Ohio State vs Maryland

Ohio State vs Maryland The off week is over. By Andy Anders elevenwarriors.com MARYLAND TERRAPINS 5 - 0 ROSTER | SCHEDULE OCT. 7, 2023 - NOON OHIO STADIUM COLUMBUS, OHIO FOXOSU -18.5 From here, it’s eight – or nine, if the team makes the Big Ten Championship – straight Saturdays that feature an Ohio State game. All will be against conference opponents. Coming off a landmark top-10 road win against Notre Dame, the Buckeyes welcome a surging Maryland squad to the Shoe that features an established passing attack and a respectable defense. ANOTHER WEEK, ANOTHER UNDEFEATED TEAM For the first time since 1940, Ohio State will play five consecutive undefeated opponents to open its season. Maryland is on a 5-0 roll entering Columbus, yet to win a game by fewer than 18 points this season. Some of that does have to do with quality of opponent, as Charlotte (a Group of Five school) and head coach-less Michigan State are the only two squads the Terrapins have faced that boasted a winning record at the time. In its most recent game, Maryland cruised to victory against Indiana on Saturday, scoring 30 unanswered points after a first-quarter Hoosiers field goal and grabbing a 44-17 win. Dating back to the Michigan and Georgia contests that closed last season, Maryland will be the seventh consecutive unbeaten opponent for Ohio State. TAULIA THE TERROR Fresh off back-to-back seasons with over 3,000 passing yards, Taulia Tagovailoa is back for one last go-round in College Park. The younger brother of former Alabama star and current Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Taulia will eclipse 10,000 career passing yards with 657 more through the air this season. In his fourth campaign as Maryland’s starter, he’s completed 65.7 percent of his throws for 1,464 yards and 13 touchdowns against three interceptions. He leads the Big Ten in both passing yards and touchdowns. Tagovailoa has made use of a variety of targets to achieve such production, with four Terrapin pass catchers over 200 yards receiving in 2023 but none over 319. EFFICIENT GROUND GAME Tagovailoa and Maryland’s passing attack is the primary threat presented by the team’s offense, ranking 19th nationally with 297.4 passing yards per game, but the Terrapins accomplish enough running the football to provide a second dimension. Maryland is a middle-of-the-road team FBS-wide in terms of rushing yards per game, ranking 67th, but the Terrapins have run the ball at an efficient clip of 5.1 per carry that ranks 28th in the nation. The Terrapins have picked up at least 119 yards on the ground in each of their five contests to date, settling within a range of 119 to 139 yards since gouging Charlotte for 243. Roman Hemby leads the charge out of the backfield, returning off a 989-yard season in 2022 and picking up 309 yards at a rate of 4.8 yards per carry so far in 2023. Third-year back Colby McDonald has provided some chunk gains in relief, averaging 7.8 yards per tote with 204 yards on 26 carries. Antwaine Littleton is the team’s second-leading back in terms of carries, with 37 rushes for 164 yards (4.4 per carry). DEFENSE SOLID ALL-AROUND Maryland lands in the top 51 nationally for each of the big four team defensive categories – scoring defense, total defense, passing defense and rush defense. The Terrapins have done a good job of preventing points relative to the yards they allow, surrendering the 16th-fewest points per game in the country (13.2) against the 39th-fewest total yards (328.2). Part of that is due to their success in the red zone, where they’ve allowed touchdowns just 40 percent of the time and a score of any kind 66.7 percent of the time. Both those metrics rank 12th nationally. RELATED Ohio State Thrives Off Byes Under Ryan Day That said, it is worth noting that Maryland has yet to face any offense of Ohio State’s caliber. No team Maryland has faced ranks higher than 84th in the FBS in total offense or 105th in scoring offense (both Michigan State). Defensive backs Beau Brade and Tarheeb Still are the team’s leading tacklers with 26 and 21, respectively, with Brade intercepting one pass and Still picking off a conference-leading three throws. TAKEAWAY PLAY No team Ohio State has played to date matches Maryland’s turnover margin, which is plus-9 on the season, the second-best in the country. That comes largely thanks to a ballhawking secondary, which ranks third across America with eight interceptions, while the Terrapins also have four takeaways on fumbles. The Terrapins’ rushers and receivers have also stressed ball security, it seems, as the team has yet to lose a fumble this season. They’ve only coughed up the football three times total, recovering their own fumble each time. With such turnover creation in the secondary, Kyle McCord’s ability to take care of the football – he’s only thrown one interception this year on a desperation fourth-down toss in Week 1 against Indiana – will again be tested. Ohio State and Maryland kick off at noon Saturday on FOX. Oct. 2, 2023 AP Top 25 poll Georgia (35) Michigan (12) Texas (10) Ohio State (1) Florida State (4) Penn State Washington Oregon USC Notre Dame Alabama Oklahoma Washington State North Carolina Oregon State Ole Miss Miami Utah Duke Kentucky Missouri Tennessee LSU Fresno State Louisville Others receiving votes: Maryland 81; Kansas State 44; Texas A&M 31; UCLA 19; Tulane 8; Air Force 7; Wisconsin 6; Clemson 5; West Virginia 5; Kansas 3; James Madison 3; Colorado 1

2. Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0) SP+ and FPI rankings: second and first SP+ strength of schedule to date: 42nd What the Buckeyes did in Week 5: Idle Last week's ranking: 3 Biggest statistical strength: Shockingly, it's big play prevention. Remember last year's Ohio State team? The one that fielded a wrecking ball of an offense and an aggressive defense that was far too all-or-nothing at times? This Ohio State isn't that Ohio State. The Buckeyes' defense currently ranks fourth in my marginal explosiveness measure (which looks at the magnitude of a team's successful plays and adjusts for down, distance and field position). They are sacrificing aggression for big-play prevention, and it's paid off thus far. Biggest statistical weakness: They're losing the red zone. Of course, part of a good bend-don't-break approach is making stops when your opponent reaches the red zone. But the Buckeyes are currently 85th in red zone touchdown rate allowed (67%), and their offense is 96th (54%). It's really hard to remain among the unbeatens if you're settling for field goals and your opponent is scoring touchdowns. Next big test: Week 8 vs. Penn State.