Staff Picks: Predicting Buckeyes to roll past Maryland
COLUMBUS — Ohio State brings down the hammer when it plays Maryland. The teams have met seven times since the Terrapins moved from the ACC to the Big Ten, and, in four of those games, the Buckeyes eclipsed the 60-point mark. What’s more, in two matchups against Maryland under head coach Ryan Day, the Buckeyes have averaged 69.5 points.
No. 2 Ohio State (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten) is coming off a 56-14 victory over Indiana, during which the Buckeyes logged 662 yards of total offense. Thanks to Miyan Williams and Dallan Hayden — both of whom went over the century mark on the ground — Ohio State finished with a season-high 340 rushing yards.
The health of the Buckeyes’ running back room was a storyline this week, though. Williams left the Indiana game in the first half with an apparent right ankle injury. Reserve running back/linebacker Chip Trayanum was a late scratch, and TreVeyon Henderson missed his second straight outing with a foot injury that he’s been dealing with since the Toledo game.
Day said this week that he’d be “shocked if all three — Chip, Miyan and Tre — would not be available” against Maryland.
The Terrapins (6-4, 3-4) have taken a step in the right direction defensively this season after an abysmal 2021 campaign, in which they were second-to-last in the Big Ten with 30.7 points per game allowed. Still, Maryland’s defense is nothing to write home about. The Terrapins are 10th in both pass defense and run defense as well as opponent third down conversion percentage.
Head coach Mike Locksley’s team is more of a threat on the other side of the ball. When healthy, Taulia Tagovailoa is one of the better quarterbacks in the Big Ten. Tagovailoa is third in the conference in completion percentage (68.3%) and tied for fourth in the league in passing yards (2,152). He’s also posting a 14:6 touchdown-to-interception ratio. But he re-injured his knee against Indiana and has completed just 21-of-45 pass attempts for 151 yards, one touchdown and one interception in Maryland’s last two games — back-to-back losses where the Terps combined for just 10 points.
Maryland will need Tagovailoa and his weapons at their best Saturday to keep pace with Ohio State, as the Buckeyes still boast the second-ranked scoring offense in the FBS.
That’s the rundown. Here’s what the Lettermen Row staff thinks will happen in College Park.
Score predictions for Ohio State vs. Maryland
Spencer Holbrook: Ohio State wins 63-21
Tim May: Buckeyes win 52-17
Andy Backstrom: Buckeyes win 42-24
Matt Parker: Ohio State wins 45-17
