Ohio State game plan for victory
Saturday marked two games in a row that the Buckeyes looked like the team that was advertised as a pre-season College Football Playoff contender. We get it, Akron and Rutgers aren’t necessarily perennial powers, but Ohio State did exactly what they were supposed to do against teams of that nature… dominate.
As Maryland prepares to come to town, it seems like the Bucks are starting to hit their stride. And that should have the rest of the Big Ten trembling. The Terrapins got a dose of reality when Iowa came to College Park and thoroughly embarrassed the home team.
The Terps now come to Columbus to see if they can right the ship. Maryland’s offense begins with their all-star quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. Before the Hawkeye defense rudely dismissed him, Tagovailoa was starting to get some Heisman talk. But five interceptions in one game will quiet that talk real fast.
Even with some of the luster gone, Ohio State will need to account for the Terrapin passing game. Tagovailoa has two NFL caliber receivers in Rakim Jarret and Dontay Demus Jr. The Buckeye defense will need to keep pressure in the backfield to keep the Maryland air attack in check.
Offensively, C.J. Stroud looked like a totally different quarterback after resting a sore shoulder against Akron. Stroud missed on only six attempts against Rutgers and threw for 330 yards and five touchdowns. That adds up to good news after Maryland’s defense gave up 259 yards and three touchdowns to Iowa’s Spencer Petras.
TreVeyon Henderson opens up the passing game, but all signs point to Stroud having another huge game against a week Maryland pass defense.