It’s a football Saturday in the Big Ten and Ohio State is tasked with hitting the road to take on the Maryland Terrapins. The Terps started out white hot in 2022 but have been slowed down by injuries and a taxing Big Ten season as of late.
Mike Locksley’s crew started out the season 3-0, but have dropped three of its last five and four of the last seven. The team is bowl-eligible but still struggling to find a way to make it through a physical Big Ten season annually.
The Buckeyes need to keep winning heading into the titanic clash with Michigan next week if they want to stay in prime position to make the College Football Playoff. Taking care of business for a very tricky road trip to Maryland is a must.
The oddsmakers don’t give Maryland much of a chance in this one, but with what we’ve seen this college football season, that’s not a lock. However, Ohio State is the more talented team across the board so we like its chances of coming out the other end with a still unblemished record.
Here are five reasons Ohio State will beat Maryland Saturday afternoon.
Better health
Why it Matters
Ohio State was without many key members last week against Indiana. The Buckeyes have been dealing with the injury bug more than most years and have had to really grind through some games.
That all changes this week though. OSU gets several key members back for this one, including running back TreVeyon Henderson. Miyan Williams is still out but Denzel Burke and Dawand Jones are also back in the fold.
One of the main architects of an upset can be injuries and it looks like Ohio State is getting healthy at the right time for this road trip and hopefully beyond.
Depth of Talent
Why it Matters
One of the things that set programs like Ohio State apart is talent throughout the roster. Maryland has very good talent on the front line, but once you cut into bone a little, there’s a drop off. It’s one of the reasons we’ve seen the Terps fall off each year as the season.
Late in the year, in cold weather, and with attrition setting in, Ohio State will be able to keep bodies fresh with rotations and finish a complete game on the road. It’ll be hard for the Terrapins to keep up the same level of effort for sixty minutes.
An improve running game
Why it Matters
There was a subtle shift last week in the Ohio State running game that you may have not noticed. The Buckeyes had been running a lot of more east and west stretch zone plays with minimal success. Against Indiana though, the Buckeyes went more north and south to get into the second level and try to out physical the Hoosiers.
It was met with more success and you have to think that mix will stay as Ohio State gets more into the cold weather. You’ll still see the coaching staff try to stretch some plays to take advantage of speed mismatches, but the Buckeyes may have found something with the new mindset.
The passing game
Why it Matters
The Maryland defense has just been so-so this year and sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to pass defense. That’s bad news when OSU’s passing game gets on the plane and finds its way into the stadium Saturday afternoon.
Aside from one game in a Midwestern monsoon in Evantson, nothing and nobody has really stopped the Ohio State passing game. If the game plan allows for it, C.J. Stroud should be to go for over 300 yards and a couple of touchdowns with his eyes shut and one arm tied behind his back.
Lack of a home environment
Why it Matters
There are some great venues in the Big Ten and it’s often hard to go into an opponent’s stadium and have a smooth operation because of the crowd noise and lift the home atmosphere gives to the home-standing team.
That won’t likely be the case for Maryland Saturday. The Terrapins aren’t exactly selling out games and have an average attendance ranked as 66th in the country. We’ll have to see, but we might even see quite a bit of scarlet and gray in the crowd.
It’s going to be about which team executes the best and utilizes the talent at its disposal that will determine the outcome in this one, not the 12th man.
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