The Buckeyes answered their run-defense questions, watched Julian Sayin grow up in Kinnick Stadium and let Jeremiah Smith rewrite the record book again. A 31–14 win at Iowa was meaningful progress, but Maryland will test whether Ohio State can carry that focus into a very different kind of Saturday.

There are wins that look better on the schedule than they felt in the moment, and there are wins that become more impressive the longer you sit with them. Ohio State’s 31–14 victory at No. 14 Iowa belongs in the second category.

It was not flawless. Julian Sayin was sacked four times. The Buckeyes scored on four of six red-zone trips, missed a field goal and committed nine penalties. Iowa twice forced Ohio State to play through the kind of field-position, protection and patience game that has made Kinnick Stadium uncomfortable for much older quarterbacks.

But Ohio State never lost control. The Buckeyes outgained the Hawkeyes 484–238, held the ball for 38:02, limited Iowa to 39 rushing yards and scored in every quarter. They turned a 10–6 game into a 31–6 lead before Iowa found the end zone against a defense that had already done its work. After allowing Illinois to pile up 462 yards a week earlier, this was not merely a better final score. It was a better performance in the exact areas that had become concerns.

Here are six Monday Musings as No. 5 Ohio State returns home for Maryland.

1. This Was the Road Win Ohio State Needed

The lasting image from Ohio State’s first road trip was a 20-point fourth-quarter lead disappearing at Texas. The Buckeyes were good enough to control most of that game, but not mature enough to finish it. Kinnick offered a different version of the same challenge: a ranked opponent, a loud crowd, a game that remained within one possession deep into the second quarter and a defense designed to make impatience expensive.

This time, Ohio State stayed composed. Sayin’s 12-yard touchdown pass to Jeremiah Smith with 12 seconds left in the first half stretched the lead to 17–6. The Buckeyes then came out of halftime, weathered two empty possessions and struck on a 57-yard Sayin-to-Smith touchdown. Early in the fourth quarter, they produced the drive that mattered most: 70 yards in 10 plays, 5:05 off the clock and a seven-yard Ja’Kobi Jackson touchdown that made it 31–6.

That drive was the clearest sign of growth. Against Texas, Ohio State could not find the possession that would settle the game. Against Iowa, it finished one. The Buckeyes converted 8 of 15 third downs, ran 74 plays to Iowa’s 53 and made the Hawkeyes chase the game rather than inviting them back into it. Ohio State’s official game book shows the sort of control that does not always fit into a highlight reel but tends to travel in November.

One afternoon does not erase Austin. It does show that Ohio State learned from it.

2. Julian Sayin Looked Like a Quarterback Who Understood the Assignment

Sayin completed 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions. Those numbers are excellent anywhere. They mean more against a ranked Iowa team at Kinnick, where the safest throw is not always the most obvious one and one reckless decision can hand the entire afternoon to the home team.

The most encouraging part was not simply that Sayin made explosive throws. It was that he remained aggressive without becoming careless. He found Devin McCuin for the opening touchdown, trusted Smith in a compressed red-zone window before halftime and hit the 57-yard shot when Iowa finally gave Ohio State the look it wanted. When the Buckeyes were forced to play the long game, Sayin also helped them convert eight third downs and build four scoring drives of at least 50 yards.

That is genuine improvement from Texas, when Sayin completed only five of 16 passes in the second half and threw the interception that ended Ohio State’s final chance. At Iowa, the crowd and the defense never sped him into the defining mistake.

The four sacks are the important qualifier. Sayin lost 29 yards on those plays, and Iowa’s pressure helped drag the team rushing average down to 3.4 yards per attempt. Some of that belongs to the offensive line, which played without Phillip Daniels. Some of it belongs to a quarterback learning when the play is over. Arthur Smith will not want Saturday’s clean passing line to hide those negative snaps, because better offenses than Iowa will turn them into short fields and points.

Still, if the question was whether Sayin could manage a ranked Big Ten road game without shrinking the offense, he answered it. He did more than manage it. He was one of the primary reasons Ohio State won by 17.

3. Jeremiah Smith Is Making History Faster Than We Can Process It

At some point, we are going to run out of ways to make Jeremiah Smith’s numbers sound normal. He caught 11 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns at Iowa, one week after producing 217 yards and four scores against Illinois. In two Big Ten games, that is 23 catches, 423 yards and six touchdowns.

Saturday’s performance moved Smith into territory that once seemed years away. His two touchdown catches gave him 35 for his career, breaking Chris Olave’s Ohio State record. His 11 receptions moved him past Emeka Egbuka and K.J. Hill into first place in program history with 207 career catches. His 15th 100-yard game tied Marvin Harrison Jr.’s school record. Ohio State’s official postgame notes also put him within four touchdown catches of Braylon Edwards’ Big Ten career record of 39.

