Buckeyes - Terrapins preview
COVER PHOTO: OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson stiff arms a Maryland defender during their game in Ohio Stadium in 2021. The Buckeyes won, 66-17. Photo by Sam Fahmi/Columbus Wired.
When fourth-ranked Ohio State collides with Maryland on Saturday at noon in Ohio Stadium, it will be the first time ever the two teams will meet undefeated.
The Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) lead the series 8-0 since their first game in 2014 when Maryland entered the conference but are facing a Terrapins team (5-0, 2-0) that are off to their best start since 2001 when they won their first seven games and wound up 10-2 on the year.
Ohio State’s sixth-rated defense will be tasked with trying to shut down quarterback Taulia Tagavailoa, who is putting together a stellar 2023 campaign.
The fifth-year senior currently leads the Big Ten in passing yards (1,464) and touchdown passes (13) and ranks second in the conference in passing efficiency (160.3).
The Buckeyes currently rank second in the nation in scoring defense at eight points per game and have only allowed four touchdowns, with the longest being a two-yard pass against Western Kentucky midway through the second quarter and another two-yarder midway through the fourth quarter against Notre Dame.
What makes Tagavailoa (the younger brother of current Miami Dolphins starting QB Tua) so dangerous is his ability to extend plays with his feet, something Buckeye defenders know they need to shut down or else it might be a long day.
“We know he likes to get out of the pocket so we just got to have guys staying in their lanes, just got to have eyes on the quarterback at all times because you know that he’s going to be able to use his feet,” said linebacker Steele Chambers.
Cornerback Denzel Burke said aside from Western Kentucky, the Terrapins will be the best passing attack they’ll face up to this point. Even better than Fighting Irish QB Sam Hartman, who currently ranks 10th in the country in passing efficiency. Hartman went into their game on Sept. 23 averaging 265 yards per game and four touchdowns. The Buckeyes held him to 175 passing yards and one TD toss.
Even though Tagavailoa is ranked slightly lower than Hartman in efficiency (29th), he can boast something that Hartman can’t: four different receivers with at least 200 or more receiving yards. And he can boast something not many college quarterbacks (if any at all) can boast and that’s surpassing former QB’s that attended their school in all-time passing records as the Ewa Beach, Hawaii native is now the only Terrapins QB to throw for over 9,000 career yards, which is more than former NFLers like Neil O’Donnell, Frank Reich and four-time Pro Bowler, Boomer Esiason.
Burke said it’s that caliber of competition that excites him.
“He (Tagavailoa) can extend plays, throws the ball on a rope, he’s a great player (and) their receivers are solid. I’m just ready to go out there and really just have fun and do what I know I can do.”
Burke’s name has been relatively quiet the last couple of games but that’s generally a good thing for a cornerback because it means the opposing quarterback is too scared to throw their way. This season it’s for good reason because not only does Burke have an interception under his belt but is tied-for second in the conference with five pass breakups.
Tagavailoa said he’s confident his team can get the job done.
“I just feel like with the things we’ve done, we feel like we’re up there with everybody else. We believe that we can be Big Ten champions. Obviously, we’ve got a long way to go, but we believe we can compete with anyone that’s on our schedule, anyone that’s on the field, and every week, every day, we’ve got to prove that.”
Maryland head coach Mike Locksley also feels confident, in a weird sort of way.
“You know what? I think this team is just young and dumb enough to show up and play like they’re capable of playing, and we’ll see what happens.”
OSU head coach Ryan Day knows that if his team is going to make a true run towards the Big Ten title and playoff, his guys have got to continue playing at a high level, if not higher.
“We’ve got to take the next step,” he said. “This is a really good group here that we’re going to have to execute at a high level against. We have to play really well, get our hands on balls. We’ve got to get a rush.”
Putting pressure on the quarterback has been somewhat of a contempt with the defense as they’ve only accrued five sacks on the year, which puts them next-to-last in the conference. And getting to the quarterback isn’t something that Maryland’s offensive line is accustomed to as they’ve only allowed three sacks, which ranks them fourth in the nation.
OSU defensive tackle Tyliek Williams said Tagavailoa can’t be stopped so getting as much containment on him will be the key.
“He’s a great athlete, so he’s going to make plays regardless. So we’ve just got to try to limit them as much as we can.”
On the other side of the ball, the question is can Ohio State’s offense get the job done? The answer should be a resounding “yes”.
The Buckeyes lead the Big Ten in passing offense at 298 yards per game - which is one more yard than Maryland’s average - primarily behind the arm of junior QB Kyle McCord, who currently ranks second in the conference behind Tagavailoa at 263 yards per game and is third in efficiency with a 159.7.
Tagavailoa might be the only QB in the Big Ten with four different receivers at 200 or more receiving yards but McCord can boast being the only conference QB with three different receivers in the top 10 in receiving yards per game: wide receiver Marvin Harrison, Jr. (second place, 84), receiver Emeka Egbuka (sixth, 65) and tight end Cade Stover (10th, 60).
However, a dinged up Harrison - who’s tied-for third in touchdown catches (three) - and a rushing attack that’s been adequate but not quite overpowering at 149 yards per game should be an interesting matchup versus a Terrapins defense that ranks smack dab in the middle of the conference in both rushing and passing defense (116 and 211 yards, respectively).
But the Terrapins feature and "bend but don't break" defense, especially when it comes to turnovers. They're tied-for first in the conference with eight interceptions and they've been fairly stingy letting offenses into their end zone as their scoring defense is averaging 13 points per game.
They've also been stingy allowing defenses to get to their prized QB, only allowing three sacks on the year, which is tied-for fourth in the nation. Ohio State's defense has racked up a whopping five QB takedowns, which puts them next-to-last in the conference.
Third and fourth down will also be an interesting aspect as the Buckeyes’ offense comes in eighth in the Big Ten on third down, converting only 43 percent of the time and only 42 percent on third-and-short (four yards or less). Maryland has only allowed teams to convert on third down 35 percent of the time.
On fourth down, OSU’s offense has converted 63 percent, which ranks them sixth in the conference, but Maryland’s defense is a woeful 57 percent, which is good for ninth in the conference.
The game kicks off at noon, airs on FOX and is the network’s Big Noon Kickoff game of the week.