Instacap: Ohio State Trounces Maryland, 62-3

COLLEGE PARK, MD. — The game was over before most Maryland students even arrived.

A week after routing Nebraska 62-3, Ohio State continued its dominance by trouncing Maryland 62-3 on the road.

H-Back Curtis Samuel had himself a game. The do-it-all player found the end zone three times and averaged 12.4 yards a touch. He had four carries and five catches for a combined 112 yards. All of it came in the first half as he sat the entire second with the game well at hand.

Quarterback J.T. Barrett had a stellar outing as well, finishing 18-for-27 passing for 253 yards and two touchdowns and rushing 11 times for 43 yards and two touchdowns.

Ohio State's only sign of trouble came on its first drive, when a Billy Price was called for a hold and Barrett appeared to throw a pick-six, but it was all short lived. 

Maryland was called for pass interference on the interception and the Buckeyes went on to score at the end of that drive, and many other ones.

The Buckeyes found the end zone six times in the first half – twice from each Barrett and Samuel on the ground and twice through the air on grabs from Samuel and Dontre Wilson. Maryland's only score came on a first-quarter field goal.

The second half went as expected, with young players getting reps and starters getting rest.

The Buckeyes cruised, and the Terrapins didn't score again.

Ohio State heads to East Lansing to face Michigan State next Saturday at noon.

Game Notes

• Curtis Samuel finished with three touchdowns (two rushing, one receiving) to tie his career high. His 36-yard touchdown catch was his 16th play of 20 or more yards this season.
• Ohio State scored on its opening possession for the third straight game.
•  Marshon Lattimore picked off his fourth pass of the season in the second quarter, setting up Curtis Samuel’s second rushing touchdown of the evening.
• Tyler Durbin kicked a career-long 45-yard field late in the second quarter; he finished 2-of-2 after adding a 34 yarder in the third quarter.
• The Buckeyes scored 45 points in the first half, marking their first time scoring 40-plus points in the first half since Kent State (45) in 2014.
• J.T. Barrett accounted for four more touchdowns on the afternoon, bringing his school-record total to 98. That total ranks second all-time in Big Ten history and he is now eight shy of the conference record of 106 held by Purdue’s Drew Brees.
• Barrett recorded his school-record leading 15th 300-yard game of his career. The junior completed 18 passes for 253 yards, and he added 47 yards on the ground.
• Ohio State’s defense has given up just 10 touchdowns this season and has allowed just three rushing touchdowns on the season, the fewest in the FBS. They also have scored six defensive TDs on the season, second best in the FBS.
• Freshman Mike Weber rushed 12 times for 93 yards. Weber is just 65 yards from 1,000 with 935 yards. Weber is seeking to become the third Ohio State freshman to rush for 1,000 yards. Robert Smith (1990) and Maurice Clarett (2002) are the other two.
•  Maryland head coach D.J. Durkin is the ninth former Urban Meyer assistant to game plan against Meyer. Meyer is 94-15 in first-time coaching matchups and he is 8-1 coaching against one of his former assistants.
• The Buckeyes forced the Terrapins into 15 third downs during the game and only allowed them to convert one (6.7%).
•  Binjimen Victor hauled in his first-career touchdown reception on a 25-yard strike from Joe Burrow in the fourth quarter.
•  Ohio State has now scored a rushing TD in 62 of 64 games coached by Urban Meyer.
•  The Buckeyes have now scored at least 60 points in back-to-back contests for the first time since 1996. The Scarlet and Gray opened that season with huge wins over Rice (70-7) and Pitt (72-0).
• Ohio State scored on all seven red zone trips against Maryland. The Buckeyes have now scored points 16 of the last 17 times they have reached the red zone.
• The Buckeyes had 10 different players record a tackle for loss in the game to combine for 12 total, a season high. The defense only allowed 43 rushing yards marking the sixth time this season they have held an opposing offense to under 100 yards.