Game Preview: Ohio State Carrying Momentum Into Homecoming Game Against Maryland

The Buckeyes played their most complete game of the season at Rutgers, while the Terrapins struggled with seven turnovers at home against Iowa.

Author:
Andrew Lind
Oct 8, 2021 4:54 PM EDT

After opening Big Ten play with road games at Minnesota and Rutgers, Ohio State hosts Maryland on Saturday in its first home game of the season against a conference opponent.

The Buckeyes are coming off their most complete game of the season, as quarterback C.J. Stroud threw a career-high five touchdown passes in a 52-13 win against the Scarlet Knights last weekend. The defense pitched in, too, intercepting three passes and even returning one for a score.

The Terrapins, meanwhile, turned the ball over seven times in a disastrous 51-14 loss to Iowa at home last weekend. That includes five interceptions from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who was otherwise impressive in his first four starts of the season.

Of course, Ohio State would love to head into its open week with the momentum of another convincing win. But head coach Ryan Day hopes his team doesn’t overlook this Maryland team, which – much like Rutgers one week ago – is much improved compared to years past.

“I don’t even want to talk about that,” Day said during his lightning round media availability on Thursday afternoon. “I really just want to focus on this game right here and just maximizing today and just worrying about exactly Saturday.

"I really want to focus on just playing really great on Saturday and not what’s coming next. 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.”

General Info

Date: Oct. 9, 2021
Where: Ohio Stadium (Columbus, OH)
Expected Weather: 73 degrees, partly cloudy
Kickoff: 12 p.m.

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-21)
O/U Total: 71
Betting: Check out the new SISportsbook!

How to Watch/Listen

Television: FOX
Streaming: fuboTV (get a 7-day free trial)
Announcers: Aaron Goldsmith (play-by-play), Brock Huard (analyst), Bruce Feldman (sideline reporter)

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), Skip Mosic (pregame/halftime/postgame host and producer)

Series History

Ohio State leads Maryland, 6-0
* OSU record at home: 3-0
* OSU record on the road/neutral: 3-0

LAST TIME THEY MET
2019: Ohio State 73, Maryland 14

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day
* At Ohio State: Third Season, Record: 27-3
* Overall: Same

* Mike Locksley
* At Maryland: 4th Season, Record: 10-18
* Overall: 12-44

Ohio State Team Capsule

Day said earlier this week that Ohio State is a different team than it was at the beginning of the season, but also acknowledged there’s a difference between playing Oregon and Akron or Rutgers, who the Buckeyes outscored 111-20 over the last two weeks.

The back half of the schedule is considerably more difficult, with at least three games remaining against teams currently ranked in the top 11 of the AP Poll – four, if Ohio State makes it to the Big Ten Championship Game and plays Iowa.

"It's good to get those two wins, for sure,” Day said after the win over the Scarlet Knights. “With a young team and the way the first half of the schedule played out, it was what it was. We had to handle it. It made us stronger, though. It has. Going on the road and handling a loss the second game of the year and those type of things has made us stronger and I think we can continue to build on this.

"That's been the whole goal. If we get better week-in and week-out and continue to get these guys reps, keep coaching better, giving our guys a better opportunity to be successful, then hopefully we'll pick up our head in about a month (and be) where we need to be going into November."

There’s not much to complain about offensively, as the Buckeyes were firing on all cylinders against the Scarlet Knights. It will be important to keep running back TreVeyon Henderson healthy for the stretch run, however, as he suffered an apparent head injury in the first quarter and sat out the remainder of the game with the result well in hand.

“If we find ourselves in a station where we’re up comfortably like that, we’re not going to be foolish and put him in a bad spot if he’s not 100 percent," Day said on Tuesday, noting Henderson will be available against the Terrapins. "That was just the way it was. We’ll just take each week as it comes because these things take twists and turns. We’re going to do everything that’s best for him at the time, but the more he plays, the better he’s getting.”

Maryland Team Capsule

There’s no denying Maryland took one on the chin last week against Iowa, but head coach Mike Locksley believes that was just an aberration for a team that opened its season with 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 during his weekly press conference on Tuesday afternoon. “I’m confident that we’ll respond the right way, both as coaches and players.

“Going to Ohio State is obviously another tremendous challenge. They’re one of top teams in our conference year-in and year-out. I know our players are excited about the opportunity to go on the road and play a good team and have the opportunity to respond and play to the standard that we set. We have to put last Friday in our rearview mirror and not let it affect us going forward, and I expect us to do that.”

The Terrapins will look to take advantage of an Ohio State defense that has been susceptible at times to big plays in the passing game. And that starts with Tagovailoa, who has throw for 1,497 yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

“Taulia is a very good quarterback,” Day said. “He gets the ball out quickly, he’s competitive, he sees the field, he’s 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. He’s got a little ‘it’ factor to him, just the way he understands situations.”

Tagovailoa will be without his top target, however, as wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr. (28 catches for 507 yards and three touchdowns) suffered a season-ending knee injury on a kick return against the Hawkeyes. They’ll need Rakim Jarrett, Jeshaun Jones, Darryl Jones and Brian Cobbs to step up their games in his absence.

“I don’t really think you can fill the void that he left,” Jarrett said during his media availability this week. “It’s going to take all the other receivers to step up, including myself, to collectively do it.”

Major Storylines

Last year’s scheduled meeting between the Buckeyes and Terrapins was cancelled because of a coronavirus outbreak within the Maryland program. It was one of three games that Ohio State did not play under such circumstances (at Illinois, vs. Michigan).

The Buckeyes are averaging 58.3 pointes per game in six games against the Terrapins, who average just 22.3 points per contest. That includes a 52-51 overtime win for Ohio State in 2018.

Ohio State secondary coach Matt Barnes was Maryland’s special teams coordinator and linebackers coach for three seasons (2016-18). He actually took over defensive play-calling duties midway through his final season with the program, similar to how he calls the plays for the Buckeyes this year instead of defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs.

The Buckeyes lead the nation in total offense with 555.6 yards per game and in yards per play with 8.57. They’re also fourth in scoring with 45.0 points per game.

Ohio State has now won 10 consecutive conference road games by double digits, a Big Ten record. The 2018 game at Maryland was the last single-digit conference road win.

Ohio State has three players on its roster from Maryland, including defensive tackle Taron Vincent (Baltimore), linebacker Mitchell Melton (Silver Spring) and safety Bryson Shaw (Eldersburg). Shaw said during his press conference this week that he was a fan of the Terrapins growing up, though more so their basketball program.

A total of 27 true and redshirt freshmen were among the 74-man travel roster for the game at Rutgers. All but four saw action against the Scarlet Knights.

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