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USA Today Sports Media Group
USA Today Sports Media Group
Sport
Michael Chen

5 stars: The best and worst of Ohio State’s win at home to Maryland

It wasn’t easy, but Ohio State Football shook off a sluggish start and wore down visiting Maryland, 37-17.

Not much worked for the Buckeyes in the first half, but they made some good adjustments and outscored the Terrapins 27-7 in the second half.

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Another gritty win for Ohio State, which has been its M.O. so far this season. There were plenty of Buckeyes that made big impacts on this game along with some aspects that didn’t.

Find out below which performed the best, five stars, and the worst, one stars, in Ohio State’s win at home against Maryland. It could have gone the other way if not for some of these performances, especially after how things were looking in the first half.

5 ⭐️ - Safety Josh Proctor

Why

It’s pretty easy to see why Proctor had the best game for the Buckeyes today. Big tackles in the backfield, solid coverage and a great read on his pick six. He’s reading plays so well right now, putting himself into position to make them. Proctor has been great all season and that didn’t change against Maryland.

4 ⭐️ - Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg

Why

An absolute tackling machine, Eichenberg was at it again against Maryland. Not all had big impacts, but the fact he is so sound means a lot to this defense. We’d like to see more big plays from him, but 13 tackles carried this defense.

3 ⭐️ - The offense

Why

It was nothing special, but the offense put up points when it had to. The scoreboard operator didn’t get fatigued, but it was enough. There wasn’t much that will give you confidence about this unit going forward. It has struggled against teams with pulses, 23 points scored on Indiana, 17 against Notre Dame but got it going with 30 today. The play calling wasn’t great, which didn’t help either. At times frustrating, the offense did enough to get the job done.

⭐️ - Offensive run blocking

Why

The run production has a lot to do with the play of the offensive line, and it was not very good. At this point you can’t say this group needs time to jell, it’s had enough. The inability to get to the second level really was exposed, letting the linebackers have free roam to make plays. The Maryland defense made the Buckeyes one-dimensional, which really hurt their ability to move the ball in key situations.

⭐️ - Slow start

Why

Sloppy offense, specifically the line play and wide receivers, and a defense that was getting gashed in the run game. You have to be able to stop one or the other on defense, but the Buckeyes weren’t really stopping much of the passing game as well. While Maryland put up just 10 points, Ohio State wasn’t forcing many quick drives. You can understand this lasting a quarter, but it was the whole first half. That’s on Ryan Day for not having his team prepared, but it’s hard to argue with the result at the end of the day.

Contact/Follow @BuckeyesWire on X (formerly Twitter), and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Ohio State news, notes, and opinion. Follow Michael Chen on X.

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