No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes In Dogfight With Maryland Terrapins At Half

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes' abysmal start against the Maryland Terrapins was overcome in the second quarter.

The No. 4 Ohio State Buckeyes rallied after a slow start at Ohio Stadium Saturday, as they are tied with the Maryland Terrapins 10-10 at halftime.

The Buckeyes had what looked to be a botched snap that turned into a fake punt attempt that the Terrapins sniffed out quickly. Linebacker Cody Simon was dropped for a loss of 3 yards, and Maryland took over on the Buckeyes' 30-yard line.

A pair of 15-yard completions from Terrapins quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa — the latter to Kaden Prather — gave Maryland an early 7-0 lead in the first quarter.

Ohio State safety Josh Proctor jumped the route on Tagovailoa's pass attempt to wide receiver Tyrese Chambers, returning it 24 yards for a touchdown to cut the Buckeyes' deficit to 10-7 midway through the second quarter.

Quarterback Kyle McCord started 2-for-7, 14 yards and was sacked twice in the first quarter, but more than quadrupled that with a 58-yard completion to wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. After a 19-yard hookup from McCord to Harrison, kicker Jayden Fielding knocked through a 36-yard field goal to tie the game 10-10.

McCord finished the half 8-for-15 with 126 yards, while his counterpart, Tagovailoa, was 13-for-27 for 140 yards, one touchdown and an interception.

Harrison caught six passes for 109 yards, leading all pass-catchers in receiving in the first half.

On Maryland's second drive of the game, it had driven 50 yards in 10 plays, bringing in backup quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. for an attempted draw on fourth-and-1. Linebacker Tommy Eichenberg and defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau stuffed Edwards for no gain on Ohio State's 29-yard line.