One could say that Ohio State’s offense and defense looked like they were supposed to in the Buckeyes’ 62-14 throttling of Maryland on Saturday.
Well, that is what several Ohio State players said in their interview sessions after Saturday’s game.
Ohio State tight end Marcus Baugh and wide receiver Austin Mack were among those who felt good about the performance on offense after the Buckeyes scored nine touchdowns and accumulated 584 total yards.
"We’re rolling right now," Baugh said. "We know what we’re doing and how we got to play, and we just got to go out there and execute."
"It all started with we had a real good week of practice, and that obviously translates to the game," Mack said. "It’s getting later in the season, the small things are starting to click now, and it’s what we’ve been working on in practice. We do everything in practice, now we’re starting to put it on the game field."
Ohio State defensive end Tyquan Lewis and linebacker Dante Booker were among those pleased with their defense's performance after the Buckeyes held the Terrapins to 66 total yards, with their only offensive touchdown coming on their final possession of the game after an Ohio State turnover.
"We came out and did what we are supposed to do," Lewis said. "We stopped the run, and we didn’t give them many opportunities. We just came out and played good fundamental defense."
"It feels like this is where we should be," Booker said. "We got a lot of momentum going, and that’s something we definitely feel."
The Buckeyes have clearly improved on both sides of the ball over their past four games, even when factoring in that they haven’t played top-notch competition. Considering their efficiency on offense – nine touchdowns in their first 14 possessions – and dominance on defense, one couldn’t have asked for much more from either unit, with sloppy special teams play being the only thing that held Ohio State back on Saturday.
Even so, there were Ohio State players from both sides of the ball who still expect further improvement for their units, as they believe the Buckeyes are still capable of more.
Ohio State wide receiver Parris Campbell and quarterback J.T. Barrett are among those who believes the Buckeye offense is headed in the right direction but still a work in progress.
"I wouldn’t say we’re where we need to be, but I definitely like where we’re at," Campbell said. "We know we’re making progress week by week, and I think we’re getting better, but I think we still leave too much on the field. It’s not going to be perfect, it’s not supposed to be perfect right now, but we are taking it step by step. We’re continuing to get better."
"We got stagnant in the first half. We got to do a better job keeping momentum, scoring quickly," Barrett said. "There were some things we left out there. But I mean, it was a good week of practice. I think that’s something, guys realize that the correlation between having a good practice and having a good game as a team. So we keep that going, I think we’re on the right path."
Booker and fellow Ohio State linebacker Jerome Baker said the Buckeyes can also continue making strides on defense.
"Not yet," Baker said when asked whether he thought Ohio State’s defense was championship-caliber. "We have so much to improve on, and so much to do. But we’re definitely improving every week. That’s good to see, throughout the season, getting better every game."
"We can’t say we’ve arrived yet," Booker said. "We’ve still got a long way to go."
Dante Booker set the tone on Saturday by sacking Maryland's Max Bortenschlager on Ohio State's very first defensive play.
How much better can Ohio State’s offense be? Campbell reiterated what he said after the Buckeyes' last home game – that he believes Ohio State’s offenses should be among the nation’s elite.
"I solely believe that we can be one of the top offenses in the nation, and right now, we’re not quite there yet," Campbell said. "We have to get more consistent. Have to clean up some areas. But we’re on our way."
Ohio State coach Urban Meyer said himself that he still thought the offense could play better, specifically pointing to the Buckeyes’ struggles late in the first quarter and early in the second quarter – when they went three straight series without points – in the immediate aftermath of starting right guard Branden Bowen leaving the game with a season-ending left leg injury. Meyer was thrilled, though, with the performance of his defense.
"The defense smothered them and stopped them," Meyer said.
Although disappointed in their own team’s performance, Maryland coach DJ Durkin, safety Josh Woods and running back Ty Johnson all said the Buckeyes deserved credit for how well they played on Saturday at Ohio Stadium.
"Credit to Ohio State. They’re a good football team, and they’re well-coached," said Durkin, who previously worked as an assistant coach for Meyer. "Ohio State executed and played better. We couldn’t block them and move the ball up front, and we couldn’t get off the field on defense."
"You have to give them credit," Woods said. "They made the plays, and we missed the plays. We left a lot of plays out there on the field."
"Ohio State is a great team," said Johnson. "Their defense came into the game and did what they needed to do, and it showed."
Despite the lopsided result of Saturday’s game, Baugh and Ohio State center Billy Price were among those who thought the Terrapins deserved credit too – and that they were a tougher opponent than some of their other recent opponents, even if the final score didn’t show it.
"Maryland was a tremendously improved defense from what they were last year," Price said. "So you got to make sure you give credit where credit is due. Those guys fought hard. No matter what the score was, we came out 41-7 at halftime … and those guys were still coming at you, blitzing full speed. So there’s a lot of credit to those guys."
"On defense, they played harder than Rutgers," Baugh said. "It was tougher."