This is not empty accumulation. Smith is doing it while every defensive meeting begins with his name. Iowa knew where the ball wanted to go and still gave up touchdown catches of 12 and 57 yards. Sayin’s trust in Smith is not a bad habit; when the best player in the country keeps winning, the ball should keep finding him.

The caution is about what happens when an opponent finally makes that connection less efficient. Smith and McCuin accounted for 15 of Ohio State’s 20 completions and 286 of its 324 passing yards. McCuin’s four catches for 80 yards and a touchdown were valuable proof that the passing game has a second vertical answer, but Brandon Inniss, the tight ends and the backs combined for only 38 receiving yards.

Ohio State does not need to manufacture touches to satisfy a balance sheet. It does need answers on the snaps when a defense doubles Smith, disrupts his release or forces Sayin to move past his first two reads. Maryland is an ideal week to keep building those answers without pretending Smith’s dominance is anything other than a gift.

4. The Run Game Was Better Than 3.4 Yards Per Carry Suggests—but Not Finished

The team line says 47 carries for 160 yards, an average of 3.4. That looks like another uneven rushing day until the sacks and kneel-down are separated from the work of Ohio State’s running backs. Ja’Kobi Jackson carried 14 times for 72 yards and a touchdown, while Bo Jackson added 70 yards on 16 attempts. Together they produced 142 yards on 30 carries—4.7 per attempt—against a defense that knew Ohio State wanted to stay balanced.

That is real progress. The Buckeyes found efficient runs without relying on one 60-yard breakaway to rescue the total. Ja’Kobi averaged 5.1 yards per carry, Bo averaged 4.4, and their longest run was only 16 yards. Ohio State kept moving the chains, reached 12 rushing first downs and trusted the ground game on the fourth-quarter drive that closed the door.

It is also fair to ask for more. Four sacks suggest the protection picture is not settled, and Ohio State had two red-zone possessions produce only three points. The Buckeyes were stopped on fourth down at the Iowa 37 and later missed a 38-yard field goal after reaching the 20. A championship offense has to convert more of that control into points.

Maryland just allowed Nebraska to rush for 209 yards and 5.8 yards per carry. That gives the line and backs a favorable matchup, but the goal should be more specific than padding the rushing total. Can Ohio State avoid penetration on early downs? Can it run when Maryland knows the run is coming? Can it protect Sayin without asking the passing game to absorb four sacks? Those answers will matter more than whether the final number is 180 or 220.

5. Matt Patricia’s Defense Gave Us the Response We Asked For

After Illinois rushed for 199 yards and averaged six yards per carry, there was no honest way to talk about Ohio State’s defense without putting the front under the microscope. Iowa entered Saturday with an offense built to test patience and gap discipline. The Buckeyes responded by holding the Hawkeyes to 39 rushing yards on 21 attempts and 238 total yards.

That was not opponent-adjusted praise. It was a correction.

Payton Pierce led Ohio State with six tackles. Qua Russaw recorded 1.5 tackles for loss and a sack. Kenyatta Jackson Jr. produced a strip-sack that Christian Alliegro recovered, Jaylen McClain intercepted Hank Brown, and a returning Zion Grady contributed four tackles. Iowa’s running backs never found rhythm, and the Hawkeyes did not score a touchdown until Ohio State had built a 31–6 fourth-quarter lead.

The defense also finished the game with the offense. Iowa had only 21:58 of possession and 53 snaps, which kept Patricia’s group from being exposed to the repeated late-game stress that helped Texas rally. That is complementary football, and it is the version Ohio State needs to reproduce.

Maryland presents a different problem. The Terrapins are 2–3 and have lost three straight, but their opening quarter at Nebraska should prevent any casual assumptions. Malik Washington threw for 177 yards in the first quarter, Chris Durr Jr. had 135 receiving yards in that period alone, and Maryland led 16–7 after 15 minutes. Durr finished with seven catches for 149 yards and a touchdown, giving him 42 receptions through five games. The Terps then unraveled—one of Washington’s two interceptions became an 81-yard Nebraska touchdown, Maryland converted only 1 of 14 third downs and it was shut out after halftime in a 48–23 loss. Maryland’s official recap captures both sides of the threat.

Ohio State cannot defend Maryland as if it were Iowa. The test shifts from fitting a physical run game to handling tempo, formation stress and a receiver who has caught at least six passes in every game. The Iowa performance earned confidence. It did not earn permission to start slowly.

