Five Things: Ohio State Responds to First Half Malaise With 27 Unanswered Points in Second Half to Defeat Maryland

By Chris Lauderback on October 8, 2023 at 10:10 am
Route Man Marv
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Trailing 17-10 early in the third quarter after sleepwalking to that point, Ohio State caught fire over the final quarter and a half, scoring 27 unanswered points in a 37-17 victory over Maryland, improving the Buckeyes to 5-0 on the season. 

The win also served as Ryan Day's 50th at the helm of the Buckeyes and improved him to 34-0 against unranked opponents. 

The slow start triggered by another shaky performance from the offensive line and overall run game coordination, some early inaccuracy from quarterback Kyle McCord, special teams blunders (again) and costly penalties was offset by the Ohio State defense again shutting down its opponent and McCord eventually finding his groove, particularly in connections with Marvin Harrison Jr. 

No question, there are things to tighten up and the Buckeyes have one more tuneup, at Purdue next Saturday, before a big-time banger versus Penn State in two weeks. 

We'll focus on the Boilers starting tomorrow but for now, here are Five Things from Ohio State's 20-point win over the now 5-1 Terrapins. 

BULLETS PROVIDE COVER

With Ohio State's offense stuck in neutral for a lengthy spell, the defense needed to pick them up and once again answered the call. 

The fact the Buckeyes were able to enter the locker room tied 10-10 at the half was a testament to the defense. Ohio State's lone first half touchdown came via a Josh Proctor pick-six - more on him later - while Maryland's only touchdown over the first 30 minutes came via a short field after a muffed snap on a fourth down punt formation gave the Terps 1st-and-10 at the OSU 30. 

Maryland did find the end zone shortly after however the Terps would only record one more touchdown the rest of the afternoon. 

Mike Locksley's squad came in averaging 458 total yards of offense on 6.8 yards per play but the Buckeyes held them to 302 yards on just 4.0 yards per snap. Averaging nearly 300 passing yards per game during a 5-0 start, Taulia Tagovailoa managed 196 against he Buckeyes. 

Entering the day having allowed a mere three receptions for over 30 yards through four games, Ohio State didn't allow any to Maryland and the Terps' longest rush went for 17 yards.  

Halftime adjustments, even after a stout first 30 minutes, helped the Buckeyes hold Maryland to 2-of-7 on third conversion attempts in the second half after Tagovailoa and company managed to move the third down chains 6-of-12 times in the opening half. Getting off the field at an improved rate meant Ohio State kept Maryland to 121 total yards in the second half. 

Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg posted 11 first half stops and 13 for the game, cornerback Denzel Burke was targeted more frequently than we've seen thus far and stood tall overall with a couple pass breakups and JT Tuimoloau gave Ohio State its first sack from a defensive end all season as he logged four tackles and 1.5 sacks. 

HONDA MCCORD

Props once more to first-year starting quarterback Kyle McCord who once again built on his previous outing even with a slow start. Reliable for a first-year starter with limited experience heading into this season, McCord hasn't been flashy but he's been effective. 

Yesterday he set a new career-high with 320 passing yards on 19-of-29 while notching his first two touchdown tosses against power five competition. 

The fact he's performed as well as he has behind a spotty offensive line and running game is just further testament to his poise and talent. 

He was off his game early, misfiring on five of his first seven throws while taking a sack across the first three possessions. He threw a near-interception on Ohio State's fifth possession leading to a fifth-straight punt. Through those first five drives, McCord was just 6-of-13 for 49 yards. 

After that however, McCord kicked it into overdrive completing 13-of-16 for 271 yards and those two touchdowns. The first, a 44-yard strike to tight end Cade Stover, was crucial as it finally gave Ohio State some breathing room at 27-17 with 10:16 left in regulation. 

The second, a 17-yard connection to Marvin Harrison Jr. after a scoring strike to Marv the previous play was wiped out by penalty, put Ohio State in front 34-17 with 7:01 left. 

His finest throw of the day came on a 37-yard connection with Harrison on a 2nd-and-33 snap. Just a perfect toss into the bucket and Marvin did the rest. 

McCord's deep ball is too often underthrown but considering those are usually to Harrison and he has five steps on a defender, I'm sure Kyle wants to make sure he doesn't overthrow it and lose a big gainer.

I'm guessing he's also looking to improve his anticipation and throwing the ball on time. With what he's shown so far, I have to believe he'll decrease those instances of being late with the ball as he gains experience, particularly if his offensive line improves and gives him more comfort in the pocket. 

Overall, you have to be pleased with McCord's dependable though not spectacular body of work to this point.  

SAFETY NET

Josh Proctor's resurgent play has been gigantic for Ohio State's equally renascent defense. Most of us figured Ja'Had Carter, a veteran transfer from Syracuse, would start alongside Lathan Ransom along the back line of the defense after Proctor earned the starting gig last year only to lose it one play into the opener after he was cooked for long gainer on Notre Dame's first play. 

