 headaches last season was no trouble this time, even without the fierce pass rushing of Young. The preseason All-American was suspended Friday while Ohio State investigates a possible NCAA violation involving a loan. ''We went through a little adversity this week,'' coach Ryan Day said. ''Adversity reveals character, and our character was at the forefront of this game. I felt we came out and showed we're made of something special here. '' J. K. Dobbins rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes built a 42-0 halftime lead and the backups added to it in the second half. Fields tossed touchdown passes to Binjimen Victor, K. J. Hill and Chris Olave before taking a seat in the second half. His backup, Chris Chugunov threw another one in the third quarter. Ohio State piled up 705 yards of offense and 40 first downs. The Buckeyes defense, without Young, held the Terrapins to a single yard of offense in the first quarter and 139 yards for the game. Anthony McFarland, who rushed for 298 yards against the Buckeyes last season, managed only 7 yards on six carries. Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson left after the first quarter and didn't return until the third. He was spelled by Tyrrell Pigrome, but neither was particularly effective. Jackson finally got the Terps on the board in the third quarter with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Dontay Demus, a drive set up by three consecutive 15-yard penalties against Ohio State. ''This was a team loss,'' Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. ''All three phases, coaches, players, all included and I didn't like the way we showed up and played today. '' THE TAKEAWAYMaryland: The body language of the Terrapins players was bad from the beginning, and they never seemed to give themselves a chance. After starting strong under new coach Mike Locksley this season, Maryland has fallen apart, losing seven of its last eight. After falling to Ohio State by a single point in overtime last year, the Terps took a big step backward. Ohio State: The train keeps rolling, with the next big test in two weeks against Penn State, which was upset by Minnesota on Saturday. The Maryland game was another methodical dismantling that has become Ohio State's signature this season. UP NEXTMaryland: After an off week, hosts Nebraska on Nov. 23. Ohio State: At Rutgers next Saturday. ---More college football: https://apnews. com/Collegefootball and https://twitter. com/-Top25---Follow Mitch Stacy at http://twitter. com/mitchstacy)
Nov 06, 2019Ohio State is rested and ready for the crucial stretch run of the Big Ten schedule. And then, the Buckeyes hope, a run through the College Football Playoff. After all, they're the top-ranked team in the CFP rankings. In the midst of preparing for Maryland, its opponent Saturday at Ohio Stadium in Columbus, Ohio State on Tuesday learned it is ranked No. 1 in the first CFP rankings of the season. Come Saturday, the Terrapins hope the Buckeyes (8-0, 5-0 Big Ten) will be guilty of looking ahead. After playing Maryland (3-6, 1-5), the Buckeyes play at woeful Rutgers before hosting No. 4 Penn State on Nov. 23 then going to No. 14 Michigan a week later. But Ohio State cornerback Jeff Okudah said memories of the Buckeyes' national championship aspirations being derailed by shocking losses to Iowa in 2017 and Purdue last season are ever present. "I think it's really important to maintain that focus just because as we've seen in the past, one week can ruin your whole season," he said. "So, we're trying to go against Maryland with a fresh mindset and try to end the week 1-0. " Ohio State coach Ryan Day understands the challenge he faces. "You're dealing with 18-, 19-, 20-year old young men," he said. "You have to make sure you're on top of them. " While Maryland was losing 38-7 to Michigan last Saturday, the Buckeyes continued to recover from a bruising victory, also 38-7, over Wisconsin on Oct. 26, during OSU's second open weekend in October weeks. Maryland opened the season with a 79-0 win over Howard and a 63-20 win against then-No. 20 Syracuse before the struggles hit. "We won't be result-oriented," Terrapins first-year coach Michael Locksley said. "Nobody said that this was going to be easy. "We really want to win. That's the bottom line. We really, really want to win. And we also want to give our players the best possible chance to win. You do that with how you put together game plans, with how you develop your depth, with how you play your players. " The Terrapins' belief that they can beat the Buckeyes comes from last season's home game when heavily favored Ohio State escaped with a 52-51 overtime victory. A difference this time will be that Ohio State has vastly improved its defense to the point it leads the nation in scoring defense (7. 9 points per game) and is second in total defense (224. 3 yards per game). The defense has allowed two touchdowns in the past 12 quarters. "I feel like we have the potential to be the best defense in the country," OSU defensive lineman Robert Landers said. The offense isn't shabby, either. OSU is third in scoring offense (48. 3 per game) and sixth in total of offense (514. 8 per game). Maryland has two players the Buckeyes will keep an eye on. Running back Anthony McFarland Jr. had 298 yards on 21 carries with touchdowns of 81 and 75 yards in the first six minutes against the Buckeyes last season. Fellow running back Javon Leake had his third career kickoff return for a TD, second this season, when he went 97 yards vs. Michigan. Highlights like that are fleeting for Maryland, however. "Consistency is critical, and we're still a work in progress," Locksley said. --Field Level Media
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