6. Ohio State’s Playoff Position Is Healthy, but the Big Ten Race Demands Urgency

Ohio State remains No. 5 in the AP poll at 4–1 overall and 2–0 in the Big Ten. Iowa fell only to No. 20, so the victory should remain a useful line on the résumé. Texas remains No. 1, which continues to frame Ohio State’s one-point road loss as painful rather than disqualifying. The October 4 AP poll also has Indiana at No. 7 and Oregon at No. 13, reminders that the conference path will supply Ohio State with more opportunities—and very little room for another avoidable defeat.

The Buckeyes do not need style points against Maryland. They need professional ones. Win early downs. Protect the football. Make the Terps sustain drives instead of surrendering the explosive plays that powered their first quarter at Nebraska. Get the offensive line healthier and deeper. Continue developing the passing game beyond Smith without taking touches away from the best player on the field.

That may sound less exciting than chasing 60 on Homecoming, but Ohio State’s larger goal is not to impress in Week 6. It is to arrive at the defining stretch of the Big Ten schedule with an identity that holds up anywhere. Kinnick suggested the Buckeyes are finding it: patient offense, two productive backs, a quarterback who can punish single coverage and a defense that controls the line of scrimmage.

Now they have to prove that formula travels from a ranked road game to a home matchup they are expected to dominate.

What I’ll Be Watching

The first 15 minutes. Maryland scored 16 first-quarter points and generated 207 yards in the opening period at Nebraska. Ohio State should expect tempo and aggression from the first snap, particularly shots to Durr. A focused start would keep an overmatched opponent from believing.

Protection more than passing yards. Sayin has consecutive 300-yard Big Ten games, but the four sacks at Iowa are the detail worth carrying forward. A clean pocket against Maryland would be a more meaningful sign than another inflated yardage total.

Who wins when Smith draws two defenders. McCuin has established himself as a legitimate second threat. This is a good week to see whether Inniss, Nate Roberts and the tight ends can turn defensive attention into routine first downs.

Run-game efficiency in the red zone. Ohio State moved the ball well at Iowa but left points on the field. Against a Maryland defense that allowed five touchdowns on five Nebraska red-zone possessions, the Buckeyes should finish drives with touchdowns.

The availability report. Grady’s return mattered at Iowa, while Daniels, Anthony “Turbo” Rogers, Braxton Rembert, Amari Valerio-Hudson, Jaxon Powell and Vasean Washington were ruled out and Jay Timmons was a game-time decision. The Maryland-week report had not yet been issued when this was published, so Daniels’ status and the cornerback rotation will be worth monitoring later in the week.

Early Prediction

Maryland has enough first-quarter passing talent to make Ohio State uncomfortable if the Buckeyes are casual. Washington and Durr can create explosives, and DeJuan Williams returned to rush for 78 yards on 10 carries at Nebraska. But the larger body of evidence is difficult to ignore: the Terrapins have lost three straight, were outscored 25–0 after halftime Saturday, converted 1 of 14 third downs and allowed Nebraska to score 34 unanswered points.

Ohio State should control both lines, and Maryland’s defense has not shown it can survive four quarters against an offense with this many answers. The Terps may land an early punch. The Buckeyes should respond with several more.

Prediction: Ohio State 42, Maryland 17

Game Information

● Matchup: Maryland (2–3, 0–2 Big Ten) at No. 5 Ohio State (4–1, 2–0 Big Ten)

● Date: Saturday, Oct. 10, 2026

● Kickoff: 4:15 p.m. ET

● Location: Ohio Stadium, Columbus, Ohio

● Television: Big Ten Network

● Occasion: Ohio State Homecoming

● Series: Ohio State leads 9–0 and is 5–0 against Maryland in Columbus

Ohio State has scored at least 37 points in all nine meetings with Maryland. The most recent matchup was a 37–17 Buckeye win in Columbus in 2023. Official game information.

The Bottom Line

Last week’s Monday Musings prediction called for a 27–17 Ohio State win. The Buckeyes were a little better on offense and a little stronger on defense, winning 31–14. More important than the four-point difference was how they did it. They ran effectively without an explosive rushing touchdown, protected the ball, converted third downs, smothered Iowa’s ground game and produced the fourth-quarter scoring drive they could not find at Texas.

The warning signs did not disappear. Sayin took four sacks. Smith remains responsible for an enormous share of the passing game. The offense left points in the red zone. But for the first time this season, Ohio State put its passing ceiling, run-game patience, defensive physicality and late-game control together against a ranked opponent.

That makes Maryland week less about proving the Buckeyes are capable of playing well and more about proving they can make good habits ordinary. Championship teams do not save their focus for ranked opponents. They turn progress into a standard.

Photo Credit: Adam Cairns/The Columbus Dispatch