He would go on to log 195 snaps in 2022 but that was far behind the 760 played by Ronnie Hickman, 613 for Ransom and 510 for Tanner McCalister. Proctor didn't see even one defensive snap in losses to Michigan and Georgia. With that, the assumption was he would likely leave the Buckeyes but instead he came back for a sixth season. 

Now, five games into 2023 the elder statesman is arguably a top-4 or top-5 defender for an Ohio State defense enjoying a stellar season to date. 

Yesterday marked another clutch performance from Proctor as he posted seven stops, 1.5 tackles for loss and his first career pick-six for the Buckeyes. 

One of his TFLs was a big one as he and Sonny Styles stoned Tagovailoa for a 1-yard loss on 3rd-and-Goal from the OSU 2. Holding the Terps to a field goal was huge as Maryland was only able to extend its lead to 10-0. 

His pick-six, with the Buckeyes trailing by that 10-0 score in the second quarter, came on a 3rd-and-4 play in which he deftly stepped in front of a short comeback route and scampered 24 yards for the touchdown. 

A Proctor tackle in space likely saved a long Ryan Hemby touchdown run, holding him to a 17-yard gainer on Maryland's first play of the second half although the Terps did eventually reach the end zone on that same drive. 

Proctor also demolished Terrapin kickoff return man Braeden Wisloski at the Maryland 18-yard line midway through the third quarter, drawing some ooohs from the crowd. 

The Owasso, Oklahoma product slots sixth on the team with 23 tackles, is tied for the team lead in tackles for loss (2.5) and interceptions (1) and sits behind only Denzel Burke in pass breakups with three. 

Not bad for a guy who seemed lost in the sauce last year and even missed one game this year to build more stats. 

BLIGHT RUSHIN'

The offensive line and overall run-game coordination owe the rest of the team an apology because it is their performance to date that has allowed the 'soft' label to linger from the last few years and be even remotely applicable to the 2023 Buckeyes. 

Yes, Ohio State didn't have TreVeyon Henderson today but it's not like Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams were missing wide-open holes to run through. 

When the dust settled on another disappointing battle in the trenches, Ohio State logged 33 carries for 62 yards, or a ridiculous 1.9 yards per carry. As a giver, I want to note the Buckeyes did allow three sacks for -21 yards but even when you remove those plays, Ohio State's sack-adjusted result shakes out to 2.8 yards per attempt. 

The run game tallied just one carry over 10 yards - an 11-yard jaunt from Williams in mop-up duty. Before that, the longest run was an 8-yarder by Trayanum on Ohio State's first handoff of the day. 

Again, let's back out the sacks and even the Cody Simon run on the muffed punt snap to start with a denominator of 29 carries. Of those, 12 went for two yards or less with nine going for exactly one yard each. The Buckeyes had seven more carries that went for three yards meaning 19 of the 29 non-sack, non-muffed punt snap carries (66%) went for between zero and three yards. Yikes city. 

The Buckeyes ran it twice on third downs, netting -3 yards and moved the chains on only three carries all day. 

We knew it could be tough sledding as Ohio State breaks in a new left tackle, center and right tackle - the three most important spots on the line. It's also fair to note offenses don't have to be elite at both running and throwing to reach the ultimate goal. But this is Ohio State and averaging 4.4 yards on a 151-carry sample size against teams ranked No. 110 (Indiana), 111 (Western Kentucky), 45 (Notre Dame), and 49 (Maryland) in yards per carry allowed entering yesterday's games should raise the eyebrows of any non-homer.. even if the Buckeyes plan to lean heavily on the pass as they've typically done under Day. 

MERCY MERCY ME

I said to the guys in Slack during the game that it's easy to take Marvin's skill for granted because he's been so consistent and his production looks virtually effortless. 

Yesterday felt like a ho-hum eight catches for 163 yards with a touchdown even though it was Harrison's season-high in yards and his third-best single-game yardage output since he's been here. And he apparently turned in that performance on a gimpy ankle. 

Hell he even accounted for 42% of Ohio State's total yards yesterday which isn't too shabby for a receiver. 

His highlights versus the Terps included a 58-yard catch in which he had about five steps on his defender but McCord's underthrown pass kept the play from being a 90-yard touchdown. 

On the very next play, Harrison showed off his body control as he jumped to corral a pass along the sideline. 

Finally, this ridiculous pitch and catch for a 37-yard gain on [checks notes] 2nd-and-33 is everything. 

It's wild that as much as Ohio State's offensive line and run game hurts McCord, having Harrison on the outside is the ultimate luxury. 

His 163-yard day was his 10th 100-yard game as a Buckeye, good for a tie with Michael Jenkins and Garrett Wilson for the third-most in school history. Harrison is also now averaging 99.8 receiving yards per game this season (on 20 yards per catch). 

Friends, don't take getting to watch him for granted. 

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