Joel Klatt calls out Ohio State after slow start vs. Maryland

Ohio State has not gotten off to the start that it wanted to against Maryland. The Buckeyes are down 10-7 early in the second quarter and have struggled on both sides of the ball.

Fox Sports analyst Joel Klatt called out Ohio State after its rough showing following the bye week.

Ryan Day was hopeful that his Buckeyes would carry over momentum from their win over Notre Dame, but that hasn’t been the case.

“There was a team that came into today’s ballgame that was ready to play and ready to execute. And another team that wasn’t,” Joel Klatt said during the broadcast on Fox. “After an idle week, Ohio State played a terrible quarter of football. Mike Locksley had his team ready to go and ready to execute. They’ve got a veteran quarterback, knows where to go with the football, quick decisions and accurate. … This Buckeyes team is absolutely sleepwalking.”

The Ohio State defense did finally come up with a big play during the second quarter.

Buckeyes safety Josh Proctor picked off Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa and returned it 24 yards for a touchdown to trim a 10-point deficit to 3. Ohio State was eventually able to tie the game at 10-10 before the half.

Ryan Day was hopeful Kyle McCord would play with confidence

Day felt like Kyle McCord was ready to take a big step forward against Maryland. Day felt like the win over Notre Dame would give McCord confidence and said as much on the Big Noon Kickoff show during pregame.

“He’s gotta take the next step. Two weeks ago was two weeks ago. That was like five years ago in our mind,” Day said. “We’ve gotta go play against Maryland today here at Noon. He’s got to take the next step as a player. Play well on first and second down. Play well on third down. Finish off drives in the red-zone — a big emphasis for us here.”

Kyle McCord had passed for 1,055 yards and six touchdowns on the season entering the matchup with Maryland. The junior had been solid but not exceptional as Ohio State got off to a 4-0 start.

In the win at Notre Dame, McCord passed for 240 yards. He didn’t throw a touchdown pass, but he also didn’t throw a pick. Day was hopeful that performance would give him confidence moving forward, but he has been up-and-down against Maryland so far.

“We’ve just got to continue to grow and build,” Day said. “But we’re counting on confidence coming off the last game to build and for our whole offense to become as dominant as we expect it to be.”