Ohio State football: Maryland a good midseason test

Ohio State takes on Maryland at a good point in their schedule. It’s right in the middle and gives them a decent test before a much tougher opponent.

Having only an eight-game regular-season schedule doesn’t leave many opportunities for Ohio State to be tested in a conference they have dominated. They have breezed through their first three games without the threat of losing at any point during any of those contests.

While that should still be the case on Saturday when they take on Maryland, the Terrapins at least give the Buckeyes some sort of challenge they need to prepare for. Their offense is the best one the Buckeyes have faced all season long. It’s a good test in the middle of the season.

This test also comes right before the toughest opponent on Ohio State’s schedule, which would be Indiana. Maryland will make sure that the Buckeyes are sharp heading into that game. Ryan Day wasn’t happy with the team’s effort in the second half last week. He won’t let it happen again Saturday.

Ohio State’s offense shouldn’t have problems moving the ball at all or scoring points. What they do need to keep doing is trying to run the ball effectively. They regressed last week after running it better against Penn State. This is something they are going to need to do against elite teams to win.

This game is especially big for Master Teague. He declared himself fully healthy. Now he needs to show it on a consistent basis. If he can have 100+ rushing yards every game the rest of the way, that would be big for Ohio State.

This is a game that shouldn’t be hard to win for the Scarlet and Gray, but a game that needs to be taken seriously nonetheless.