Ohio State Scores 27 Unanswered Points to Overcome Sluggish Start and Defeat Maryland, 37-17

By Dan Hope on October 7, 2023 at 3:36 pm
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Slow and steady wins the race.

Ohio State trailed for most of the first half and never took a lead until the final three minutes of the third quarter in Saturday’s fifth game of the season against Maryland, but the Buckeyes scored the game’s final 27 points to overcome their sluggish start and win the game, 37-17.

  Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4  
#4 Ohio State 0 10 10 17 37
MARYLAND 7 3 7 0 17
OCT. 7, 2023 • Ohio STADIUM • Columbus, Ohio

The game started badly out of the gate for Ohio State as the Buckeyes went 3-and-out on their opening drive, then gave the ball back to Maryland at the 30-yard line on a botched fake punt. The Terps took advantage of the prime field position, scoring just four plays later on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Taulia Tagovailoa to Kaden Prather to take a 7-0 lead just two minutes and 19 seconds into the game.

Maryland looked poised to take a two-score lead on its second possession of the game, but the Buckeyes got off the field with a 4th-and-1 stop – the first time Maryland was stopped on a fourth-down attempt all year – by JT Tuimoloau and Tommy Eichenberg on a run by backup quarterback Billy Edwards Jr.

The Terrapins did take a two-score lead on their third possession of the game, settling for a 21-yard Jack Howes field goal after driving to Ohio State’s 3-yard line to make it 10-0 with 12:56 to play in the second quarter.

After Ohio State’s offense went scoreless on its first four possessions, the Buckeye defense scored the first points of the day for the home team as Josh Proctor picked off Tagovailoa and returned it 24 yards to the end zone for a touchdown.

OHIO STATE   METRIC   MARYLAND
382 TOTAL YARDS 302
62 RUSHING YARDS 106
33 RUSHING ATTEMPTS 35
1.9 AVERAGE per RUSH 3.0
1 RUSHING TOUCHDOWNS 1
320 PASSING YARDS 196
19-29 COMPLETIONS–ATTEMPTS 21-41
16.8 AVERAGE per COMPLETION 9.3
1 PASSING TOUCHDOWNS 1
21 1st DOWNS 20
62 TOTAL PLAYS 76
6.2 YARDS PER PLAY 4.0
3-12 third down conv 8-19
10-81 PENALTIES 4-50
29:56 POSSESSION 30:04

After failing to cross the 48-yard line on its first five possessions of the game, Ohio State finally hit a big play on its sixth drive of the day when Kyle McCord and Marvin Harrison Jr. connected for a 58-yard gain.

But the Buckeyes had to settle for a 35-yard Jayden Fielding field goal, tying the game at 10-10, after an intentional grounding penalty on 3rd-and-5 from the 8-yard line. 

Maryland had a chance to retake the lead before halftime, but the clock ran out on the Terrapins when they opted to run a play from the 18-yard line with just seconds remaining and Antwain Littleton was tackled in the middle of the field for a gain of only four yards.

The Terps were able to retake the lead on the opening series of the third quarter as they went 75 yards in nine plays with Tagovailoa capping off the drive with a 9-yard touchdown run.

Ohio State’s offense responded with its first touchdown drive of the day, going 76 yards in just four plays. A 37-yard catch by Julian Fleming set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Chip Trayanum.

Lathan Ransom came up with Ohio State’s second interception of the day on Maryland’s subsequent possession, giving the ball back to the Buckeye offense at Maryland’s 38-yard line. The Buckeyes drove to the 5-yard line but settled for a 24-yard Fielding field goal to take their first lead, 20-17, with 2:19 to play in the third quarter.

Ohio State’s defense held the lead on its next series as Sonny Styles made a 3rd-and-9 tackle of Tagovailoa for no gain on the final play of the third quarter to force a Maryland punt. The Buckeyes took their first two-score lead of the game on the subsequent drive as a 37-yard pass from McCord to Harrison on 2nd-and-33 – which was followed by a 15-yard sideline interference penalty against Ryan Day – set up a 44-yard touchdown pass from McCord to Cade Stover.

Ohio State’s defense came up with a 4th-and-3 stop on Maryland’s next possession, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Maryland center Mike Purcell gave the Buckeyes the ball at the 17-yard line. Four plays later, McCord threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Harrison to give the Buckeyes a 17-point lead with 7:01 to play.

Following a Maryland punt, Fielding added a 40-yard field goal with 2:10 to play to secure a cover for the Buckeyes.

McCord finished the game with a career-high 320 passing yards and two touchdowns while Harrison caught eight passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. Eichenberg led the Buckeye defense with 13 tackles while Proctor and Tuimoloau each had 1.5 tackles for loss.

Now 5-0 on the season, Ohio State will look to improve to 6-0 next week when it plays at Purdue – its first game in West Lafayette since its 2018 loss to the Boilermakers – next Saturday. The game will kick off at noon and will be broadcast at Peacock.

Game Notes

  • Starting running back TreVeyon Henderson was one of nine Ohio State players who were unavailable for the game. Chip Trayanum made his first start as a Buckeye in Henderson’s place.
  • Gee Scott Jr. also started Saturday’s game in place of Emeka Egbuka as Ohio State opened the game in a two-tight end formation.
  • Former Ohio State offensive lineman Avery Henry, who medically retired this offseason after a battle with cancer, was back with the team and in Ohio Stadium for the game for the first time this season.
  • Play was briefly stopped in the first quarter due to a drone flying over Ohio Stadium. The drone was promptly removed from the airspace, allowing play to resume.
  • The Rose Bowl-winning 1973 Ohio State football team was honored on the field during the first quarter.
  • Ohio State was held scoreless in the first quarter of consecutive games for the first time since 2016 (Michigan and Clemson).
  • JT Tuimoloau recorded his first sack of the season in the second quarter.
  • Marvin Harrison Jr. had the 10th 100-yard receiving game of his Ohio State career, tying him with Michael Jenkins and Garrett Wilson for the third-most in school history. 
  • The 2023 Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame class, including former Buckeye football players Malcolm Jenkins, Nick Mangold and Rick Middleton, was honored during a halftime ceremony.
  • 104,974 was the attendance for the game.
  • Emeka Egbuka limped off the field with a lower-body injury early in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game.
  • Ryan Day won his 50th game as a head coach on Saturday. He became the second-fastest coach in Ohio State history to reach that milestone, behind only Urban Meyer, reaching 50 wins in just 56 games.

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