Ohio State’s secondary vs. Maryland’s receivers decided the game

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On paper, Maryland’s best chance at keeping this one close was through the air.

The Terrapins entered the weekend averaging 277.2 passing yards per game, 28th in the country. They also had Chris Durr Jr., who ranked second nationally with 8.4 catches per game, behind only Jeremiah Smith.

Durr had at least six catches in every game this season. Maryland even promoted the Smith-Durr matchup before kickoff, but that never materialized.

Ohio State won 45-16, and in my opinion, the Buckeyes’ secondary against Maryland’s receivers was the matchup that decided the game.

The numbers are about as lopsided as it gets.

Malik Washington completed 12-of-25 passes for 64 yards, the lowest total of his career. That’s 2.6 yards per attempt, and it was only one yard more than Ohio State allowed through the air to Kent State.

Durr finished with four catches for 15 yards. Maryland managed just 146 total yards and 10 first downs while averaging 2.8 yards per play. Ohio State outgained the Terps 449-146, including 242-64 through the air.

When your quarterback throws for 64 yards against Ohio State, you just aren’t going to win many games. Maryland never really had a chance.

Durr was taken away from the start

The tone was set on the first possession. Maryland went three and out, and Washington missed a receiver on third down. That became a theme all afternoon.

Washington rarely had anywhere comfortable to go with the football, and he was routinely late or off target when he did throw it. Some of that was the rain. A lot of it came from an Ohio State secondary that didn’t give Maryland’s receivers any easy separation.

Ohio State did it without Jay Timmons, their best cover corner before he hurt his hamstring against Illinois. He was listed as probable on Friday’s availability report but sat out for the second straight week.

Cam Calhoun filled in again, playing 49 snaps and grading out as the Buckeyes’ highest rated starting corner, according to Pro Football Focus. Devin Sanchez also got a big test. Ryan Day had challenged him all week to become, “that lockdown corner that we all know he can be,” and Sanchez and Jermaine Mathews Jr. made sure Maryland’s receivers never found much room on the outside.

The safeties may have been the best part of the day.

Jaylen McClain led Ohio State with eight tackles, and six of them came on plays where Maryland gained four yards or fewer. Earl Little Jr. added four tackles and a pass breakup. When Maryland did complete something underneath, there was almost always a Buckeye there to make the tackle immediately.

By halftime, Ohio State had outgained Maryland 282-87. The defense then forced three and outs on Maryland’s first two possessions of the second half.

Durr finished the first half with two catches for 13 yards and never got going after that.

Maryland’s points came from Ohio State’s mistakes

The final score says 45-16, and that’s misleading in Maryland’s favor. Take away Ohio State’s two turnovers and one costly penalty, and Maryland’s offense barely scored on its own.

Maryland’s first points came after Julian Sayin was sacked and fumbled in the first quarter, which gave the Terps a short field and a field goal. In the third quarter, a deflected Sayin pass was picked off by linebacker Daniel Wingate and returned 51 yards for a touchdown. That made it 31-16 and quieted what was left of a crowd that had already thinned out in the rain.

Those two turnovers alone accounted for nine of Maryland’s 16 points.

Maryland’s only offensive touchdown wasn’t fully earned either. Ohio State appeared to have a third-down stop with an incompletion. Instead, Beau Atkinson shoved Washington after the throw and was flagged for roughing the passer.

Two offsides penalties and a delay of game followed on the same drive, and Washington eventually ran it in from five yards out. Without that penalty, Maryland may never have scored an offensive touchdown at all.

The defense will definitely want those penalties back, and Indiana won’t be nearly as forgiving. But the snaps that actually mattered weren’t close.

Ohio State’s defense is trending in the right direction

Two weeks ago, the secondary was one of the few positives after Illinois racked up 462 yards. Since then, Ohio State’s defense has held Iowa and Maryland to a combined 384 total yards.

Iowa came in with one of the country’s best defenses and a balanced offense. Maryland came in with one of the most productive passing games in the Big Ten. Both left with nearly nothing.

That matters, because the schedule turns now.

Ohio State travels to Indiana next Saturday to face the 6-0 reigning national champions, the team that beat the Buckeyes in last year’s Big Ten title game. Then come USC, Oregon and Michigan.

The offense will keep getting its share of attention, and it should. Bo Jackson ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns, Sayin threw four touchdown passes, and Smith scored on his first two touches to move within one of Braylon Edwards’ Big Ten career record.

The version of Ohio State that wins in Bloomington looks a lot like the defense that showed up on Saturday. Maryland came in with a receiver who couldn’t stop catching passes, and Ohio State’s secondary made sure he barely caught any.

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