Heading into their matchup with Maryland, the Ohio State Buckeyes wanted to get in and out with a win and avoid injuries. While there were a few bumps and bruises, they were mainly clean. The Buckeyes smashed the Terrapins 45-16 in a game that was never close.
However, this was far from a clean game. Julian Sayin turned it over twice, including throwing a horrible pick-six. Penalties were a big story in this game, as well. Ryan Day was not happy with the penalties, and he made sure to address that fact after the win.
Ryan Day says Ohio State committed too many penalties
Day was not pleased with the number of penalties that the team committed in the game. He mentioned that the team needed to clean up the penalties during the halftime interview, and he was also mad at Sayin for his first-half turnover.
"Julian has to have two hands on that ball."
Day was also furious at Beau Atkinson for committing two personal foul penalties in this game. For someone who is a senior, that is unacceptable. He should know better than that, and he might not see much action next weekend against Indiana. Penalties like that against a good team will kill the Buckeyes.
"When we have eight penalties like that, that's not the sign of a good team.
In all, Ohio State committed eight penalties for 65 yards. Seven of those were committed in the first half. The only one they had in the second half was the late hit by Atkinson on the final punt return of the game from Maryland. That's still too many penalties for one game.
This is something that Day will certainly address at practice this week. Indiana may have struggled with Nebraska, but they are still a really good team. Ohio State has to play a cleaner game to win on the road against the defending national champs, even if this is a different team than last year.
Jeremiah Smith was great once again for Ohio State
Despite the issues that Ohio State had, Jeremiah Smith was just as great as always. His first two catches of the game resulted in touchdown catches. His third catch was one of the best catches he's ever had, grabbing the ball one-handed from behind his back.
By the time he was pulled, Smith finished the game with four catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns. He wasn't targeted as much in this game, which is the fewest catches he's had all season. It was a bit surprising to see him not get targeted more.
Ohio State will certainly target Smith more next week. They didn't need to give him the ball as much in this game because of the talent disparity. However, expect to see Smith get a healthy number of balls thrown his way against the Hoosiers. They are going to need to.
Ohio State didn't play the cleanest game of the season, and it clearly frustrated Day. However, he will make sure those issues get cleaned up, and I would expect many fewer penalties in Bloomington than there were against the Terps.
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