The Maryland Terrapins' first Big Ten home game did not go quite as planned. The Ohio State Buckeyes came into College Park and romped the home team for a 52-24 victory.
Ohio State-Maryland final score: 3 things we learned from the Buckeyes’ 52-24 win
J.T. Barrett totaled five touchdowns and the Buckeyes’ defensive line walloped the Terrapin front.
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Trailing 24-10 with a minute to go in the first half and backed up deep in their own territory, Randy Edsall and the Maryland Terrapins elected to go for a late score instead of kneeling out and accepting a two-touchdown deficit. C.J. Brown immediately threw an interception, allowing Ohio State to score on the very next play and bring a 31-10 lead into the half.
The game was very much like that for Maryland, who threw four interceptions -- three of them returned either into the end zone or within the 5-yard line. The Terrapins made a change at quarterback to start out the second half, subbing in Caleb Rowe in place of the sixth-year senior Brown. Rowe was able to lead the Terrapins to a touchdown drive later in the third quarter, and played well enough to fuel the flames of a full-on quarterback controversy in College Park -- despite throwing three interceptions, all of which were tipped.
The Buckeyes' power-running game worked well against Maryland's 3-4 defense, marching down the field on their first two drives to score a pair of touchdowns. Brad Craddock tied a Maryland record with a 57-yard field goal, but Ohio State responded with Michael Thomas's incredible 25-yard touchdown pass -- completed despite a pass interference penalty.
The Terrapins’ defense had performed well for the most part this season, save for a lapse against West Virginia wherein all four starting linebackers were injured. Ohio State was able to work a formula to repeatedly march down the field, mixing read-option principles with the deep passing game to get their blue-chip athletes into space.
Freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett was the big offensive star for the Buckeyes, completing 18 of 23 passes for 267 yards and four touchdowns
Three things we learned
1. Ohio State's defensive line might be the best in the country. Maryland's offensive line never stood a chance against Joey Bosa, let alone the rest of the Buckeyes' line. Ohio State repeatedly rushed just four defensive players throughout the game, but C.J. Brown rarely had more than three seconds to get the ball out of the backfield.
The Terps had a slightly easier time dealing with the rush when they made the change at quarterback, but Bosa, Michael Bennett and the rest of Ohio State's line made their presence known in the Terrapin backfield. Maryland averaged just 2.8 yards per rush and 5.7 yards per pass attempt in the game.
2. The Buckeyes' offense continues to get better. There were some growing pains early on as Ohio State adjusted to life without Braxton Miller, but J.T. Barrett looked quite good against what has been a solid Maryland defense this season. Barrett was particularly effective in the read-option game, repeatedly faking out the defense and the broadcast cameras alike. Ezekiel Elliott impressed in the power running game yet again -- especially considering the absence of true freshman Curtis Samuel -- and finished with 24 carries for 139 yards. Ohio State finished with their third straight game scoring at least 50 points.
3. There is a full-on quarterback controversy in College Park. Rowe's gunslinging skill-set was always more likely to take advantage of Ohio State's defensive weaknesses than the dual-threat Brown, but the disparity between Rowe and Brown's play was stark. Brown completed 11 of 18 passes for just 71 yards, and Ohio State's defensive pressure completely shut down the running aspect of his game (eight carries, -3 yards). Rowe completed 13 of 22 passes for 173 yards, with one touchdown against three interceptions, and showed a much better ability to get the ball in the hands of playmakers like Stefon Diggs and Deon Long.
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