Five things to watch for: No. 3 Ohio State
TSR takes a look at five storylines to pay close attention to as the Terps head to Columbus to take on No. 3 Ohio State Nov. 9.
Maryland is currently on a four-game losing streak as the Terps head to Columbus to take on an undefeated Ohio State squad. The Buckeyes are ranked third in the Associated Press Top 25 poll and are the newly minted top team in the country based on the recently released College Football Playoff Rankings.
Stopping quarterback Justin Fields on the offensive of the ball and the NCAA’s leader in sacks, Chase Young, on the defensive side of the ball will be a tall task for the Terps, but Maryland did shock the world last year by taking Ohio State to overtime in College Park. The Terps were 14.5-point underdogs last year and are a whopping 43.5-point dog this Saturday as of this writing.
After a rough week against Michigan last week, grad-transfer quarterback Josh Jackson is likely to start again for Maryland, but head coach Mike Locksley said earlier this week that there’s a good chance we see Jackson and backup Tyrrell Pigrome this week, as the Terps look to pull out all the stops against the Buckeyes.
How the Terps platoon quarterbacks against the Buckeyes is one thing to watch for in this matchup. Here are five more things to watch when Maryland and Ohio State take the field on Saturday.
Packages for Piggy and Legendre
Jackson started last game, but true freshman Lance Legendre finished it at quarterback for the Terps. When asked this week about Legendre’s prospects of seeing some extra playing time in Maryland’s last few games, Locksley wouldn’t rule it out and the Terps can play the former four-star recruit in two more outings and still preserve his redshirt eligibility. Locksley also said this week that either Jackson or Pigrome will get the start and that if Legendre does play it will only be in a certain package designed for him. Signs point to Jackson starting again, but Pigrome is fully healthy this week — as opposed to last week when he was battling a minor knee injury — and Locksley mentioned that he could use both of his most experienced signal-callers against the Buckeyes on Saturday.
History looming for Leake
Terps running back Javon Leake has been one of the few bright spots for Maryland this season, and not just because the junior leads the team in rushing, but also because of his production on special teams. Leake has been a star on special teams throughout his career in College Park, and last week against Michigan he scored Maryland’s only points with a 97-yard kick return for a touchdown to tie him with former Terps wide receiver Torrey Smith for most kick return touchdowns in program history (three). Leake’s kick return touchdown against the Wolverines gave him two on the season, which is tied with Smith and three other former Terps for most in Maryland history and currently has him tied with three other players for the most in the FBS this year. The score last weekend also put Leake ahead of Ty Johnson for seventh all-time in kick return yards in program history with 1,228. With 32 more return yards, Leake will pass Steve Suter to move into sixth place. Another kick return touchdown would make him arguably the best return man in Maryland history. Leake is averaging 29.8 yards per return this season, the seventh-best average in the country and best in the Big Ten.
Have the Buckeyes made adjustments for McFarland?
In last season’s overtime battle between the Buckeyes and Terps, Maryland running back Anthony McFarland rushed for a career-high 298 yards, the second-most in program history behind LaMont Jordan (306). McFarland ripped off 71- and 80-yard touchdowns in the first quarter against Ohio State last year and his 175 yards in the opening quarter were the most by any player in the FBS in the first quarter last season. Ohio State’s rushing defense wasn’t elite last year, but nobody gashed them like McFarland did. The Buckeyes haven’t forgotten how McFarland burned them and they’ll be locked in on him on Saturday. The question is: What adjustments have they made since last year to stop him? We’ll see who wins Round 2 between McFarland and the Buckeyes’ defense.
A motivated Keandre Jones
Typically players don’t want to tip their hand in terms of whether or not playing against their former team stirs up any extra emotions, but Terps grad-transfer outside linebacker Keandre Jones didn’t hold back his eagerness for Saturday’s game when asked about it earlier this week. “Obviously I’ve had this game marked since I transferred from Ohio State. Nothing personal, I’m still friends with a lot of those guys, the relationships are still good between us. I’m excited and anxious to get out there on the field,” Jones said. He is already Maryland’s best player in the front seven this season and leads the Terps with six sacks, but it sounds like he’ll have a little extra gas in the tank come Saturday against his former team. Regardless of what the scoreboard says at the end of the game, a small victory for Maryland can be a strong performance by the player they whisked away from Columbus this offseason.
Two of the Big Ten’s best Heisman candidates
As one of the nation’s best teams, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Ohio State features two potential Heisman candidates. The crazy part is the Buckeyes have one on each side of the ball in quarterback Justin Fields and defensive end Chase Young. Fields has an impressive 1,659 passing yards, 24 passing touchdowns and just one interception so far this season. The dual-threat quarterback has also added 319 rushing yards and nine rushing touchdowns to his totals. Young leads the NCAA with 13.5 sacks and has been an unstoppable force coming off the edge for the Buckeyes’ defense. There are sure to be plays made by two of college football’s best players, and if the Terps can neutralize even one of them a little bit that would be another small victory for Maryland.