No. 2 Ohio State (10-0) will face their final road test of the regular season Saturday in College Park, Maryland to take on Maryland (6-4). Credit: Zachary Rilley | Photo Editor
Next week’s rivalry showdown is creeping on the minds of the Buckeyes, but they’re not forgetting about their most recent trip to College Park, Maryland, either.
No. 2 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) plays Maryland in its return to Capital One Field for the first time since holding onto a 52-51 overtime victory during the 2018 season. Head coach Ryan Day recalled the four-plus quarter battle that saw late quarterback Dwayne Haskins throw for three touchdowns while running for three more against a Terrapins team that fired its head coach earlier in the year.
“That was a wounded team,” Day said. “They still played us really, really well, and Maryland’s always dangerous, especially there.”
The Terrapins (6-4, 3-4 Big Ten) have yet to defeat Ohio State since joining the Big Ten Conference in 2014. The Buckeyes hold a margin of victory of at least 32.1 points through their seven previous matchups, but their one-point win in 2018 remains their closest encounter and their most recent trek to College Park.
Maryland redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is tied for fourth in the conference with 2,152 passing yards, but a reaggravated knee injury in October forced him to miss Week 8. While he’s been held to less than 100 passing yards in his last two games, Tagovailoa’s versatility has caught the eye of defensive coordinator Jim Knowles.
“The quarterback is a really good scrambler and playmaker,” Knowles said. “May be a little banged up. Maybe that’s just why they’ve struggled a little bit, but I think everything flows through him, and he’s dangerous.”
The Terrapins have the Big Ten’s No. 7 and No. 8 scoring offense and defense, respectively. They average over 395 yards per game, and redshirt freshman running back Roman Hemby is sixth in the conference with 815 rushing yards.
Defensively, Maryland is led by redshirt senior linebacker Ahmad McCullough, whose two fumble recoveries are tied for the most in the Big Ten, and senior defensive back Jakorian Bennett, whose 1.11 passes defended per game is third in the conference.
Fifth-year defensive tackle Taron Vincent said despite Ohio State’s looming rivalry matchup against No. 3 Michigan, he isn’t spending time aside from readying himself for the Terrapins.
“We have to focus on Maryland because if we don’t take care of Maryland, then that pretty much, that’s our season,” Vincent said. “I feel like we have to take care of Maryland and take care of the team up north next week. That’s just another game on the schedule.”
Ohio State’s running backs room has seen its share of injuries in recent weeks, notably missing second-year TreVeyon Henderson due to injury and seeing third-year Miyan Williams exit due to an apparent leg injury.
First-year running back Dallan Hayden carried the football a team-high 19 times for 107 yards against Indiana last week. Graduate wide receiver Xavier Johnson, who’s practiced at running back among the several positions he’s capable of, took a 71-yard run for a touchdown against the Hoosiers.
Johnson said Day, running backs coach Tony Alford and wide receivers coach Brian Hartline developed a “great plan” to use him in the pass and run games when needed Saturday.
“I’m bouncing back and forth,” Johnson said. “One period I’ll be with the running backs and making sure I’m getting the ball handling and everything down with C.J., and then if there’s a skills period next, I’ll be doing my footwork and stuff with the receivers.”
Up front, Ohio State’s defensive line stopped the Hoosiers enough to allow 3.75 yards per carry and no rushing touchdowns, which marked the first time in three games the Buckeyes didn’t surrender a score on the ground.
Second-year defensive end Jack Sawyer reached a new career-high with 1.5 sacks as four different Buckeyes had their hands in bringing down as many sacks against Indiana. Vincent said defensive line coach Larry Johnson created a room that allows Ohio State’s defensive linemen to play off one another in order to find success in the trenches.
“That’s just the way coach J has recruited the room,” Vincent said. “All of us are high-explosive athletes and players, and then if one of us have one of those crazy days, we can affect the whole game.”
Plenty is at stake this weekend. With a win, Ohio State could enter the final week of the regular season with an unblemished record and lined up to claim a spot in the College Football Playoff — and so could Michigan.
But in order to do that, Day and the Buckeyes still have work to do.
“We have an opportunity to go 11-0 this weekend and still not have reached one of our goals yet. It’s just sobering, but it’s the facts,” Day said. “It’s part of that building process, week in and week out, to be playing our best football in November.”
Ohio State’s final road matchup of the regular season kicks off at 3:30 p.m. Saturday against the Terrapins. ABC will broadcast.
