Ohio State head coach Ryan Day walks towards the sideline during the Ohio State-Oregon game Sept 11. Ohio State lost 28-35. Credit: Mackenzie Shanklin | Photo Editor
The Buckeyes have hit their stride in the last two weeks, but they’ll face a versatile challenger looking to get a bad taste out of its mouth Saturday.
No. 7 Ohio State (4-1, 2-0 Big Ten) kicks off its conference home slate against Maryland (4-1, 1-1 Big Ten) in a homecoming matchup. The Terrapins enter the ‘Shoe off of an embarrassing 51-14 loss to No. 3 Iowa, a game in which they totaled six turnovers.
While focusing on Maryland, head coach Ryan Day said the team isn’t reading much into the Terrapins’ lowly performance against the Hawkeyes.
“[It’s] another big challenge for us,” Day said. “They have good skill, good athleticism and a good quarterback. They’ve played some teams really, really tough and last week, we’ll just throw that game out and go off of what we’ve seen in the past from them because they’re dangerous.”
Heading into Ohio Stadium, the Terrapins are trying to put the Hawkeye disaster behind them as they were outclassed in all phases of the game.
Most notably, junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa produced the worst outing of his career against Iowa’s top-flight defense. The Ewa Beach, Hawaii, native tossed a career-high five interceptions while completing 16-of-29 passes for 157 yards — totaling an abysmal 5.7 yards per attempt.
Tagovailoa’s Iowa outing served as an outlier for the talented signal caller. Prior to his disaster class performance against the Hawkeyes, Tagovailoa held a completion percentage of 75.5 percent while throwing for 1,340 yards and holding a 10-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio.
Tagovailoa leads the Big Ten in completions, completion percentage and yards while ranking second in touchdowns behind Ohio State redshirt freshman C.J. Stroud.
“He gets the ball out quick. He’s competitive. He sees the field. He’s accurate,” Day said. “You can tell he’s a student of the game, just the way he’s got a little ‘it’ factor to him. He’s a very good quarterback.”
Going forward, Tagovailoa will be without his favorite target in senior wide receiver Dontay Demus Jr., who went down with a knee injury Friday and will be out for the rest of the season.
Without Demus, who accounts for nearly a third of Maryland’s passing offense, the Terrapins turn to a host of talented options.
Sophomore Rakim Jarrett and junior Jeshaun Jones will be thrust into larger roles and to this point have produced as result of Demus’ gravity. Jarrett has reigned in 21 receptions for 276 yards and a team-high four touchdowns, while Jones amassed 17 catches for 218 yards.
Redshirt senior running back Tayon Fleet-Davis is also a receiving threat out of the backfield, collecting 16 catches for 114 yards and a score, while adding 331 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Senior tight end Chigoziem Okonkwo is also a dangerous pass catcher in the red zone, hauling in 11 receptions for 89 yards and three scores.
Day pointed to Maryland’s deep personnel as a distinct challenge for the Ohio State defense.
“They have good players and Taulia is a very good quarterback and they have good scheme. Coach [Mike] Locksley has done a really good job,” Day said. “That’s playing conference football, though, in the Big Ten. We got to bring it every week.”
On the flip side, Maryland boasts a defense that ranks in the bottom half of the Big Ten — surrendering 345 yards and 21.6 points per game.
The Terrapins’ defensive strength lies in the run game, where they hold opponents to 118.4 yards per game.
Ohio State junior offensive tackle Nicholas Petit-Frere pointed to Maryland’s stout front for its success on that end.
“They have an amazing front seven. They have, probably, one of the more talented front sevens in the Big Ten, maybe even in college football,” Petit-Frere said. “They have a lot of athletic talents and they’re very strong as well.”
While the Terrapins saw their four-game win streak snapped, the Buckeyes have found their groove over the last two weeks. Ohio State dominated Akron and Rutgers by a combined score of 111-20, while showing major improvements on both sides of the football.
Ohio State’s largest strides lie in its defensive unit, as the Buckeyes allowed at least 400 total yards in each of their first four games. Against Rutgers and Akron, neither team reached 350 yards and were held below 20 points.
Although the Buckeyes have improved on that side of the ball, Day said he’s still looking for them to produce against more quality opponents.
“The issues are always there. That’s what I say all the time. Whether we lose a game or win a game, the issues haven’t changed. Just the scoreboard said something different,” Day said. “It’s the job of the coaches and the players to embrace the constructive criticism and getting things fixed.”
On offense, Ohio State has continued its dominance on that side of the ball.
Stroud comes in off of the strongest performance of his young career, tossing for 330 yards and five touchdowns to four different receivers against Rutgers.
Freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson is also primed for another strong performance, as the Maxwell Award Watch List member pummeled the Scarlet Knights to a tune of 71 yards on eight carries — including a 44-yard score on Ohio State’s second play from scrimmage.
With the Buckeyes finding their rhythm, Day expressed pride at how far his team has come since their Week 2 loss to Oregon.
“I’m proud of the development over the last month. It’s been a little bumpy at times but the guys have come to work everyday. The coaching staff has been steady, the leaders have been steady. And we’re getting better,” Day said. “We’re growing. We have a really bright future and the more these guys play, the better off we’re going to be.”
