Either Ohio State or Maryland will have a fuming fanbase this Saturday when the Buckeyes host the Terps at the "Shoe."
There's no outcome where both fan bases come away from Columbus feeling like it was a "win-win." Someone is going to lose. Big.
The potential losses may be more drastic on Maryland's side, but Ohio State is still working with a fanbase feeling sticker shock and anxiety from what happened in Texas on September 12.
The sky will be falling for one of these teams in a few days.
Maryland may not have more capacity for Mike Locksley
Terrapins head coach Mike Locksley is on the hottest coaching seat in the country after Maryland's 54-3 loss to UCLA at home and subsequent 48-23 loss to Nebraska in Lincoln.
Another massive loss could be it for Locksley. It's not a stretch at all to say Locksley's job is on the line against the Buckeyes this weekend. Locksley is 17-49 against the Big Ten since taking over. His team hasn't won a Big Ten matchup since September 2025. The team they beat, Wisconsin, is 4-1 and already on the mend.
Locksley's explanation for his team blowing a 23-14 lead to the Cornhuskers didn't exactly inspire confidence that the head coach can fix what's broken for the Terps.
If, somehow, his team could even keep this game close?
All hell will break loose among the Scarlet and Gray faithful.
Ohio State needs to make a statement against Maryland
It seemed almost impossible for the Buckeyes to satisfy the fanbase against Ball State and Kent State. No beatdown would've sufficed, barring records being broken. Ohio State still dished out some serious punishment against their MAC guests.
The Buckeyes did themselves no favors against Illinois with the lack of run defense shown against the Fighting Illini. Ohio State had a much better outing against Iowa in Week 5, though it had special teams woes, penalty issues, and a bit of a pass-protection problem.
Ryan Day's ongoing and ambiguous public spat with Legend Bey has only added to the worry.
Day will become a very unpopular man if this game is anything short of a spread cover. That's hovering around five touchdowns right now. No pressure.
With the way Jeremiah Smith has played, it's unlikely that Arthur Smith and Day don't have another JJ-focused game plan to exploit a weak Maryland secondary. The Terps are acceptable against the run, though not so much against Big Ten running backs.
Day acknowledges the expectations in his role and almost certainly understands that a very deep hole was dug in Austin when his team blew a 20-point lead to the Longhorns. Games like Maryland are beyond must-win, bordering now on must-dominate.
Luckily, there's no surer thing in college football than an overmatched, modest spender that is on its last leg with its head coach. Freaky things happen, but the discrepancy in the level of talent on the field for both sides this Saturday is going to be severe.
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