Recap: #5 Ohio State (8-1, 5-1) vs Maryland (5-4, 2-4)

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Today’s game against the Maryland Terrapins would feature a new alternate uniform created by Under Armor dubbed Red Ops.  Seeing that they are the home team and knowing that Ohio State usually wears white during away games, good on them for trying to at least intimidate the Buckeyes and to impress the recruits that are either guests or that are watching from the stands.

imgres-3 The game started fast for Ohio State as they took the ball 71-yards on 7 plays to the end zone.  J.T. Barrett and his offensive weapons found ways to convert over and over again.  He hit his receivers constantly hit them for huge chunks of yards.  He hit Noah Brown for 22-yards and Marcus Baugh for 11.  Throw in some tough running yardage from both Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel and by the end of the drive Samuel capped it off with a 2-yard touchdown run.  On Ohio State’s second offensive possession, J.T. Barrett finished a 4 play drive and raced for 56 total yards to score on another short run into the end zone.  Mike Weber and Curtis Samuel also continued their dominance on the ground as he broke off a huge run for 28-yards and Samuel broke a 16-yard scamper.  The third possession ended in another punt and Maryland did score, but they only managed to get a field goal.  On the fourth possession, it was the Samuel show.  He was the focus and the playmaker that Barrett searched for and he finished a 4 play, 68-yard drive with a 36-yard reception courtesy of J.T. Barrett to secure a 21-3 lead as the first quarter ended.  Also of note, The Slobs gave up a sack in the first quarter, but the Silver Bullets had one as well.  So far so good, but I hate seeing Barrett go down, but the improvement is there.

img_3770In the second quarter, it became the J.T. Barrett show as he took the Buckeye Offense for 63-yards on 8 plays to cap off another short touchdown score to increase the lead to 28-3. He balanced the output on this drive as he used a mixture of his young playmakers to move the offense.  He leaned on a dose of Weber, Baugh and even K.J. Hill who all chipped in to move the ball.  Barrett also helped as he converted a third down on a 16-yard rush.  Tyquan Lewis opened up the second with Ohio State’s second sack of the game as he got to Caleb Rowe prior to stopping Maryland dead in their tracks as The Silver Bullets shut down a 4th and 1 on their own 39-yard line as they turned over the ball on downs on their first offensive possession of the second quarter.  The Buckeyes then proceeded to do the same on a short 4 play, 9-yard drive that was also turned away on downs, but this time at the Maryland 30-yard line.

img_3603This game displayed stop, after stop, after stop.  Once again, Marshon Lattimore intercepted another pass, bolstering the Scarlet Curtain’s interception tally and giving Barrett another possession to redeem himself after being stopped on 4th down on their previous drive.  Weber started pounding the rock gaining 2, 6 and then 23-yards on three straight runs.  After a false start penalty, J.T. Barrett hit Samuel through the air and Samuel finished the drive off with another 5-yards run for another short rushing touchdown, pushing the lead to 35-3.  Jerome Baker stopped another Maryland possession on a sack that saw him untouched, increasing Ohio State’s sack total to 3 prior to the half.  The Buckeye Offense has been on a tear as of late and after they received the punt, Weber took the ball 11-yards on 1st down, Barrett then hit Parris Campbell for 13-yards and Dontre Wilson for 33-yards and then 8-yards for another easy touchdown through the air.  Raekwon McMillan is an animal as he tracked down the Maryland Running Back and sent him to oblivion as he forced a fumble on 1st down.  Jalyn Holmes picked the ball up securing the Buckeye Defenses second takeaway of the game.  Unfortunately, the Buckeyes had an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and they were backed up, but Tyler Durbin kicked his longest field goal of the season of45-yards for their last score of the half pushing the lead to 45-3.  The defense is also doing their part and during the first half, they held Maryland to 0-7 on third down conversion attempts, which helps build up their confidence.

images-7On Maryland’s first offensive possession of the game, they used their third different Quarterback to get some playing time and to change it up a bit but had success with the balance to begin the half, but the Silver Bullets stopped them once again on another time on 4th and short.  On the Buckeyes first offensive play of the second half, Demario McCall took the ball 32-yards on a dump off pass.  Barrett took a couple of hits and the line needs to keep him upright, but after another Durbin field goal, the lead has swelled to 48-3.  The second possession of the game the Buckeyes drove the ball down the field to work on the passing game.  Dontre Wilson got hurt momentarily, but he walked off after he got up.  Mid-way through the third quarter, Joe Burrow was inserted into the lineup along with Demario McCall and McCall capped off the drive with another score on a 3-yard rush.  The Buckeyes got another stop on 4th down after surrendering another.  This time they stopped it with a sack courtesy of true freshman Malik Harrison.  The future is bright as the third quarter ends with the Buckeyes still on top 55-3.

imagesAfter Coach Meyer sat J.T. Barrett prior to the third quarter ending, Joe Burrow took the reigns and he shows a ton of potential.  He has the ability to do both things to keep the future bright at the Quarterback position.  Burrow logged his first touchdown pass with a 25-yard touchdown strike to true freshman Binjimen Victor, who nearly had his first of the season last week against Nebraska.  This time he broke free and reeled in a 25-yard pass from Burrow for his first score of this year.  The 4th opened up a lot of opportunities for the younger players.  True Freshman Keandre Jones and Jonathan Cooper have made some plays so far in the last stanza of the game.  Jones is flying around with Booker’s old number, 33 and Cooper just logged his first sack of his career.  The defense did their job as well as they held Maryland to 45-yards rushing and 133-yards through the air for a grand total of 176 total yards.  The Buckeyes will now journey to East Lansing for a clash with one of the teams from up north, but until then enjoy the 62-3 win and GO BUCKS!

 

Comments

  1. Will be interesting to see who gets the start at QB in 2 years. Burrow, Haskins, Martell and Emory Jones all fighting for it.

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