Ohio State vs. Maryland Game Preview

The Buckeyes are 3-0 and having a terrific season thus far. They're preparing for their first trip to College Park, Maryland since 2018, where they barely escaped an overtime victory.

The Buckeyes roll into Week 4 off the heels of another epic performance from Justin Fields and the offense, after a 35-point first half on Saturday. Now, the team heads back to College Park, Maryland for a matchup with the Terrapins. Maryland is starting to play better football after a miserable opening week performance.

The trip to Maryland is significant because it brings back memories of the heart-stopping scare Ohio State had in 2018. The Scarlet and Gray survived that day, 52-51 in overtime thanks to a Terps' failed 2-point conversion. Remarkably, Ohio State hasn't won a Big Ten game by fewer than 10 points since then.

Justin Fields directs a receiver against Rutgers on November 7, 2020 / Ohio State Athletics

General Info

Date: November 14, 2020
Where: Maryland Stadium (College Park, Maryland)
Expected Weather: 57 degrees, clear skies
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m.

Current Betting Numbers

Spread: Ohio State (-27)
O/U Total: 70.5

How to Watch/Listen

Television: Big Ten Network
Streaming: FOX Sports Go

Radio: Ohio State Sports Network from Learfield IMG College
Flagship: WBNS 97.1 The Fan
buckAnnouncers: Paul Keels (play-by-play), Jim Lachey (analyst), Matt Andrews (sideline reporter), Skip Mosic (pregame/halftime/postgame host)

Series History

2019: Ohio State - 73, Maryland- 14
2018: Ohio State - 52, Maryland - 51, in OT
2017: Ohio State - 62, Maryland- 14
2016: Ohio State - 62, Maryland- 3
2015: Ohio State - 49, Maryland- 28
2014: Ohio State - 52, Maryland- 24

Since joining the Big Ten in 2014, Ohio State has dominated Maryland (except for 2018). The Buckeyes have scored an average of 58.3 points per game in the all-time series. If you remove the 2018 outlier, OSU has an average margin of victory of 43 points.

Coaching Matchup

* Ryan Day (Career Record: 19-1, Ohio State Record: Same)
* Mike Locksley (Career Record: 8-41, Maryland Record: 6-15)

Ohio State Team Capsule

The Buckeyes had a lackluster second half against Rutgers last weekend, but don't let that distract from their offensive dominance and third straight convincing win to start the season. Quarterback Justin Fields had another epic game, throwing five touchdowns for the first time in his collegiate career. He also surpassed 300 yards passing for the fifth time. Through three games this season, Fields is responsible for more touchdowns (13) than he's thrown incomplete passes (11).

Garrett Wilson has three consecutive 100-yard receiving games and Chris Olave has been equally as good. On the year, those two have combined for 42 catches, 632 yards and six touchdowns. Linebackers Tuf Borland and Pete Werner lead the defense with 16 tackles each. The defense is allowing 356 yards of offense per game this year, even though the Buckeyes are winning games by an average of 23.3 points.

Tuf Borland helps make a tackle against Rutgers / Ohio State Athletics

Maryland Team Capsule

Maryland is a Big Ten team on the rise. They have some momentum in recruiting and they are beginning to play better football on Saturdays. While they are a decided underdog this weekend, they enter the game on the heels of back-to-back wins. Believe it or not, since the Terps joined the Big Ten in 2014, they've never won two consecutive league games until the past two weeks. Furthermore, they've never started better than 1-2 through the first three games in league play until now.

Taulia Tagovailoa runs away from a Penn State defender

After getting routed in a bad opening-week loss to Northwestern, they turned around and beat Minnesota in overtime, 45-44 before last week's big surprise win over Penn State. Taulia Tagovailoa got off to a slow start this season, but his performance on Saturday was fantastic. He was 18-for-26 for 282 yards and three touchdowns over the Nittany Lions. It was just Maryland's third win in 44 tries against PSU.

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