COLLEGE PARK, Md. — You know things are going particularly well for one team and horrendous for the other when a third-string running back gets in on offense before halftime and injuries are not the reason.
That running back is Demario McCall, who caught one pass for 8 yards and tallied one carry for 2 yards in Ohio State's 62-3 throttling of a completely overmatched Maryland squad on Saturday. The Buckeyes led 45-3 at halftime.
What were three key statistics that led to Ohio State's embarrassingly easy victory on Saturday? Take your pick. But the ones below are the most glaring.
Ohio State Racks Up 20 First Downs on 44 First-Half Plays
Take a second and read that again. On nearly half of its plays in the first half, Ohio State picked up a first down. So essentially the Buckeyes moved the sticks on every other play in the opening 30 minutes.
A 45-3 halftime lead allowed Urban Meyer to get his backups and third-string players some experience so the production fell off slightly but the Buckeyes finished with 32 first downs in the game. To compare, Maryland only managed 10—five in the first half, five in the second. The Buckeyes had as many scoring drives as the Terrapins had first downs.
If that doesn't display Ohio State's dominance, we're not sure what does.
Total Yards: Ohio State 581, Maryland 176
Ohio State clearly put an emphasis on its passing game against Maryland, continuing to get J.T. Barrett and the wide receivers game reps even if they came against an overmatched opponent. Barrett finished with 253 yards and two touchdowns before yielding to Joe Burrow, who threw for 75 more, plus the Buckeyes largely had success when they elected to run the ball.
Ohio State's 5.9 yards per rush average pales in comparison to its 7.4 yards per play average but demonstrates how easy the Buckeyes could move the ball on the ground whenever they wanted to. Maryland entered allowing 204.2 passing yards per game. The Buckeyes sped past that mark early in the third quarter.
Ohio State also nearly matched its Big Ten-leading season rushing average of 268.6 yards per game with 253 on the ground. Demario McCall became the horse at the end of the third quarter and into the fourth, becoming one of three players with at least 10 carries on the day. He finished with 53 yards and a touchdown, while Mike Weber led all players with 12 rushes for 93 yards. Barrett ran it 11 times for 47 yards and two touchdowns.
Eight Buckeyes With Plays From Scrimmage Of At Least 20 Yards
With the way Meyer unloaded his bench and let a horde of young players see action against Maryland, a statistic like this was inevitable. It didn't matter who Ohio State ran out on its offense, big plays were easy to come by.
McCall, Weber, Curtis Samuel, Parris Campbell, K.J. Hill, Dontre Wilson, Binjimen Victor and Noah Brown all recorded gains of at least 20 yards from scrimmage. If you add Barrett to the list even though his 20+ plays came through the air, the number grows to nine.
To put it simply, Ohio State did whatever it wanted to a completely hapless opponent.
