It has been a long two weeks since Buckeye football has graced the nation.
With Chase Young rumors swirling and Alabama-LSU dominating the headlines, Ohio State quietly put together its most complete performance of the season, easily beating Maryland 73-14. The Bucks suffocated Maryland on the defensive end and did whatever they wanted on offense, totaling over 700 yards for the first time this season.
Four running backs rushed for over 75 yards today as Ohio State gained 383 yards on the ground.
Everyone knows J.K. Dobbins has established himself as one of the best backs in the nation. Now, just imagine how much better his numbers would be if played in the second half.
Against the Terrapins, he ran the ball 12 times for 90 yards and two touchdowns. By halftime, he was done for the day.
Master Teague has proven himself to be a more-than-capable second-string tailback. With 18 carries for 111 yards today, Teague now has 712 rushing yards through nine games and is on pace to break 1,000 yards for the season. If he cracks four-digits, it will be the only time in program history that two different running backs have eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark.
While these two backs have been recognized contributors for most of the season, Ohio State introduced two more backs that are a little more unfamiliar. Freshman Marcus Crowley had eight carries for 82 yards and a touchdown, the best performance of his career, and Demario McCall hit 77 yards and a touchdown in limited action as well.
Altogether, the Bucks had four tailbacks gain 75+ rushing yards in a single game. This is the first time this benchmark has been met by an Ohio State team since the Buckeyes' 49-21 victory against Michigan State (Rod Gerald-104, Jeff Logan-112, Pete Johnson-99, Ron Springs-76) in 1976.
With Chase Young out for the foreseeable future, the defensive line stepped up, recording five sacks as a unit.
As we wait to hear the official outcome of Chase Young's situation, Ohio State's defensive line depth has suddenly become a point of concern.
Or has it?
The Buckeyes recorded seven sacks against Maryland, with Davon Hamilton, Tyreke Smith, and Zach Harrison combining for five takedowns. It was arguably the most complete performance by the unit this season.
While nobody can replace Young, it looks as if the Bucks will have a number of solid contributors if he is made unavailable in the future.
The Buckeyes outgained the visitors by 566 yards, the largest yardage differential of the season.
For the first time this season, Ohio State eclipsed the 700-yard mark. The Bucks hit that mark by doing whatever they wanted, hitting 322 passing yards and a season-high 383 rushing yards.
On the other side, the Terps were unable to do much of anything for most of the day, even with the Buckeyes' backups in; each of Maryland's scoring drives was heavily reliant on the home team's mistakes and penalties.
As one would expect, Maryland got better as Ohio State began to pull its starters. The Terrapins gained just one yard in the first quarter, 65 in the second, and 11 in the third quarter. In the fourth, Maryland gained 60 of their 62 rushing yards and gained two yards passing, totaling just 139 yards for the entire game.
In a game that was dominated by the outside noise of Chase Young's impending suspension, the Bucks put together arguably their most complete performance of the season.
