Ohio State comes into homecoming with a soft landing spot and a dangerous stretch waiting right behind it.
After rolling past Iowa 31-14 on the road, the Buckeyes get Maryland in Columbus this weekend. On paper, it’s the kind of matchup that should let Ohio State keep building momentum before the schedule turns sharply uphill. For Maryland, though, this trip could get ugly fast - and it may be the kind of loss that pushes head coach Mike Locksley closer to the exit.
Locksley’s seat is already hot. Maryland is 2-3 overall and 0-2 in the Big Ten, and the Terrapins are coming off two straight blowout losses against conference opponents. Another lopsided defeat against Ohio State would make it three in a row, and that kind of run could be enough to end his tenure.
The larger picture hasn’t helped him either. Maryland went 4-8 in each of the last two seasons, and Locksley is still under .500 as the program’s head coach, a job he’s held since 2019. This has not been the kind of stretch that buys a coach much patience.
Ohio State, meanwhile, looks built to punish a team in that kind of spot. The Buckeyes are already a massive favorite, and that line could climb as the week goes on. If their performance against Iowa is any indication, Maryland may spend a long afternoon trying to keep the game from getting away from it.
Jeremiah Smith is the matchup nightmare at the center of it all. No one has managed to completely slow him down this season, and he has posted back-to-back games of more than 200 receiving yards. The source material doesn’t leave much doubt about how he’s viewed right now: he is the best player in the country, and Maryland doesn’t look equipped to handle him.
Saturday also marks the last easy-looking game on Ohio State’s schedule for a while. After Maryland, the Buckeyes head to Indiana and USC before hosting Oregon. All three are ranked opponents, and that run will tell the real story of where this team stands.
How Ohio State handles that stretch will go a long way toward determining its College Football Playoff path. The win over Iowa suggested the Buckeyes are handling business with authority, and the Texas fourth-quarter collapse already feels like an outlier. Since then, they’ve kept the pressure on and kept winning.
If they get through Indiana, that would say plenty. It would also go a long way toward proving Ohio State is the top team in the Big Ten. Right now, the Buckeyes look like a juggernaut.
In Other News...
Jaxon Smith-Njigba Just Added Another Chapter To Ohio State History
Jaxon Smith-Njigba turned Ohio Stadium into a showcase on Saturday, piling up 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns as No. 5 Ohio State handled No. 14 Iowa, 31-14. It was the kind of afternoon that reminded everyone why the Buckeyes have long been a factory for elite receivers, with Smith-Njigba producing the kind of big-play outing that can change a game in a hurry.
By the time the dust settled, Smith-Njigba had moved into first place in Ohio State history in receptions, receiving touchdowns and receiving yards, adding another line to a program record book already crowded with stars. Julian Sayin helped make it possible, completing 20 of 27 passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns without an interception, giving the Buckeyes a passing performance that kept Iowa chasing from start to finish. [Read more 🡒]
Iowa Just Got A Harsh Reminder Of The Gap They Face
Ohio State left Iowa with more than another conference win after Saturdays 31-14 result. The Buckeyes latest showing was enough to push them to the top of ESPNs FPI rankings, another sign that the national machine in Columbus is rolling early and creating separation from the rest of the Big Ten pack.
Jeremiah Smith was at the center of it again, turning the trip into a showcase performance and further underscoring why the Buckeyes are built so differently right now. Iowa got a reminder of the gap it still has to close, while Ohio State kept adding to the sense that its ceiling is rising with each week. [Read more 🡒]
Ohio State Won But These Buckeye Mistakes Wont Fly Much Longer
Ohio State handled Iowa 31-14 in Big Ten play, but the win came with enough slippage to keep the postgame film session busy. The Buckeyes were still good enough to control the game, yet the offense kept running into avoidable issues, including false starts from Gabe VanSickle and Austin Siereveld and a pass interference sequence that added to the frustration around a choppy night.
The special teams side had its own blemishes, too, and the overall picture was less about the final margin than the missed chances that piled up along the way. Add in some coaching decisions and a few officiating calls that left people wondering about the standard on the field, and it was the kind of victory that still underscored how much cleaner Ohio State needs to be as the schedule moves on. [Read more 🡒]