We’re three games into the 2020 season and Ohio State has taken care of business thus far as they trek towards the toughest leg of their schedule. After taking care of Rutgers and trick plays galore, the Buckeyes are now on to face upstart Maryland.
Seriously, did anyone look at the schedule at the beginning of the season and see this stretch as the part that could make or break the Buckeyes season? If you said yes… I don’t believe you. But it is looking more and more likely to be the case.
Michigan has looked just awful after a season-opening victory over Minnesota. And Penn State? Not much better.
So, here we go with week four of Big Ten play and Ohio State takes on the second-place team in the Big Ten East… the Maryland Terrapins. What an odd time 2020 is.
Record
Ohio State (3-0), Maryland (2-1)
Broadcast, TV, Game Time
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Game Time: 3:30 p.m. EST
Network: Big Ten Network
Venue: Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium – Capacity – 51,802 (no fans permitted due to COVID-19 restrictions)
All-Time Series: Ohio State leads 6-0
Last Meeting: Ohio State defeated Maryland 73-14 in 2019
Next … The game plan
Ohio State game plan for victory
All things considered, Ohio State has looked really good, on both sides of the ball. But we all know that the Buckeyes haven’t yet played their best game. Of course, Justin Fields has played nearly flawless to this point in the season as well as the receivers, but the running game still seems sub-par.
Fields makes up for a lot where others are lacking, but the run game must get in gear. As the Buckeyes march toward a Big Ten championship and hopefully more, the run game has to take some of the pressure off of the OSU quarterback. No better time than the present.
Defensively, Ohio State will face the most talented quarterback they’ve seen this year in Taulia Tagovailoa. The younger brother of Alabama legend and current Miami Dolphins quarterback, Tua Tagovailoa, also chose Alabama to play his college ball. However, after Alabama offensive coordinator, Mike Locksley, accepted the Maryland job, the younger Tagovailoa followed the coach to College Park.
The young Buckeye secondary will be challenged to keep Tagovailoa in check. After a rough start to the season, Tagovailoa has come alive. In an overtime victory over Minnesota, the Terrapin quarterback threw for 394 yards and 3 touchdowns and followed that with a 282 yard 3 touchdown performance at Penn State. The bottom line is the young man can sling it and a secondary that is already thin may be tested.
Next … The key players for Ohio State
Two Key Players For Ohio State
Justin Fields – Quarterback. The OSU offense begins and ends with quarterback, Justin Fields. The Buckeye QB has been all-world so far in 2020 and he’ll need to continue that trend until the running game can find more consistency. The good news is, Fields is more than capable of carrying the load.
There's a new highest-graded QB in College Football
Justin. Fields. pic.twitter.com/ysRo9dWBv7
— PFF College (@PFF_College) November 9, 2020
Shaun Wade – Cornerback: Shaun Wade came back to Ohio State and had big things in mind… win a Big Ten championship, win a national championship, and ride off into the sunset as an NFL first-round draft pick. However, the top Buckeye corner has been less than spectacular thus far in 2020. Wade will need to be on top of his game to slow down the Terrapin passing attack and freshman Rakim Jarrett who is coming off a 144 yard 2 touchdown game against Penn State.
C3 teach tape here by CB Shaun Wade. Look at drop at an angle to stay on top of the post, fall off, and cut off the corner route.
Chefs kiss* pic.twitter.com/wWk0GB76pM
— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) October 24, 2020
Next … How it’ll all do down
The prediction
The 2020 version of the Maryland Terrapins are not the Maryland Terrapins we’ve grown accustomed to. This team has some top tier talent and they’ve shown it in some big wins. But they just don’t have the horses to match up with Ohio State across the board.
What Maryland does have is a “nothing to lose” attitude which will keep them in the game… and that can be dangerous. The score will be closer than anyone would’ve predicted prior to the season beginning. The Terrapins may keep it close or even have the lead going into halftime.
At the end of the day though, Ohio State wears down the young Terrapins and pull ahead to a comfortable margin and ultimately put the game away early in the fourth quarter.
Final Score
Ohio State 45, Maryland 24
Line
Ohio State – coming
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