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.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsAnother 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
PICK SIX BUCKEYES
The @OhioStateFB defense makes another big play 💪 pic.twitter.com/6NME0in9gV
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 7, 2023
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
STOPPED 🔒
On 4th & 1 the @OhioStateFB defense comes up with a big-time stop pic.twitter.com/oETDvjhlyD
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 7, 2023
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
MARVELOUS MARVIN 🔥
McCord finds Marvin Harrison Jr. for another @OhioStateFB TD 🌰ff pic.twitter.com/auVtOMkClm
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 7, 2023
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
"He's so mad right now." – @JoelKlatt 😅
Stay tuned for @CoachUrbanMeyer's analysis on @BNKonFOX's halftime show 👀 pic.twitter.com/0nYbPI0idq
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) October 7, 2023
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
Halfway through in Columbus.#GoBucks pic.twitter.com/OQOhkC5iyu
— Ohio State Football (@OhioStateFB) October 7, 2023
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.
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