After a near-disaster in Bloomington last Saturday, the No. 1-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes return home to host the Maryland Terrapins. Kickoff is scheduled for noon ET on Saturday, with television coverage on BTN.
How to watch Maryland vs. Ohio State on TV or online, plus 3 things to know
A struggling top-ranked squad hosts a struggling cellar dweller. Here’s how to see it.
A solid Week 1 win at Virginia Tech solidified Ohio State’s spot atop the polls, but the defending champs have not coasted to 5-0. The Buckeyes needed late scores to pull away from Hawaii and finish off Northern Illinois, and were a last-minute goal line stand from overtime in their Big Ten opener against Indiana. The Ohio State offense has been sluggish at best, a quarterback controversy is brewing and first place votes are slipping to other teams. And yet, Ohio State is still the overwhelming top-ranked team.
If the Ohio State offense has been sluggish, Maryland has been in hibernation. The Terps are 114th nationally in total offense and 99th in scoring offense, and those numbers are skewed by two Will Likely punt return touchdowns and a 50-point explosion against FCS program Richmond. In their two games against Power 5 opponents, the Terps have been outscored 73-6.
How to watch, stream and listen
TV: Noon ET, BTN
Radio: Maryland and Ohio State affiliates available.
Online streaming: BTN2GO
Spread: Ohio State favored by 33 points.
Make friends: Get to SB Nation’s team blog chats for this game at Testudo Times (for Maryland fans) and Land Grant Holy Land (for Ohio State fans).
Three big things to know
1. We still don't really know who the Ohio State quarterback is. The story all summer from Columbus was the quarterback battle between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett. Neither has been particularly impressive. Both Jones and Barrett have completion percentages below 60 percent and an equal number of touchdown passes and interceptions. Ohio State fans have been clamoring for Barrett to get more snaps. He may get those this week.
2. Do we care who makes the handoff? It might not much matter who is taking snaps for the Buckeyes, because the Ohio State offense has been at its best when the ball is taken from the quarterback's hands. Running back Ezekiel Elliott and quarterback-turned-H-back Braxton Miler have combined for 122 carries and 879 yards, with nine touchdowns between them. Seven yards a carry makes the forward pass unnecessary.
3. A season on the brink. With blowout losses to Bowling Green and West Virginia in non-conference play, Maryland would need a four-win Big Ten run just to make a bowl game. If Maryland follows last week’s loss to Michigan with another defeat at Ohio State, it would need to win at least two games from four against some of the conference’s best: Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State and Wisconsin. It looks almost as unlikely as a win in the Horseshoe, which means the season might already be effectively over.
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