 trailed by two touchdowns in the third quarter and 45-38 with under two minutes left before rallying to a pivotal victory. After a 5-yard touchdown run by Dwayne Haskins gave the Buckeyes the lead to start overtime, Tayon Fleet-Davis scored to get the Terrapins within a point. Interim coach Matt Canada decided to end it right there, going for 2, but Tyrrell Pigrome's pass to Jeshaun Jones was off target. The victory kept the Buckeyes in the hunt for the Big Ten title and a spot in the College Football Playoff. Ohio State concludes the regular season next week in a game against Michigan that will decide the Big Ten East winner. The Buckeyes never led until overtime against the upstart Terrapins (5-6, 3-5). Haskins ran for three touchdowns and was 28 for 38 for 405 yards and three TDs. Ohio State finished with a whopping 688 yards, including 203 on the ground by J. K. Dobbins, but the defense allowed 535 yards and seven touchdowns. Maryland freshman Anthony McFarland had touchdown runs of 81 and 75 yards in the first quarter and finished with 298 yards rushing - seven short of the school's single-game record. The Terps took a 45-38 lead when Chigoziem Okonkwo recovered a fumble by McFarland in the end zone with 1:41 left. Haskins then orchestrated a 50-yard, beat-the-clock drive that ended with a 3-yard touchdown pass to Binjimen Victory with 40 seconds remaining. Up 24-17 at halftime, the Terrapins garnered further momentum on Ohio State's first drive of the second half when RaVon Davis picked off a deflected pass and took it 37 yards for a score. The Buckeyes answered with a 73-yard scoring drive that featured a pair of penalties against Maryland, including a pass interference call on a third-and-7. After Ohio State pulled even in the fourth quarter, Maryland moved back in front on a 27-yard touchdown pass by Pigrome, who was making his first start of the season after Kasim Hill sustained a season-ending knee injury last week. Pigrome went 6 for 13 for 181 yards. THE TAKEAWAYOhio State: It goes without saying that the Buckeyes must play much, much better next week to beat Michigan. The offense had no trouble moving the ball, but three turnovers proved costly. The defense, needless to say, was awful against a one-dimensional team that repeatedly peeled off huge runs. Maryland: Despite putting forth a great effort against a Top-10 team on Senior Day, the Terrapins still can't seem to get the offense and defense working in sync. Last week, four turnovers were too much to overcome in a loss to Indiana. In this game, the defense couldn't back a strong outing by a big-play offense that gave the Buckeyes headaches all afternoon. PERFECT NO MOREThe Terrapins had scored on all 25 trips to the red zone this season, and Maryland freshman Joseph Petrino was the only kicker in the nation without a miss on a field-goal try (10 for 10) before both streaks ended in the second quarter. After reaching the Ohio State 18, the Terrapins lost ground before Petrino misfired on a 49-yard attempt. UP NEXTOhio State: The stakes couldn't be much bigger when the Buckeyes look to beat Michigan for a seventh straight time next week. Maryland: With one last chance to become bowl eligible, the Terrapins travel to Penn State next Saturday. ---More college football: https://apnews. com/Collegefootball and https://twitter. com/-Top25)
Nov 13, 2018Ohio State-Maryland hasn't been much of a football rivalry since the Terrapins moved into the Big Ten in 2014. The 10th-ranked Buckeyes (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) have four straight lopsided wins over the Terrapins and they're heavy favorites Saturday when the teams tangle at Maryland Stadium in College Park. Don't tell Ohio State coach Urban Meyer, though. "No, we're not playing great at times," he said. "But then our defense came out and played the way they did. And our special teams played the way they did, and got us a great team win (26-6 at Michigan State). We're not where I would like us to be. " Still, Ohio State is in the hunt for a Big Ten title, if they dismantle Maryland and then beat archrival Michigan next week in the biggest Big Ten showdown in Columbus. And yes, Meyer has already talked to his team about the perils of looking ahead to the Maize and Blue, he admitted at his Monday press conference. Interim Maryland coach Matt Canada faces different problems as the Terrapins (5-5, 3-4) prepare for their final home game. The Terps not only suffered a tough 34-32 loss at Indiana last week, they also lost starting quarterback Kasim Hill for the rest of the season with an ACL injury. Of course, Maryland has been battling uphill all year since the death of sophomore lineman Jordan McNair in a summer workout. Repercussions are still ripping through the program -- coach DJ Durkin, a former Meyer assistant, finally was fired two weeks ago; university president Wallace Loh announced his retirement at the end of the school year and University System of Maryland Board of Regents chair Jim Brady resigned after the board first attempted to reinstate Durkin to great furor. At times, playing football on Saturdays has been the least of the Terrapins' worries, but the loss to the Hoosiers was particularly tough, so close to a sixth victory and bowl eligibility. Now Maryland hopes hinge on beating Ohio State at home or 16th-ranked Penn State on the road. "There's a lot more going on this year with this football team than anyone understands," Canada said. "The way they lean on each other, the way they stick together. I don't haven any doubt they're going to play very, very hard. " Two-touchdown favorite Ohio State is so good that may not matter if Meyer's team can stay on task even with Michigan on their mind. The Buckeyes have reeled off back-to-back victories since the upset loss at Purdue last month, and Meyer is leery of the up-and-down Terrapins. "I think this is one of the more talented teams in the Big Ten," he said. "They beat Texas early on. They have extremely good skill. They just had a guy (Anthony McFarland) rush for 200 yards. Their defense is a Top 20 defense. Our guys watch film. They know what's in store, and I can assure you their focus is on going in to win that game at noon. " Meanwhile, Maryland really hasn't faced a passing attack like the Buckeyes can muster. Redshirt sophomore Dwayne Haskins is passing into rarified air, just 51 yards from breaking a 20-year old school record for passing yards in a season (3,330) set by Joe Germaine. Haskins leads the Big Ten with a 165. 4 passer rating, completing 68. 9 percent with 33 touchdowns. To add insult to injury, Haskins was a major Maryland recruiting target coming out of Potomac, Md. , and The Bullis School. He opted for Ohio State and this will be a homecoming for him Saturday, going against a Maryland pass defense ranked second in the Big Ten, allowing just 181. 8 yards per game. The Terrapins, meanwhile, will have backup quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome taking over for Hill. Pigrome was the starter last year before going down with a knee injury in the season opener at Texas. He was replaced by Hill, who then won the preseason battle for the job this year. But "Pig" is a gifted runner and able passer who can present different problems for the Ohio State defense. The ground game is the Terrapins' bread and butter. Maryland is 4-1 when rushing for more than 300 yards, and McFarland had 210 rushing yards at Indiana last week. The Ohio State ground defense has been stout of late, allowing only 3. 5 yards per rush in the recent wins over Michigan State and Nebraska. "We have a ranked opponent coming to our stadium," Canada said. "We get to play Ohio State. Not that many people get to line up and say they get to play against a great team, a great tradition, a great program like this. And our guys get to play against them. "
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