Maryland walked into Ohio Stadium already carrying a tough history against Ohio State, and by the end of Saturday’s Homecoming matchup, that skid had only grown longer. The Terrapins fell 45-16, their 10th straight loss to the Buckeyes, as Jeremiah Smith helped power another lopsided Ohio State win.
After the game, Mike Locksley didn’t try to spin it. Maryland’s head coach gave Ohio State its due, pointing straight to the level of execution that separated the two teams.
“Ohio State is really deserving of their ranking; they made the plays they needed to make.”
The numbers told the story of a Maryland offense stuck in the mud. The Terrapins finished with just 146 total yards, including 64 passing yards from Malik Washington, while Ohio State rolled up 449 yards overall and 207 on the ground. Locksley said the difference came down to the Buckeyes making the winning plays and Maryland failing to do the same.
“You have to execute extremely well against teams like Ohio State. We didn't make enough winning plays.”
Locksley also pointed to a problem that hurt Maryland all afternoon: man coverage. Ohio State repeatedly found room after the catch, and that showed up in Smith’s two touchdowns.
“When we played man, that's where we got in trouble today, and we've got to be able to get the ball on the ground once it's caught because they were catch-and-runs.”
Before kickoff, Locksley and his staff had identified a few paths that could keep Maryland competitive, including winning the turnover battle. The Terrapins did get that part right, but it wasn’t enough to change the outcome.
“We had a couple positives; I thought winning the turnover battle defensively [was key]. The goal was to come in, and we had to limit the opportunities Ohio State had.
We tried to shrink the game on offense with a longer play clock. We wanted to create turnovers.
The goal was two. We did that.
I thought they continued to fight in the second half. But ultimately it wasn't good enough.
And for me, as the head coach, I have to make it good enough.”
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Sayin did show some growth by extending plays and keeping drives alive, yet the larger concern for Ohio State remained the same afterward: the quarterback still has not consistently built strong connections with receivers outside of Smith. For a team with bigger goals ahead, that makes the passing game feel a little more settled in production than in identity. [Read more 🡒]