Despite some special teams blunders, Ohio State played a near perfect game against Maryland to move to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten on Saturday.
Quarterback J.T. Barrett accounted for four first-half touchdowns and the Ohio State defense surrendered just 26 yards in the first 30 minutes as the Buckeyes coasted to a 62-14 victory at Ohio Stadium.
The Buckeyes started strong out of the gate, as Barrett led Ohio State on a 9-play, 70-yard scoring drive, which he capped with a 1-yard scoring run to give OSU a 7-0 lead less than four minutes into the game.
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. 10 OHIO STATE | 20 | 21 | 14 | 7 | 62 |
| MARYLAND | 7 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 14 |
Starting just his second game of the season for Maryland, quarterback Max Bortenschlager had a rough day. His first drive of the game ended when Nick Bosa forced a third down fumble, which was picked up and returned 20 yards for a touchdown by Jerome Baker, extending Ohio State's lead to 14-0 with 9:54 still on the first quarter clock.
Maryland scored its lone touchdown of the first-half on the ensuing kickoff, as Terrapin running back Ty Johnson scampered an even 100 yards up Ohio State's sideline for a touchdown. The Buckeyes' special teams issues spread throughout the first half, as Ohio State would later botch an extra point snap, have a 47-yard field goal attempt blocked and even get flagged for a delay of game on a kickoff.
Despite the struggles, Barrett and the Ohio State offense continued to put up points, as the senior signal-caller completed touchdown passes to Binjimen Victor, Marcus Baugh and Austin Mack before halftime. Barrett completed 20-of-31 attempts for 261 yards and three scores. He also added another 59 yards on the ground on eight carries.
H-back Parris Campbell also added a first half touchdown on a reverse, with Barrett leading the way with a key block.
| OHIO STATE | MARYLAND | |
|---|---|---|
| 584 | NET TOTAL YARDS | 66 |
| 281 | RUSHING YARDS | 50 |
| 50 | RUSHING ATTEMPTS | 42 |
| 5.6 | AVERAGE PER RUSH | 1.2 |
| 5 | RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS | 1 |
| 303 | PASSING YARDS | 16 |
| 23-36 | COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS | 3-13 |
| 13.2 | AVERAGE PER COMPLETION | 5.3 |
| 3 | PASSING TOUCHDOWNS | 0 |
| 33 | 1st DOWNS | 6 |
| 13 | RUSHING 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 15 | PASSING 1st DOWNS | 0 |
| 5 | PENALTY 1st DOWNS | 3 |
| 85 | TOTAL PLAYS | 55 |
| 6.8 | YARDS PER PLAY | 1.2 |
| 7-8 | RED ZONE | 1-1 |
| 7-12 | 3rd DOWNS | 1-15 |
| 1-1 | 4th DOWNS | 1-3 |
| 8-85 | PENALTIES | 6-66 |
| 32:24 | POSSESSION | 27:36 |
At running back for Ohio State, J.K. Dobbins got the start, and evenly split carries with Mike Weber. Dobbins finished the game with 13 carries for 96 yards, but fumbled in the first half. Weber earned 13 carries for 59 yards and a third quarter touchdown. He also added a 53-yard reception in the first quarter on a wheel route out of the backfield.
Since allowing 403 pass yards per game in its first two contests, the Ohio State secondary held its opponent under 100 yards passing for the fourth straight game. Bortenschlager completed just 3-of-12 passes for 16 yards and fumbled three times, all of which were recovered by Ohio State. In total, Maryland accumulated just 66 offensive yards, the least amount of total offense surrendered to a Big Ten team by the Buckeyes since Nov. 5, 1960 against Indiana (60 yards).
Outside of special teams, Ohio State didn't have many issues on offense or defense, but did lose a handful of players due to injury or ejection. Branden Bowen is likely out for the season after he suffered a broken tibia and fibula in the first half. Bowen was replaced at right guard by Matt Burrell for the remainder of the game.
In addition, Ohio State cornerbacks Denzel Ward and Damon Arnette were both ejected for targeting. Ward was ejected in the first half, while Arnette was tossed in the third quarter for a hit on Bortenschlager that knocked Bortenschlager out of the game. For his hit, Arnette will miss the first half of Ohio State's road contest against Nebraska. Jeffrey Okudah earned added playing time in with Ward and Arnette out.
Game Notes
- J.K. Dobbins' first half fumble was the first of his Ohio State career.
- Sean Nuernberger missed his first two kicks of the season after starting the year a perfect 7-for-7. His 47-yard attempt in the first half was blocked, before he missed a 29-yard attempt in the third quarter.
- The Buckeyes improved to 71-19-5 in Homecoming games.
- Meyer improved to 10-1 in games against his former assistants’ teams.
- Barrett moved into eighth place in Big Ten history with 10,670 yards of total offense. He passed former Illinois quarterbacks Juice Williams (10,594), and Nathan Scheelhaase (10,634).
- Baker’s 20-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown was the first fumble returned for a touchdown for the Buckeyes since Vonn Bell returned one 14 yards for a touchdown against Hawaii on Sept. 12, 2015.
