COLLEGE PARK, Md. _ There could have been good news coming out of another blowout defeat to another top-10 team for Maryland on Saturday. There could have been a 19-year-old record broken by freshman running back Lorenzo Harrison. Or another stellar performance against Ohio State by quarterback Perry Hills.
Instead, there was more bad news for the Terps, who were blown out by the No. 5 Buckeyes, 62-3, before a season-high 48,090 fans bathed in red _ much of it worn by Ohio State fans and some of it by the home team, which introduced its new "Red Ops" uniforms for the game at Maryland Stadium.
The victory _ and the margin of victory _ kept Ohio State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten) in contention for a Big Ten East title as well as in the conversation for a College Football Playoff berth. Redshirt junior quarterback J.T. Barrett completed 18 of 27 passes for 253 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 11 times for 47 yards and two scores.
It was the third straight loss and fifth in six games for Maryland (5-5, 2-5), which plays at No. 19 Nebraska next week before closing out the regular season against Rutgers on Nov. 26. It now seems likely that the Terps will have to wait until the finale to try to become bowl-eligible.
The margin of defeat eclipsed last week's 59-3 loss at Michigan as the worst since Maryland joined the Big Ten.
All that seemed to be overshadowed by disturbing news involving Harrison and yet another injury to Hills.
Less than an hour before kickoff, an athletic department spokesman announced that Harrison and two other freshmen, backup linebacker Antoine Brooks and wide receiver DJ Turner, had been suspended "indefinitely" for a violation of the student-athlete code of conduct.
It was the first potentially lengthy suspension announced by the school since Durkin was hired. Not only will it likely cost Harrison a chance to break Jordan's record, but it took one of the team's most productive players off the field. Harrison came into the game with 633 yards, two behind sophomore Ty Johnson.
Then there was the news involving Hills, who had rushed for 170 yards last year at Ohio State, a Maryland record for quarterbacks. Hills, whose status for the game was not announced by Durkin prior to the kickoff, was injured on the team's second offensive series Saturday.
It was somewhat old news that the fifth-year senior got hurt again, but this appeared to be a new injury. With his team already trailing 14-0 in the first quarter, Hills was knocked out of the game for the second straight week and fourth time this season.
After reinjuring his right shoulder in the second quarter of last week's game in Ann Arbor, Mich. _ an injury that first surfaced after a hard tackle in the second overtime of Maryland's win at Central Florida in its third game _ Hills appeared to injure his left shoulder or elbow after being tackled hard in the first quarter.
