Ohio State will be credited with its most lopsided win of the season, knocking off visiting Maryland 49-28 at the Horseshoe, but the final margin of victory doesn't indicate how hard the Buckeyes had to fight.
Maryland tied the game at 21 in the third quarter before Ohio State reeled off 28 unanswered points to keep its perfect record intact.
The most encouraging sign coming out of this win for the Buckeyes is Cardale Jones. Urban Meyer's quarterback situation has been flawed through the first five games, but the junior star had his best game of the year on Saturday, going 21-of-28 for 291 yards and two touchdowns.
Early in the game, Meyer seemed to reignite some of the quarterback questions by bringing in J.T. Barrett when Ohio State closed in on the red zone in the first quarter. He would throw a 20-yard pass to Michael Thomas to set up one of his three rushing touchdowns.
Meyer was critical of Ohio State's red-zone performance against Indiana last week, particularly the quarterback play, per Bill Landis of the Northeast Ohio Media Group.
"I thought we had a couple opportunities that if we're accurate with the throws, we score," Meyer said. "At Ohio State with (Ezekiel Elliott), you gotta be able to pound the ball too."
Even fans were turning on Jones early in the game, as noted by Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch:
Jones would get his opportunities in the red zone after Barrett's touchdown, executing much better on throws like this to Braxton Miller, via Eleven Warriors:
There was also Jones' ability to make big plays with his arm, reminding the world what he can bring to the offense when things are clicking, as evidenced by this 48-yard score to Jalin Marshall, via Ohio State on Big Ten:
Establishing the pass in this game was especially critical for the Buckeyes, because Maryland's defense was able to hold Elliott in check for a long time. The Heisman candidate had 71 rushing yards when the fourth quarter started.
Unfortunately for Maryland's defense, which was worn down in the final 15 minutes, Elliott broke through with 35 yards on three carries, including a 16-yard touchdown run to give Ohio State a 42-21 lead. He finished the day with 106 yards on the ground.
According to Eleven Warriors, Elliott's streak of consecutive 100-yard games now stands at 11.
Coming into the year, Ohio State was supposed to steamroll opponents up until the Michigan State game on November 21. The Buckeyes were coming off a national title, key players like Jones, Elliott and Joey Bosa were returning, and they were getting Miller back in a de facto playmaker role.
Instead, six games into the season, ESPN's Brett McMurphy noted how much of a struggle things have been for the nation's top-ranked team:
Kenny Roda of WHBC.com echoed those sentiments, while adding a little dramatic flare about how Ohio State looked early:
Maryland does deserve credit for fighting in this game. There have been rumblings about head coach Randy Edsall's future, as Jeff Ermann of 247Sports reported on Thursday the school was considering firing him after Saturday.
The Terrapins have many distractions at the moment, but the players did not give in against Ohio State. They ultimately ran out of steam against a more talented bunch. Quarterback Perry Hills was both the best and worst thing for Maryland in defeat.
Hills kept his team in the game thanks to an outstanding running day, going for 170 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries, but he was dreadful throwing the ball (10-of-27, 133 yards, one touchdown, two interceptions) and couldn't make a play through the air on fourth down late in the game as Maryland was trying to cut a 14-point deficit in half.
Bill Rabinowitz of the Columbus Dispatch noted just how stark the dichotomy was between Hills' passing and rushing early in the game:
The final score is not indicative of how close the game was or how well Maryland actually played. The Buckeyes' depth and superior talent eventually won out, but there are still plenty of things Meyer has to fix.
Fortunately for Ohio State, the schedule is still favorable with matchups against Penn State, Rutgers, Minnesota and Illinois before the final two games against Michigan State and Michigan.
Post-Game Reaction
No one can accuse Meyer of being unprepared for a post-game press conference. Ohio State's head coach knew playing both of his quarterbacks would lead to questions, offering this response before anyone could ask, via Ohio State Athletics:
I know the question about the quarterback is going to come up. J.T. is just a great player. He (J.T.) provided an obvious spark for us. He is a leader and a guy who needs to be on the field for us. I am very happy with it. They worked hard. It is a unique situation. They stay pretty focused. They have a support group, which is down in that locker room, that is pretty strong.
Even though there have been questions about Jones, who is still in his infancy as a quarterback with nine starts under his belt, Meyer has not wavered in his desire to keep the strong-armed star as his No. 1 option.
After his opening statement, Meyer was quick to give Maryland credit for the way it played, via Ohio State Athletics:
Things were decidedly different in the other press room, as Edsall didn't want to discuss his status as Maryland's head coach, via Dan Steinberg of the Washington Post:
There was also a testy moment not long after that question, as ESPN's Heather Dinich noted Edsall stormed out of the press conference when asked about shaking opposing players' hands before the game.
Maryland's football program looks like a mess right now, though the players are the ones being punished for all of it.
Ohio State didn't play its best throughout the game, but was able to turn things on when it needed to. Meyer found a good mix at quarterback and now has the Buckeyes moving in the right direction, even as they need to start showing more consistency.
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