Maryland football starts off strong, runs out of gas in 37-17 loss to No. 4 Ohio State

Maryland football found itself trailing Ohio State by 10 points early in the fourth quarter. The Terps had made life hard for the home-team Buckeyes all afternoon, and looked to draw closer in a game they possessed the lead for much of.

Corey Dyches caught a short pass for a three-yard gain on first down from its own 25-yard line. Then offensive coordinator Josh Gattis dialed up back-to-back run plays, each picking up two yards to set up a crucial fourth-and-two try.

Antwain Littleton II took a third consecutive handoff up the gut. He was almost immediately met by defensive end J.T. Tuimoloau in the backfield. Two more Buckeyes joined him to stuff the Terps’ last-gasp attempt at a comeback.

After another Buckeyes’ touchdown, the Terps (5-1) left Ohio Stadium with a 37-17 defeat at the hands of No. 4 Ohio State (6-0).

It was a bitter defeat considering the grip on the game Maryland appeared to have in the first half. It dominated at the line of scrimmage and looked to be the far-better prepared team, making key plays to capture early momentum.

But they made a handful of crucial mistakes that prevented them from firing a knockout punch. 

Multiple drops stalled drives, and Tagovailoa threw a poor 2nd-quarter interception deep in Maryland’s territory which safety Josh Proctor took to the house for Ohio State’s first score of the game.

With no timeouts available and seconds left in the half in field-goal range, Tagovailoa threw to a well-covered Littleton inside the numbers. He was tackled immediately and the sides went into the break tied 10-10 instead of a potential 13-10 Terps lead.

“Those are situations that I gotta be ahead of the game with,” Tagovailoa said. “Just throw it or dirt the ball down, walk away with points on the board.”

Tagovailoa finished an underwhelming performance completing 21-of-41 passes for 196 yards. He accounted for both of Maryland’s touchdowns, but threw two crucial interceptions to Ohio State’s defense.

The Terps had no answers for Buckeyes’ receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who finished the game with 163 yards and a touchdown on eight catches. He was the focal point of an offense that averaged under two yards per carry and targeted no other receiver more than four times.

“The way you structure things is to take away the good players,” coach Michael Locksley said. “He made a bunch of plays I would hope we would have been better at.”

Two incomplete passes intended for Harrison Jr. forced the Buckeyes to line up in punt formation on their first drive of the game. A bad snap forced linebacker Cody Simon, lined up as an upback, to try to pick up a first down with his legs on a fake punt.

But he was brought down nearly immediately, setting up Maryland with stellar field position less than a minute into the game. It didn’t take the Terps long to capitalize on it.

Tagovailoa fired a bullet to an in-breaking Kaden Prather in the endzone on the fourth play of the drive. The 6-foot-4 receiver used his large frame to box out a Buckeye cornerback and bring in the game’s first score with his left hand less than three minutes in.

Ohio State’s second drive stalled out when Kellan Wyatt got to quarterback Kyle McCord for a 3-yard loss on third-and-10. Jeshaun Jones fumbled a fair catch attempt on the punt, but Maryland caught a break as the ball bounced harmlessly into Dante Trader Jr.’s arms.

The Terps had no trouble moving the ball on the Buckeyes’ defense in the first half. Littleton averaged 4.4 yards per carry and picked up four first downs for an offense that totaled 181 yards in the half.

But mistakes in key situations — including multiple failed third-down conversions, Tagovailoa’s pick-six and his blunder before halftime — kept the game within Buckeye reach.

“Those are the type of plays where our best players got to show up and make plays,” Locksley said. “We’ve got to do a better job as a coaching staff of putting them in those positions to make plays.”

Maryland couldn’t have asked for a better response out of halftime. It received the opening kickoff and efficiently drove 75 yards on nine plays to take a quick seven-point lead. 

Then Ohio State’s ensuing drive was equally dominant. A pass interference penalty and two deep pass plays set up an easy Chip Trayanum game-tying touchdown.

The game was all Buckeyes from that point on. 

Tagovailoa gave them the ball back on another interception in Maryland territory. Ohio State capitalized with a field goal to extend its lead to two scores.

The Terps were stuffed on fourth down to again set up the Buckeyes with great field position. Harrison Jr. put the cherry on top of his phenomenal performance with the game-sealing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.