Ohio State Football: Taking apart the Maryland Terrapins

The Ohio State football team holds the No. 1 spot in the first CFP rankings but needs to keep focus against a Maryland team that can put up some points.

In last year’s matchup with the Maryland Terrapins (3-6, 1-5 Big Ten), the Ohio State football rush defense was putrid, allowing Anthony McFarland Jr. to bulldoze and speed his way for 298 yards and 2 touchdowns on 21 carries.

This year, the Silver Bullets have been sensational as a whole defensively, but particularly against the run. Led by Chase Young, Malik Harrison and the rest of the front seven the Buckeyes have held opponents to only 91.5 rushing yards per game.

McFarland will have his hands full, but it’s unlikely he’ll be getting all the carries. He has rushed for 438 yards and 7 touchdowns, a far cry from last season’s 1,034. He has also been splitting carries mainly with Javon Leake (581 yards and 7 TDs on 75 carries) and Tayon Fleet-Davis (221 yards and 1 TD on 55 carries).

After exploding for 79 points against Howard and 63 against Syracuse, the Terps have scored 28 points or less in every game except for their 48-7 win over Rutgers. In fact, they scored 17 points combined against Penn State, Minnesota and Michigan.

It has been a revolving door at quarterback for Maryland, switching back-and-forth between Virginia Tech transfer Josh Jackson (79/159, 1,065 yards, 10 TDs, and 5 INTs) and Tyrell Pigrome (61/102, 642 yards, 3 TDs and 5 INTs).

The inconsistent play at quarterback (a combined 13-10 touchdown-interception ratio) hasn’t been helped much by the receivers, of whom the only standout is Dontay Demus Jr.

Demus Jr. has caught 32 passes for 491 yards and 4 touchdowns. Everyone else has less than 200 yards receiving.

On defense, the Terps have allowed 30 points per game, about middle of the pack in the FBS, and have allowed an average of 40.5 in their six losses. In terms of yards allowed, the Terps also rank in the middle of the FBS, allowing 413.8 yards per game.

Four of the team’s top five tacklers are linebackers. Sophomore linebacker Ayinde Eley (65 tackles, 0.5 sack and 1 interception) will be the player to watch for Justin Fields and J.K. Dobbins to blow open the Maryland defense.

As a whole, there isn’t much else to say about the Terps as they have simply been average on defense through most of the season. However, some holes that perhaps weren’t there early in the season have developed, as they have given up 40, 34, 52 and 38 points in their last four games.

A dangerous trend heading into a matchup with the highest scoring offense in the Big Ten. If the Buckeyes simply take care of business at home on Saturday, this game likely won’t be within 30 points after halftime.