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Ohio State vs. Maryland fearless prediction and game preview.
Broadcast
Date: Saturday, November 17
Game Time: 12:00 ET
Venue: Maryland Stadium, College Park, MD
Network: ABC
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Ohio State (9-1) vs. Maryland (5-5) Game Preview
One Reason Why Ohio State Will Win
If it’s Maryland, there’s a horribly unfair injury to a quarterback.
Once again, Kasim Hill suffered a torn ACL and is out for year. Tyrrell Pigrome is an experienced option, but he’s not Hill. But no matter who’s at quarterback, the Terp passing game is spotty – at best – and now the offense will be even more one-dimensional than ever.
The Buckeye run defense might not be quite as strong as it was expected to be, but it’s strong enough to hold up against an offense that can’t do much of anything else. Last week, with all the issues and concerns across the board, the D came up with one of its strongest performances of the year, allowing a season-low 54 rushing yards to Michigan State.
That was the Ohio State defense we’ve all been waiting for in the 26-6 win.
On the offensive side, Dwayne Haskins has been slightly off over the last two games after cranking out 400-yard passing games like they were no big deal, but this week he should be sharp – Maryland doesn’t generate any consistent pressure. He won’t throw for 400 yards, but he’ll keep the offense moving.
But …
One Reason Why Maryland Will Win
This is what Ohio State is.
There’s too much talent for that with not to flip on, but it’s mid-November. If it didn’t happen by now … again, this is what Ohio State is.
The offense just isn’t going to be consistent. It’s getting the job done when it absolutely has to, but it’s been creative – the offense hasn’t been able to come up with the same sort of performance twice.
The Maryland secondary will give up yards. It got hit hard in a loss to Indiana last week, and Michigan’s Shea Patterson was sharp. But for the most part, the Terps have been able to hold up defensively.
The offense has to do its part. It has to control the game on the ground from the start.
Again, there won’t be anything happening through the air, but the offense has come up with 290 yards or more five times on the year, winning four of those games. Great in turnover margin, and decent at controlling games, Maryland has the right formula to hang around if the Buckeyes might be peering ahead to next week against Michigan just a wee bit, but …
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What’s Going To Happen
Ohio State isn’t going to screw up enough to give this away.
No, the Buckeyes haven’t played up to their talent level, and no, they haven’t been as strong as expected, but they’re winning. The Purdue loss is still too fresh, and it was too much of a struggle to get by Nebraska, Minnesota and Indiana, but the team got the W.
It’ll be the same thing here.
There won’t be anything awe-inspiring against the Maryland defense, but after having problems with dealing with the ground game, OSU will find a way – like it did with the punting game vs. Michigan State, Haskins vs. TCU, and on and on.
Fearless Prediction & Line
Ohio State 30, Maryland 13
Line: Ohio State -14.5, o/u: 58.5
ATS Confidence out of 5: 2.5
Must See Rating: 3
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