COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Kyle McCord passed for 320 yards and two touchdowns, Marvin Harrison Jr. had eight catches for 163 yards and a score, and No. 4 Ohio State scored 27 straight points in the second half to beat Maryland 37-17 on Saturday.
The Buckeyes (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) didn’t lead until Jaden Fielding kicked a field goal to put them up 20-17 late in the third quarter.
“It was like one of those things — OK, what’s going on here?” Ohio State coach Ryan Day said of the sluggish offensive start. “But that’s the game, and you got to respond. So I thought we did respond well in the second half. Good rhythm.”
After a Maryland punt, McCord tossed a 44-yard TD pass to tight end Cade Stover. The Terps gave up the ball on downs on their next possession, and four plays later McCord found Harrison for a 17-yard touchdown to push the Ohio State lead to 34-17.
A late 41-yard field goal capped the scoring in a Buckeyes win that certainly didn’t look certain through three quarters.
Maryland’s Taulia Tagovailoa was 21 for 41 for 196 yards and a touchdown and ran for another score. But he was intercepted twice, the first a 24-yard pick-six by Josh Proctor in the second quarter that gave the Buckeyes their first touchdown.
Chip Trayanum was the main running back for the Buckeyes with TreVeyon Henderson sidelined for undisclosed reasons. Trayanum was mostly bottled up by the Terps, carrying 20 times for 61 yards, including a 4-yard TD in the third quarter.
The Buckeyes were slow to get going and fell behind 10-0. Proctor’s interception return and Jaden Fielding’s 24-yard field goal created a 10-all tie at half.
The Terps took the lead again early in the second half when Tagovailoa picked his way through traffic from 9 yards out for a touchdown.
The Buckeyes then went to work, with McCord connecting with Emeka Egbuka and Julian Fleming to set up Trayanum’s 4-yard touchdown run around right end. It was all Buckeyes the rest of the way.
“We talked all week about getting the game into the fourth quarter and then seeing where we fit,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “We were able to do that, and I just didn’t like the way we finished.”
THE TAKEAWAY
Maryland: The Terps entered the game having won each of their first five games by at least 18 points, and they looked capable of pulling the upset before Ohio State’s superior depth took over.
Ohio State: Buckeyes mounted a great rally after a sluggish start and continued to have issues with the run game. McCord hit some critical passes, and the Buckeyes’ defense held Maryland to 106 rushing yards and managed to contain Tagovailoa.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
Ohio State shouldn’t move much, if at all.
NO TREVEYON
Ohio State’s top running back, Henderson, was listed as unavailable with no reason given. He rushed for 104 yards and a TD against Notre Dame on Sept. 23, his first 100-yard game this season.
Henderson missed five games last season because of a broken bone in his left foot that required surgery in December.
UP NEXT
Maryland: Returns home to play Illinois on Saturday.
Ohio State: At Purdue next Saturday before a showdown at home against No. 7 Penn State.
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