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Ohio State football: Confidence level against Maryland

By Eric Boggs

COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Head coaches Michael Locksley of the Maryland Terrapins and Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes shake hands after the game at SECU Stadium on November 19, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images)
COLLEGE PARK, MARYLAND - NOVEMBER 19: Head coaches Michael Locksley of the Maryland Terrapins and Ryan Day of the Ohio State Buckeyes shake hands after the game at SECU Stadium on November 19, 2022 in College Park, Maryland. (Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images) /
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Ryan Day has done a better job with play-calling as the Ohio State football team’s season has gone along. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images)
Ryan Day has done a better job with play-calling as the Ohio State football team’s season has gone along. (Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images) /

Coaching Staff – Confidence Level 9

Mike Locksley and the Maryland Terrapins are on a seven-game win streak if you count the final two games of last season. Despite that winning streak, Locksley’s overall record at Maryland remains below .500 at 26-28. However, in the past three seasons, including 2023, Locksley and the Terrapins are 20-11. Locksley’s record against Ryan Day and the Buckeyes is 0-3.

Locksley added offensive coordinator Josh Gattis to his staff during the offseason. Ohio State football fans are familiar with Gattis thanks to his time as Michigan’s offensive coordinator from 2019-2021. Gattis’ final game as OC against Ohio State was a successful one, winning 42-27. After a one-season stop in Miami, Gattis landed in Maryland and back in the Big Ten Conference. Maryland has scored 31 or more points in every game this season under Gattis’ leadership.

Defensively, Brian Williams enters year number two as the Terrapins Defensive Coordinator. Williams has been on Locksley’s coaching staff since 2019 and has worked his way up to the DC position. So far this season, Maryland has held opponents to 20 points or less per contest.

The last time we saw Ryan Day on national television, he was yelling into a television camera about how he couldn’t believe former legendary Notre Dame football coach Lou Holtz was calling the Buckeyes a soft team. Ryan Day has calmed down since then and appeared to be his focused self heading into another game week.

I believe Day is slowly opening more of the playbook as he gains confidence in first-year starting quarterback Kyle McCord. I also believe that Jim Knowles has a good grasp of the defense and how to place the pieces he has on that side of the ball into winning positions. Ohio State is only one of two teams in the Big Ten that has yet to give up a play of 40 yards or more. The other team is Rutgers.

I like Ohio State’s coaches in this matchup and give them a confidence level score of nine.

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