Ohio State vs. Maryland 2020 Football Preview And Prediction

Ohio State travels to Maryland this week to take on a team that’s getting its act together. Here’s your preview and prediction for the game.

Ohio State game plan for victory

All things considered, Ohio State has looked really good, on both sides of the ball. But we all know that the Buckeyes haven’t yet played their best game. Of course, Justin Fields has played nearly flawless to this point in the season as well as the receivers, but the running game still seems sub-par.

Fields makes up for a lot where others are lacking, but the run game must get in gear. As the Buckeyes march toward a Big Ten championship and hopefully more, the run game has to take some of the pressure off of the OSU quarterback. No better time than the present.

Defensively, Ohio State will face the most talented quarterback they’ve seen this year in Taulia Tagovailoa. The younger brother of Alabama legend and current Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, also chose Alabama to play his college ball. However, after Alabama offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley, accepted the Maryland job, the younger Tagovailoa followed the coach to College Park.

The young Buckeye secondary will be challenged to keep Tagovailoa in check. After a rough start to the season, Tagovailoa has come alive. In an overtime victory over Minnesota, the Terrapin quarterback threw for 394 yards and 3 touchdowns and followed that with a 282 yard 3 touchdown performance at Penn State. The bottom line is the young man can sling it and a secondary that is already thin may be tested.

Next … The key players for Ohio State

Two Key Players For Ohio State

Justin Fields – Quarterback. The OSU offense begins and ends with quarterback, Justin Fields. The Buckeye QB has been all-world so far in 2020 and he’ll need to continue that trend until the running game can find more consistency. The good news is, Fields is more than capable of carrying the load.

Shaun Wade – Cornerback: Shaun Wade came back to Ohio State and had big things in mind… win a Big Ten championship, win a national championship, and ride off into the sunset as an NFL first-round draft pick. However, the top Buckeye corner has been less than spectacular thus far in 2020. Wade will need to be on top of his game to slow down the Terrapin passing attack and freshman Rakim Jarrett who is coming off a 144 yard 2 touchdown game against Penn State.

Next … How it’ll all do down