes had cancelled that season (at Illinois, Michigan).
- The Buckeyes averaged 59.4 points per game in their seven previous meetings the Terrapins, including a 73-point outburst in their 2019 matchup in Columbus.
- Quarterback C.J. Stroud is now fourth in Big Ten history with 78 touchdown passes, trailing only J.T. Barrett (104), Purdue’s Drew Brees (90) and Michigan’s Chad Henne (87).
- Stroud, who has throw for 2,750 yards and 34 touchdowns this season, is a semifinalist for several national awards, including the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and Johnny Unitas Golden Arm awards. He’s also considered the betting favorite to win the Heisman Trophy.
- Other Buckeyes who have been named semifinalist for major awards include wide receivers Marvin Harrison Jr. (Maxwell), Emeka Egbuka (Hornung) and Kamryn Babb (Collegiate Man of the Year); tight end Cade Stover (Mackey); offensive tackle Paris Johnson (Lombardi, Outland); linebacker Tommy Eichenberg (Butkus, Bednarik, Lott IMPACT); and safety Lathan Ransom (Thorpe).
- Stover’s five touchdown receptions are just two shy of the school single-season record for a tight end of seven, which was set by Rickey Dudley in 1995 and later matched by Jake Stoneburner in 2011.
- Ohio State has two players form Maryland on its roster in fifth-year senior defensive tackle Taron Vincent (Baltimore) and redshirt sophomore defensive end Mitchell Melton (Silver Spring). Defensive line coach Larry Johnson was the coach at McDonough High School in Pomfret from 1975-91, as well.
- The Terrapins also have two players from Ohio in redshirt junior defensive lineman Anthony Booker Jr. and freshman linebacker Andrew Booker. The brothers were teammates of Williams' at Cincinnati Winton Woods.
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