You had a feeling this one could get ugly fast, and that’s exactly what we saw transpire before our very eyes on Saturday. It didn’t take long for Ohio State to get on the board against Maryland, and it didn’t take its foot off the gas pedal.
The Buckeyes raced out to a 42-0 score at halftime, then cruised the rest of the way, only scoring 29 points in the second half (wink, wink), winning going away 73-14. No, that’s not a typo. It’s the second time this year the Buckeyes have surpassed 70 points in a ball-game.
As we always do, we give you five things we took from the game.
Ohio State defense is way more than just Chase Young
Many were reveling in the fact that Ohio State would be without its most disruptive player, defensive end Chase Young. There’s no way around the fact that he’s a game wrecker when he’s in there, but there’s a bunch of other NFL-types on the roster ready to fill in and create havoc.
From the others in the two-deep, to guys like Zach Harrison waiting in the wings, Ohio State showed that with or without Young, the defense is still awfully good.
Maryland had just one-yard in the first quarter, and finished with only 139 total yards for the game, much of that coming when the issue was no longer in doubt.
What can’t this team do?
Next … Talent on this team might be unmatched
This might be the most talented and complete team we’ve seen since, well …
Look, I know this is extremely high praise, and I’m sure someone out there is going to have a problem with this statement and take offense, but this might be the most talented team I’ve seen wear the scarlet and gray.
That’s a bold statement because there’s eight national championships to speak of, a few completely undefeated teams in there, and some you look back on and shake your head at how many players went to the NFL and became stars.
But the talent on this team across the board is crazy good. From the defensive backs to the skill positions, and even special teams, all units are absolutely elite. Even punter Drue Chrisman who doesn’t get as much action as he’d probably like, is money when he comes in.
If there was a running competition between training staffs, Ohio State would probably have the fastest 40-times and quickest Gatorade pours on the field too.
I think we’re going to look back on this team and be able to count more NFL guys than what we’ve seen in a long, long, time — maybe ever. Now, that doesn’t mean a break or two messes things up here in 2019, but we might want to relish what we’re seeing right now.
Next … Too easy for awards
Justin Fields won’t be in New York because of the domination
Chase Young aside, Ohio State quarterback Justin Fields might be the best quarterback in college football. The problem is that he makes it look too easy. He’s been so utterly efficient, that the offense cruises right along and then he gets taken out of the game.
He doesn’t have to be Superman because of the defense and talent running the field with him, but when he has to put a cape on, it’s in the wardrobe. Unfortunately for Fields, he won’t get enough time, stats, or Heisman moments to get a shake at winning the thing.
It sounds funny, but this OSU team might be too good for the guy wearing No. 1 to win the Heisman because the focus isn’t on him alone.
Next … Depth
Seven hundred yards of offense tells you something
The Ohio State offense rolled up over 700 yards of offense using more strings than a full Broadway style orchestra. With everything we’re seeing this year, it’s easy to glance by that stat and move on to another eye-popping one.
But here’s the deal. Seven-hundred yard games don’t just come around every year. It’s happening more with the prolific era we’re in with the spread offense, but when the Buckeyes surpassed 700 yards in 2014, it was the first time for the program since playing Utah in 1986. And … it’s just the sixth time in program history that the offense has piled up over 700 yards.
Ho-hum.
What it says more than anything though is that the depth of this team is healthy to say the least. Normally when you pull starters out, there’s a bit of a drop off. It would be insane to think there wouldn’t be a wee-bit of a drop in scoring after totaling 42 points in the first 20 minutes, but OSU got pretty far into the depth chart on this one and still kept putting up points I couldn’t even pull off in NCAA ’14.
Next … What about Rutgers?
Ohio State now gets a further shot at putting up video game numbers
We said it before and it still pertains. Ohio State is pretty much on a three-week bye. It had the actual off-date on the schedule, then there was this one against a Maryland team that has spiraled out of control. Lastly, next up is week three of the Jim Delany bye, as the Buckeyes go to Piscataway to take on the worst team in the league.
Things haven’t quite spiraled out of control at Rutgers because truthfully — they’ve never really been in control since Greg Schiano left town. This year is no different, and Ohio Sate might be able to legitimately put up 80 points if it really wanted to.
The Scarlet Knights are awful on defense. In fact, only a total of five FBS teams are giving up more points per game than Rutgers, and the only reason Maryland is below it in yards per game is because of the 700 spot Ohio State just put on the ‘Terps.
If OSU was favored by 42.5 points against Maryland, what will the line be next week? They don’t really have nice things in Piscataway for football, and that scoreboard might just break on Saturday trying to keep up.
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