Recap

The Buckeyes moved to 11-0 after a tough fought game against Maryland, a game where they were favored by 27 points as their final warm up game before Michigan next week. It was evident that Mike Locksley and the Terrapins had a different plan and kept his team fighting for all 60 minutes of the game.

The Buckeyes struck first, getting a 7-0 lead with a touchdown pass from CJ Stroud to TreVeyon Henderson, which would end up being his only touchdown pass of the night. Maryland drove down the field on their next two drives, but the Buckeye defense held them to 2 field goals. In the second quarter, the Terrapins had a 14 play drive and took the lead 13-10 going into halftime. 

The second half, Henderson was replaced by Dallan Hayden, and the freshman gave the Buckeyes a much needed push in the run game. Lathon Ransom blocked his second punt in 2 weeks, and with a starting position at the Maryland 15 yard line, Hayden punched it in for his first touchdown of the game.  Maryland kept fighting, and even blocked a Buckeye extra point attempt and took it all the way back to cut the lead to 10 points, and then scored once more to make it 33-30 Buckeyes. After  made field goal, and an impressive play by Zach Harrison to close the game, the Buckeyes scored with their defense and won 43-30.

CJ Stroud threw for 18 of 30 completions for 241 yards and a touchdown. He tried to make some plays with his legs, but finished with -6 yards on 4 attempts. 

Dallan Hayden lead all rushers with 27 carries for 147 yards and 3 touchdowns, all in the second half. He also had 2 catches for 10 yards. TreVeyon Henderson rushed for 19 yards on 11 carried, and caught 1 catch for 31 yards for a touchdown. 

Emeka Egbuka led the receiver room with 6b catches for 82 yards. Marvin Harrison Jr was second on the team with 5 catches for 68 yards. Julian Fleming and Cade Stover both had 2 catches for 50 yards combined. 

Turning Point

Give credit to Matyland for fighting throughout the whole game. It looked like the Buckeyes were finally putting the game away after scoring 17 answered points, and extending their lead to 27-13.  After much resiliancy, and big plays by Taulia, the Terrapins were down 36-30 with under a minute left to play in the game. Zach Harrison took over from that point getting a sack on the first down play, and then on second down he caused the fumble which Steele Chambers caught and scored a touchdown to give the Buckeyes the 43-30 win. 

Star of the Game

Dallan Hayden. At the beginning of the season, the loss of Evan Pryor due to injury didnt seem like a big deal, as both TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams both were solid running backs, that we didn’t expect the 3 deep to matter. Now, 11 games into the season, both TreVeyon and Miyan have been banged up, and missed multiple games, and Dallan Hayden has needed to step up, and this was one where he took over. The Buckeyes only had 28 rushing yards going into halftime, and the running back did not play a down. He then started the second half, and scored 3 touchdowns on 27 carries for 146 yards. Talk about a difference maker. 

Playoff Picture

It was an ugly week for the top 4 teams, with the Buckeyes winning by the largest margin of the four thanks to the defensive fumble recovery for a touchdown which was forced by Zach Harrison, and recovered by Steele Chambers. The name of the game is to win, and even though it was not pretty, the Buckeyes did what they needed to do, and know that this next game is the one that matters. Throw away style points, ignore records, this one is a 1 game season, and a win will get them in to the Big Ten Championship game, with a strong chance to make the College Football Playoff. 

Looking Ahead

Ohio State (11-0) will head back home, and host Michigan (11-0) for The Game. It will be the location for both Big Noon Kickoff, who is covering the game at 12pm on FOX, and ESPN’s College Gameday announced it would be on location for this one as well. 

Maryland (6-5) will host Rutgers (4-7) for their home finale at 12pm on BTN.

Photo Credit:  MLive.com