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No. 4 Ohio State avoided a midseason setback Saturday, slamming the door on an upset-minded Maryland team in a 37-17 win at home. The Terrapins had the Buckeyes staggering a bit early in the third quarter with a 17-10 lead after a long touchdown drive to open the second half, but Ohio State's depth took over from there.
After falling behind by a touchdown, the Buckeyes embarked on a 27-0 scoring run. Quarterback Kyle McCord, who finished the first half with seven incompletions, 126 passing yards and no touchdowns, came alive over the final 30 minutes. He fed the ball to wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. and tight end Cade Stover, who combined for 229 receiving yards and had both of Ohio State's receiving touchdowns.
Despite the lopsided scoring total, it's Ohio State's defense that deserves most of the credit. The Buckeyes had one lackluster drive, allowing Maryland's nine-play, 75-yard scoring march to open the second half, but they were dominant outside of that.
Not counting drives that started in Ohio State territory, Maryland only crossed the 50-yard line once in the second half and four times the entire game. Defensive back Josh Proctor scored OSU's only first-half touchdown by returning a Taulia Tagovailoa interception for a pick six. Ohio State also held Maryland to 8 of 19 on third downs and 0 for 1 on fourth-down attempts. Maryland averaged just over 4 yards per play in the second half in the failed attempt at the upset.
