No. 1 Ohio State Hosts Maryland in Big Ten Home Opener – Ohio State Buckeyes
10/5/2015 12:00:00 AM | Football
Oct. 5, 2015
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Maryland at #1 Ohio State
Saturday, October 10, 2015, 12:00 p.m. ET
Ohio Stadium (104,955), Columbus, OH
TV: Big Ten Network
Eric Collins (play-by-play)
Glen Mason (analyst)
Rick Pizzo (sideline)
Radio: WBNS FM (97.1 The Fan) The Urban Meyer pregame show airs 30 minutes prior to kickoff. Paul Keels will call the action with former Buckeye Jim Lachey and Marty Bannister on the sidelines. The game can also be heard nationally on Sirius channel 136 and XM channel 196.
FIRST AND 10
- Ohio State enters the game having won 18 in a row overall, the longest active streak in the nation.
- Ohio State has won 25 Big Ten regular season games in a row, going 8-0 in each of the past three seasons and 1-0 this year. The streak is a Big Ten record.
- Ohio State ranks No. 2 in the Big Ten in scoring (34.4) and rushing (239.6).
- Running back Ezekiel Elliott, the reigning Big Ten offensive player of the week, leads the Big Ten and is No. 6 in the NCAA in rushing at 145.8 ypg. He has a current streak of 10 consecutive games with at least 100 yards rushing.
- Elliott rushed for a career-high 274 yards at Indiana, tied for the second most all-time at Ohio State.
- Linebacker Raekwon McMillan is tied for Big Ten lead with 54 total tackles. He has 30 tackles in the last two games.
- Wide receiver Michael Thomas has caught a pass in 21 consecutive games in which he has played. He leads the team with 20 catches for 292 yards and four TDs.
- Punter Cameron Johnston ranks No. 1 in the Big Ten with a 46.3 yard average.
- Urban Meyer has the highest winning percentage (.849) among active coaches and is third all-time.
- Meyer is tied with FSU’s Jimbo Fisher with the best winning percentage since the start of the 2012 season (43-3; .949).
SETTING THE STAGE
No. 1 Ohio State (5-0, 1-0 Big Ten) returns home this Saturday when it plays host to the Maryland Terrapins (2-3, 0-1) in its Big Ten home opener. Kickoff is scheduled for Noon ET and will be televised on BTN and BTN2Go.
The Buckeyes are coming off a 34-27 win at Indiana while the Terrapins fell to No. 22 Michigan, 28-0, at home last Saturday. The Buckeyes and Terrapins are meeting for just the second time after Ohio State won the inaugural meeting, 52-24, last season in College Park, Md.
EZEKIEL, ADOLPHUS & TYQUAN HEADLINE CHAMPS
Ohio State’s champions versus Indiana included offensive player of the game Ezekiel Elliott, codefensive players of the game Tyquan Lewis and Adolphus Washington, and special teams’ player of the game Joe Burger. Champions for the week also included Michael Thomas, Braxton Miller, Corey Smith, Dontre Wilson, Pat Elflein and Billy Price on offense, and Joey Bosa, Tommy Schutt, Vonn Bell, Gareon Conley, Joshua Perry, Raekwon McMillan and Darron Lee on defense.
ELLIOTT NAMED B1G OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Junior RB Ezekiel Elliott was named the Big Ten’s offensive player of the week Oct. 5 after his memorable performance in the road win at Indiana.
Elliott rushed for 274 yards (second-most in the FBS for a game this season) and scored three second-half touchdowns – of 55-, 65- and 75-yards – to spark Ohio State to a 34-27 win over undefeated Indiana in Bloomington, Ind. Elliott’s 55-yard touchdown with 9 minutes to go in the third gave Ohio State its first lead of the game at 13-10. After IU countered with a touchdown, Elliott took off on a 65-yard score to give the Buckeyes the lead for good. His 75-yard run with just over 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter capped Ohio State’s scoring and gave the Buckeyes a 34-20 lead.
Elliott’s total tied for the second-most in school history with Keith Byars (274 vs. Illinois in 1984) and trails only the 314-yard game by Eddie George in 1995 vs. Illinois. Elliott’s 243 second-half yards are a school record for a half, topping the 195 yards Byars gained in the second half vs. Illinois. And according to ESPN Stats and Info, Elliott also is the only player in the last 10 years to have three 50-plus yard touchdown runs in one half.
Elliott, who averaged a school-record 11.9 yards per carry vs. Indiana (23 carries for 274 yards and three TDs), has now gained 729 yards rushing this season and is averaging 145.8 yards per games, figures that rank fifth and sixth, respectively, in the nation. Elliott is tied for the national lead with four runs of 50-or-more yards, a total that includes an 80-yard touchdown run vs. Virginia Tech.
A GLANCE AT MARYLAND
Maryland enters Saturday’s game at Ohio Stadium with a 2-3 record overall and 0-1 in the Big Ten after falling to Michigan, 28-0, at home last Saturday. Maryland started the season with a 50-21 win over Richmond before falling to Bowling Green (48-27) and defeating USF (35-17). The Terrapins also fell on the road at West Virginia (45-6) before Big Ten play. Maryland leads the Big Ten in punt returns with a 24.0 average as a team, led by William Likely who has returned two for TDs already this season. Maryland also ranks second in QB sacks with 19, led by Yannick Ngakoue who has 6.5 on the season. Quinton Jefferson also ranks among the conference leaders with 5.5 sacks per game while Jermaine Carter is tied with Ohio State’s Raekwon McMillan with 54 total tackles on the year.
Offensively, Maryland comes in averaging 23.6 points per game while giving up 31.8 to the opposition. QB Caleb Rowe has taken a majority of the snaps from under center and is 40-91 for 428 yards to go along with four TD passed and 12 INTs. Brandon Ross has been the leading man on the ground with 402 yards on 73 carries with 2 TDs. Levern Jacobs is the leading receiver with 196 yards on 18 catches and 2 TDs.
Randy Edsall is in his fifth season as Maryland’s head coach with a 22-33 record. He is 96-103 overall in his career after spending the previous 12 seasons at UConn, where he compiled 74-70 mark with five bowl appearances.
