Ohio State moved to 5-0 on the season with a 37-17 victory over Maryland on Saturday. With Oklahoma knocking off Texas who was previously number No. 3 three in the AP poll, the Buckeyes have moved into the third spot, the same place in landed in the newly released US LBM Coaches poll.
A big second half lifted the Buckeyes to the win over Maryland as they scored 27 unanswered points to close out the game.
Buy Buckeyes TicketsThe offense started off slow, but the defense picked up the slack in the first half when a Josh Proctor “pick six” in the second quarter got the Buckeyes on the scoreboard.
One of the biggest positive takeaways to the first half of the season for Ohio State has been the improvement of the defense, and this was another strong performance by that unit.
Maryland had scored 30 plus points in each of their first five games. Ohio State was able to hold it to just 17 points while keeping with the theme of preventing explosive plays, with the Terrapins having no plays of over 30 yards.
With that in mind, will we break down each offensive position group’s performance using Pro Football Focus grades for each player. While PFF grades aren’t the end all be all, it is a great tool to break down individual players’ performance.
Edge Rushers
Starter: J.T. Tuimoloau
PFF Grade | 69.3 (69 snaps)
Stats | 2 tackles, 1 assisted tackle, 6 pressures and 1 sack on 41 pass rush snaps
Starter: Jack Sawyer
PFF Grade | 63.5 (53 snaps)
Stats | 2 tackles, 1 assisted tackle, 0 pressures on 30 pass rush snaps
Other: Caden Curry
PFF Grade | 60.9 (16 snaps)
Stats | 3 pressures on 11 pass rush snaps
Other: Kenyatta Jackson
PFF Grade | 61.8 (13 snaps)
Stats | 0 pressures on 1 pass rush snap
Other: Mitchell Melton
PFF Grade | 68.6 (3 snaps)
Stats | 1 pressure on 8 pass rush snaps
This was a good performance from Tuimoloau. He recorded six pressures and a sack. Tuimoloau continues to be one of the most productive players on the defense as he leads the team with 16 pressures this season.
Interior Defensive Linemen
Starter: Tyleik Williams
PFF Grade | 73.0 (70 snaps)
Stats | 2 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 2 pressures on 43 pass rush snaps
Starter: Michael Hall Jr.
PFF Grade | 74.0 (40 snaps)
Stats | 1 assisted tackle, 5 pressures and 1 sack on 26 pass rush snaps
Other: Ty Hamilton
PFF Grade | 64.4 (30 snaps)
Stats | 2 tackles, 1 assisted tackle, 1 pressure on 17 pass rush snaps
Other: Jaden McKenzie
PFF Grade | 58.5 (6 snaps)
Stats | 1 pressures on 4 pass rush snaps
Other: Hero Kanu
PFF Grade | 69.1 (3 snaps)
Stats | 1 pressures on 2 pass rush snaps
What It Means
This was another good performance from the defensive tackle group. Michael Hall Jr. continues to shine as a pass rusher while Tyleik Williams has been an anchor against the run.
Linebackers
Starter: Tommy Eichenberg
PFF Grade | 64.8 (74 snaps)
Stats | 9 tackles, 4 assisted tackles
Starter: Steele Chambers
PFF Grade | 56.0 (59 snaps)
Stats | 5 tackles, 3 assisted tackle
Other: Cody Simon
PFF Grade | 58.8 (21 snaps)
Stats | 1 tackle, 1 assisted tackle
What It Means
Tommy Eichenberg led the team with nine tackles and four assisted tackles and also recorded three pressures.
Cornerbacks
Starter: Denzel Burke
PFF Grade | 65.9 (77 snaps)
Stats | 4 tackles, 0 assisted tackles, 5 receptions allowed on 8 targets for 46 yards and 2 PBUs on 48 coverage snaps
Starter: Davison Igbinosun
PFF Grade | 65.1 (77 snaps)
Stats | 4 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 2 receptions allowed on 5 targets for 15 yards and 1 TD on 48 coverage snaps
Other: Jordan Hancock
PFF Grade | 63.6 (53 snaps)
Stats | 1 tackles, 0 assisted tackles, 1 reception allowed on 3 targets for 23 yards on 36 coverage snaps
What It Means
The Buckeyes secondary did a good job against Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa, limiting him to 195 yards with two interceptions.
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Safeties
Starter: Lathan Ransom
PFF Grade | 72.3 (77 snaps)
Stats | 6 tackles, 0 assisted tackles, 0 receptions allowed on 4 targets, 1 PBU and 1 INT on 47 coverage snaps
Starter: Josh Proctor
PFF Grade | 86.7 (77 snaps)
Stats | 6 tackles, 0 assisted tackles, 1 receptions allowed on 3 targets for -1 yard and a 24-yard INT return for TD on 48 coverage snaps
Starter: Sonny Styles
PFF Grade | 64.7 (29 snaps)
Stats | 4 tackles, 2 assisted tackles, 5 receptions allowed on 6 targets for 56 yards on 16 coverage snaps
What It Means
Josh Proctor’s pick six sparked the Buckeyes to get them on the scoreboard with the offense struggling in the first half.
