COLLEGE PARK, Md. — Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer has been very vocal about wanting quarterback J.T. Barrett to take command of the Buckeyes' offense.
During Saturday's Big Ten opener on the road against Maryland, he did exactly that.
The Ohio State offense rolled for a third-straight game, racking up 533 total yards in a 52-24 win in the first-ever meeting between the two schools.
Barrett was 18 for 23 on the day with four touchdown passes as he stood in the
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| OHIO STATE | 14 | 17 | 7 | 14 | 52 |
| MARYLAND | 3 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
pocket and picked apart the Terrapins' defense. He also carried the ball 16 times for 71 yards and had a 9-yard touchdown run.
Nine different Ohio State players caught passes, but Barrett's top target was Michael Thomas, who hauled in four passes for 75 yards and had an impressive second-quarter touchdown catch.
The Buckeyes took command early jumping out to a 24-3 first-half lead, but it seemed like Maryland had regained some momentum after a 13-play, 75-yard touchdown drive cut the Ohio State lead to 24-10.
On the Terrapins' next possession, however, quarterback C.J. Brown was intercepted by Darron Lee deep in his own territory to set up a Barrett-to-Nick Vannett touchdown with 57 seconds left in the first half that pretty much stalled any Maryland hope of pulling the upset.
With the win, the Buckeyes move to 4-1 on the season have a bye next weekend before hosting Rutgers on Oct. 18.
GAME NOTES
| OHIO STATE | STAT | MARYLAND |
|---|---|---|
| 533 | TOTAL YARDS | 310 |
| 269 | RUSHING YARDS | 66 |
| 53 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 24 |
| 5.1 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 2.8 |
| 2 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 2 |
| 264 | PASSING YARDS | 244 |
| 19—24 | COMPLETIONS—ATTEMPTS | 24—40 |
| 13.9 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 10.2 |
| 4 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 26 | 1st DOWNS | 17 |
| 15 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 6 |
| 10 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 8 |
| 1 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 77 | TOTAL PLAYS | 64 |
| 6.9 | YARDS PER PLAY | 4.8 |
| 5-7 | RED ZONE | 3-3 |
| 8-14 | 3rd DOWNS | 5-13 |
| 0-2 | 4th DOWNS | 1-1 |
| 7-66 | PENALTIES | 2-23 |
| 41:56 | POSSESSION | 18:04 |
- With the win, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer moves to 11-0 in true road games as coach of the Buckeyes.
- Darron Lee's second-quarter interception was the first of his career.
- Of the four interceptions by Ohio State's defense, three were by freshmen (Eli Apple, Raekwon McMillan and Darron Lee). Senior Doran Grant had the fourth pick for the Buckeyes.
- Joey Bosa tied a career high with 2.5 tackles for loss.
- Ohio State's defense held Maryland to 310 total yards — 118 yards below its season average entering Saturday's game.
- With two catches Saturday, Ohio State wide receiver Devin Smith now sits at 99 receptions for his career.
- Over the last three games, Ohio State's J.T. Barrett has thrown for 909 yards and 14 touchdowns with just one interception.
- With four pass plays of 20 or more yards against the Terrapins, Ohio State now has a total of 19 on the season.
- Ohio State is now 73-24-4 all time in Big Ten openers.
