In its Big Ten opener, Ohio State went on the road and overwhelmed Maryland in a 52-24 blowout win. While racking up 533 yards of total offense, the Ohio State defense forced four Terps turnovers and looked like a different team than the one that lost to Virginia Tech at home in early September.
The Buckeyes offense was rolling from the start with redshirt freshman quarterback J.T. Barrett showing renewed confidence and total command of head coach Urban Meyer’s offense.
Barrett threw for 267 yards and four touchdowns on 18-of-23 throwing and running back Ezekiel Elliott continued to assert himself as the Buckeyes’ top ball-carrying option. The 225-pound sophomore built off last weekend’s career high 182 yards against Cincinnati with 139 more yards on 5.8 yards per carry. To add to the team’s 269 rushing yards, Barrett racked up 71 yards and a score on the ground to bolster his big day.
The Buckeyes dominated the Terps on both sides of the line of scrimmage. While the running game picked up big chunks of yards seemingly at will, OSU’s ferocious pass rush got to Maryland senior quarterback C.J. Brown early and often.
When it looked like Maryland had a chance to get back into the game late in the first half, coach Randy Edsall did his team no favors. The Terps put together a touchdown drive and stopped OSU in back-to-back series late in the second quarter, but Buckeyes punter Cameron Johnston pinned the Terps at their own 7-yard line with a 69-yard punt.
Instead of running the first half clock out with a bit of momentum before regaining possession to open the third quarter, Edsall and offensive coordinator Mike Locksley dialed up a pass play. Brown, who was later benched, felt the heat from OSU defensive end Joey Bosa and Brown threw an interception. One play later the Buckeyes’ lead ballooned to 31-10 on a Barrett touchdown pass.
The Terps, in what was their home Big Ten debut with a sellout crowd, didn’t have a chance from there on out.
With the Virginia Tech loss in the rearview mirror, the 4-1 Buckeyes are starting to look like the team that was ranked fifth in the preseason Associated Press poll. Things are starting to fall into place. The young offensive line is gelling, the defense is swarming to the ball, and young playmakers on offense are making plays.
That is bad news for the rest of the Big Ten.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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Sam Cooper is a contributor for the Yahoo Sports blogs. Have a tip? Email him or follow him on Twitter!
From Dr. Saturday - NCAAF - Yahoo Sports - Ohio State dominates Maryland, looks like a team to fear in Big Ten
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