5 Thoughts Before Maryland Plays Ohio State

Game Information

Opponent: #4 Ohio State Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten Conference)
Location: Ohio Stadium (102,780)
Date: Saturday, October 7, 2023
Time: 12:00 PM ET
TV/Radio Broadcasts: FOX, Maryland Sports Radio Network
Series Record: 8-0 Ohio State

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Maryland has begun this season with a 5-0 record, the first time they’ve done that in more than two decades. They’ve also started conference play with a 2-0 record, which they haven’t done since 2012. The team will face their biggest challenge thus far, when they travel to Columbus to face off against one of the Big Ten’s best teams on Saturday afternoon. The Buckeyes are coming off of a bye week following their biggest win of the year, a last-second thriller over Notre Dame in South Bend. Ryan Day is in his fifth season as their head coach, and will once again be looking to lead his team to a spot in the College Football Playoff.

1. Here’s Your Opportunity

For the first time since he took over as Maryland’s head coach prior to the 2019 season, Michael Locksley has been talking about conference championships. He believes this team is finally ready to be a part of that conversation, no matter how unlikely that may seem to anyone outside of College Park. Through the first five weeks of this year, the Terrapins have lived up to that talk. But their biggest test comes in the form of Ohio State this weekend.

If you want to become a legitimate part of the conference championship conversation both this year and in the future, you have to prove that you belong in games like this. The Buckeyes are the cream of the crop in the Big Ten, but Maryland has never beaten them in eight tries. They’ve come close a few times, and last year’s matchup in College Park remained within one score until the nine-second mark of the fourth quarter. If the Terrapins can keep this game close and make some noise in the fourth quarter, the country will take notice and conference championships won’t seem quite as far-fetched.

2. Stop the Run, or Stop the Pass?

Despite losing quarterback C.J. Stroud to the NFL, Ohio State returns most of its skill players from what was one of the country’s best offenses last season. Running backs TreyVeon Henderson and Miyan Williams are back, along with wide receivers Marvin Harrison, Jr., Emeka Egbuka, and Julian Fleming, and tight end Cade Stover. The most important position however, is played by Kyle McCord, a program veteran who’s more of a game manager than an elite talent. But with skill talent like the Buckeyes have, he’s more than enough to win a national championship.

The question for defensive coordinator Brian Williams is whether he’d rather force McCord to beat him with his arm, or shut down Ohio State’s pass-catchers and force Henderson to beat him running the ball. To this point, their passing game has been more effective overall but they’ve run the ball better more recently. Whatever he chooses to key on, it’ll be important for Maryland to be strong on third downs and in the red zone. If they can force the Buckeyes to string together long drives, limit their easy third-down conversions, and hold them to more field goals than touchdowns, they should be able to keep this game close into the fourth quarter.

3. The Recipe For a Big Road Victory

Through their first five games, Maryland is tied with Penn State for the best turnover margin per game in the country (+2.3). Additionally, they’re averaging just 4.8 penalties per game which is tied for 29th-fewest nationally. In games like this against one of the country’s best teams, you must play an almost perfectly clean game in order to have a chance to win. While the Terrapins played a very tight game on the road against Michigan last year, it’s hard not to think about whether things would’ve turned out differently if not for their three turnovers. To this point, they’ve done an excellent job of protecting the ball, taking it away from their opponents, and limiting costly penalties. Those trends will need to continue this weekend.

4. Running Game Must Be a Threat

While Maryland’s passing attack has been lethal through the first month of the season, their lack of success running the ball is becoming a serious concern. Most of the blame can likely be placed on the team’s offensive line, who are struggling to open holes particularly in the first halves of games. With such a good passing game, the rushing attack doesn’t need to be quite as dynamic but it has to give opposing defenses something to worry about. Last weekend against Indiana, they began to have some success with more gap-scheme runs and it’ll be interesting to see whether that continues throughout the season. Additionally, we saw quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa keep the ball a handful of times on successful option reads. Some semblance of a rushing attack would do wonders to take some of the burden off of his shoulders, so it’ll be crucial for offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to find ways to run the ball better this weekend and moving forward.

5. What Constitutes Success?

For many years, it was almost expected that Maryland would be on the wrong end of a blowout in games like this. They lost to the Buckeyes by 59 points in both 2016 and 2019, 49 points in 2021, and 48 points in 2017. This game feels different, as it seems like Maryland finally has the talent to remain competitive. While no one is predicting an upset victory, if the Terrapins can take this game down to the wire as they did last season, it would likely give them a boost of confidence as they play through the rest of their schedule. Conversely, if they find themselves getting blown out, it’ll likely raise concerns about how large the talent gap still is in Locksley’s fifth season as the team’s head coach.