Game Preview: Ohio State at Maryland
11/10/2020 11:30:40 AM | Football
Ohio State and Maryland will put their respective Big Ten winning streaks on the line Saturday as the teams meet at 3:30 in College Park. The game will be broadcast by the Big Ten Network.
The Buckeyes (3-0) and coming off a 49-27 win over Rutgers last Saturday night while Maryland (2-1) won its second straight by topping Penn State, 35-19, in State College, Pa.
THE BASICS
No. 3 Ohio State at Maryland • Sat., Nov. 14 • When: 3:30 p.m. • Where: Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium • TV: Big Ten Network • Radio: 97.1 The Fan
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- The Buckeyes are 6-0 all-time against Maryland and 3-0 in games played at Maryland Stadium. Five of the six meetings were wins of 20 or more points for the Buckeyes, including the last time the two teams met in Ohio Stadium (a 62-14 victory in 2017).
- In its last trip to College Park, Ohio State overcame a 14-point third quarter deficit and won a wild, back-and-forth game, 52-51, in overtime as Dwayne Haskins threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more.
- Ohio State has never scored fewer than 49 points against Maryland and is averaging 58.3 points per game in the six meetings.
- The Buckeyes have three Maryland natives on their roster: LB Mitchell Melton (Silver Spring, Md.), SAF Bryson Shaw (Eldersburg, Md.) and DT Taron Vincent (Baltimore, Md.)
FIELDS OFF TO A HOT START
- Through three games, Justin Fields has thrown as many incompletions as he has touchdown passes. Coupled with his two rushing TDs, Fields has accounted for more touchdowns (13) than he has incompletions (11). He’s 72 of 83 on the year with 908 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions.
- And here’s a great note via Wyatt Crosher on Buckeye Sports Bulletin: Fields’ 86.7 percent completion percentage is the best three-game start to a season (min. 50 attempts) by anyone in college football since at least 2000.
- Last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, Joe Burrow, has an 83.3 percent completion percentage in his first three games. The only other player to complete 85 percent or more of their passes was 2011 Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin of Baylor (85.2).
- And with another 300-yard effort last week vs. Rutgers – his second in as many weeks – Fields is now in sole possession of fourth place on Ohio State’s all-time list with five in his career.
THE DYNAMIC DUO
- Through three games, WRs Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson have combined for 42 receptions for 632 yards and six touchdowns.
- They’ve accounted for 58.3 percent of the Buckeyes’ total completions, 69.6 percent of their receiving yards and 54.5 percent of their touchdown receptions.
- Last Saturday night, Wilson did something no Ohio State receiver has done in 21 years: he reached 100 yards receiving for the third consecutive game.
- The last player to do so was David Boston, who achieved that feat twice during the 1998 season (Oct. 17-Oct. 31 and Nov. 14-Jan. 1, 1999).
- The school record for most consecutive 100-yard games is five, achieved by Cris Carter in 1986 against Purdue, Minnesota, Iowa, Northwestern and Wisconsin.
DON’T FORGET ABOUT RUCKERT
- After Olave and Wilson, Ohio State’s third-leading receiver in 2020 thus far has been TE Jeremy Ruckert, who caught nine passes for 60 yards and three touchdowns.
- With another TD catch last week vs. Rutgers, Ruckert now has seven in his career, which puts him at No. 10 all-time among Buckeye tight ends.
- He’s currently tied with Jeff Heuerman, who also had seven from 2011-14. One more TD catch will tie Ruckert with Marcus Baugh (2014-17), Jan White (1968-70) and Robert Grimes (1950-52).
LET’S TALK ABOUT SECOND QUARTERS
- For the season, Ohio State has outscored its opponents 45-10 in the second quarter and has outgained them 419-93.
- In the last two weeks, in wins over Penn State and Rutgers, the Buckeyes have a 311-15 advantage in total offensive yards.
- Ohio State outscored Rutgers 28-0 in the second quarter last Saturday to open up a 35-3 halftime lead.
- The Buckeyes outgained the Scarlet Knights 194-11, had seven first downs (to only one for Rutgers) and had nearly 11 minutes worth of time of possession.
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Ohio State has outgained its last two opponents – Penn State and Rutgers – by 296 combined yards in the second quarter. Last week, the Buckeyes had a 194-11 yardage advantage vs. Rutgers.
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Ohio State has won 35 true road games (excluding neutral site contests) since the start of the 2012 season. The Buckeyes also also win eight consecutive Big Ten road games.
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Ohio State ranks second nationally among teams who have played three or more games in third down conversions (58.1 percent). Twenty six of its 43 attempts have been for five or less yards.
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Ohio State has the nation’s longest active regular season winning streak at 19 consecutive games. During that streak, the Buckeyes’ average margin of victory has been 30.8 points per game.
- The Terrapins come into Saturday having won two consecutive games, most recently a 35-19 win at Penn State in which Maryland jumped out to a 35-7 lead and never looked back.
- Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa is fourth in the Big Ten thus far with a completion percentage of 67.4 percent, 770 yards and six touchdowns.
- In an overtime win over Minnesota two weeks ago, Tagovailoa threw for 394 yards and three TDs while rushing for 59 yards and two scores. He was the Big Ten’s co-Offensive Player of the Week (along with Justin Fields) for his efforts.
- Running back Jake Funk is third in the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 112.0 yards per game. His 7.8 yards-per-carry average is second.
- Linebacker Chance Campbell is the team’s leader in tackles (34), tackles for loss (4.5) and sacks (1.5).
- In the secondary, freshman Tarheeb Still has a team high four pass breakups and is second in the team with 12 solo tackles.
