Another week, another troll job by the nation’s No. 1 team. They want you to squirm in discomfort and quake with fear. It’s Halloween in a few weeks, after all. And despite all the angst they create with these performances, the Buckeyes are 6-0 and bowl eligible.
This week’s opponent was hapless Maryland, which entered with a 2-3 record and 0-1 in the B1G after being blasted 28-0 at home by Michigan last week. The Terps had also been abused by Bowling Green and West Virginia and there was no reason to believe that a team that couldn’t pick a starting quarterback and was rumored to be firing its head coach would give the Buckeyes any trouble at homecoming.
Would the Buckeyes finally destroy an inferior opponent the way they should? Could Ohio State improve its red zone efficiency? Would the silly penalties and turnovers stop? Could we actually see a multi-headed quarterback?
No, yes, not quite, and yes. Although Ohio State ultimately won by three touchdowns, the game remained within two scores entering the fourth quarter. The Buckeyes went 6/6 in the red zone, with touchdowns each time. Ohio State helped Maryland with six penalties for 45 yards, with two of them in quick succession stalling a promising drive, but there were no turnovers. And J.T. Barrett took over as the Buckeyes’ new red zone quarterback.
Here are your talking points from yesterday’s 49-28 home win over Maryland:
WATER COOLER PREP (EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW…IN ONE PARAGRAPH)
Ohio State started slowly again, falling behind 7-0 on a blown assignment in the secondary. The Buckeyes then built a 21-7 lead before missing a field goal and letting Maryland back into it with two straight scores. Then Ohio State started playing angry and put the Terps away with 28 unanswered points. Zeke Elliott topped 100 yards again (106) and scored twice. The defense was soft against the run, allowing 253 rushing yards, including 170 to quarterback Perry Hills.
GIVE THAT MAN A BUCKEYE LEAF (PLAYER OF THE GAME)
This week’s player of the week was nearly Cameron Johnston, who booted three times for a 54.7-yard average and downed two inside the 20. However, I’m going with “Ohio State quarterback,” even if it’s a bit of a cheat.
Cardale Jones had his best game of the season with a 21/28 performance for 291 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. In addition to Jones having his career best day in passing yards, Barrett came in and guided the team into the end zone each time he took over in the red zone. J.T. was 2/2 passing for 26 yards and rushed 12 times for 62 yards (5.2 YPA) and three touchdowns. The two-headed monster was efficient and didn’t turn the ball over.
This was a tough decision, as Braxton Miller (five receptions, 79 yards and a TD, three runs for 11 yards), Mike Thomas (seven receptions, 107 yards) and Jalin Marshall (four receptions, 78 yards, a touchdown and a 28-yard punt return) also all had great games.
DID YOU SEE THAT?! (PLAY OF THE GAME)
With the game still well in doubt early, and Ohio State leading 14-7, the Buckeyes faced a second-and-9 at their own 48. Jones took the snap, surveyed the field and found Braxton Miller wide open down the seam. The pass was a little off and there wasn’t much air under it, but Miller made a tremendous diving grab at the Maryland 19. That catch seemed to really get Jones going and Miller caught a touchdown pass on the next play.
Braxton Miller does his best Superman impression and follows it up with a TD catch! Brought to you by @Hotelsdotcom http://t.co/fFwL2escEH
— BIG 10.10 (@BigTenNetwork) October 10, 2015
SLOBBER KNOCKER OF THE GAME
After Miller’s touchdown, Jack Willoughby kicked off to Will Likely of Maryland, who caught it on the goal line and brought it out. One of the country’s best return men this season got only as far as the 12-yard line before he was squarely met by reserve linebacker Craig Fada, who laid the lumber on him. It was a heck of a play by the junior out of Bishop Watterson High School and Maryland would punt from its 23 a few plays later.
TALK IN THE AFTERMATH
One former Buckeye was displeased with the defense.
Just embarrassing tackling by Ohio state defense. Doesn't look like silver bullets today.
— Jay Richardson (@JayRichardson99) October 10, 2015
These sum up what a lot of Ohio State fans are thinking:
Ohio State can just flip a switch and dominate. They fully understand this. That's the root of the problem.
— Ramzy Nasrallah (@ramzy) October 10, 2015
Gotta admit, rooting for a team that's supposed to win every game by six touchdowns isn't as fun as it sounds.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) October 10, 2015
/spend 2.5 hours gnashing teeth about Ohio State /Ohio State wins by three scores Whats wrong with Ohio State?"
— Tom Fornelli (@TomFornelli) October 10, 2015
JIM TRESSEL'S LEAST FAVORITE MOMENT OF THE GAME
Tressel is asked to do a lot of public speaking. As any good public speaker does, the former OSU coach likes to tailor his thoughts to his audience. With an upcoming speaking engagement at an inner city youth group looming on the horizon, Tressel opted to try to relate to his audience by putting together a little rap to teach kids the same life lessons that are in his book, The Winners Manual. (Not many people are aware of Tressel’s mad skill with rhymes.)
As Ohio State seemingly had the game in hand, the Buckeyes lined up to go for a fourth-and-3 at the Maryland 28 with less than three minutes remaining, Tressel puzzled over what to rhyme with “be where you are” — one of the lessons he wanted to get across. When backup center Brady Taylor airmailed a snap past Barrett’s head prematurely, leading to a 25-yard-loss, Tressel distractedly scribbled down “just like Bill Maher.” When he looked down to see what he’d written, Tressel threw his notebook away and decided to wing the speech.
WHEN YOU SANK INTO YOUR CHAIR (THE MOMENT BUCKEYE FOOTBALL DISGRACED YOUR FAMILY)
With 1:12 to play in the first half, a slightly errant snap threw off the timing of a field-goal attempt and Jack Willoughby missed a 44-yarder. Maryland took over on its own 27-yard line and Damian Prince was immediately whistled for a false start, making it first-and-15 at the 22. On the very next play, Hills dropped back to pass and the front four left a gaping hole in the middle. Hills took it and ran untouched down the center of the field for 75 yards before being caught at the 3-yard line by Vonn Bell. It was the second consecutive week that the Buckeyes have allowed a run of more than 70 yards to an opposing quarterback. To make things worse, he scored on the next play.
WHAT YOU TEXTED YOUR FRIEND AT THE END OF EACH QUARTER
First: “A lot of the dumb things haven’t been cleaned up yet.”
Second: “We seem allergic to taking control of games.”
Third: “Starting to look like we’re getting mad. And that’s good.”
Fourth: “Still some work to do, but the offense is starting to figure things out.”
IT WAS OVER WHEN
When Zeke took a handoff from Barrett and busted 16 yards for his second touchdown of the day, things were well in hand. It made the score 42-21 at the time with just 6:38 to play. A Maryland comeback was a tall ask of the Terrapins before that but Zeke’s romp put in the final dagger.
Next up is a Saturday night tilt against Penn State on Oct. 17. The Nittany Lions (5-1, 2-0) beat Indiana in Happy Valley, 29-7, yesterday. You may recall that Ohio State will be wearing black uniforms for the first time for that game.
