COLLEGE PARK, Md. -- In a game that almost no one gave Maryland (6-5, 3-5) much of a chance, the Terps took No. 2 Ohio State (11-0, 8-0) down to the wire in a 43-30 loss in College Park on Saturday.

Coming off of two of the worst performances of his career, Terrapin redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa outplayed his Buckeye counterpart, Heisman Trophy candidate C.J. Stroud, as he finished 26-of-36 for 293 yards and a pair of touchdowns through the air and added a third touchdown on the ground.

Tagovailoa’s 293 yards through the air versus the Buckeyes also helped him pass former Terps quarterback Scott Milanovich (7,301) as the Terps’ all-time leader in passing yards.

It wasn’t meant to be for Tagovailoa and the Terps, however, as he was sacked on his final play of the game by Ohio State’s Zach Harrison, fumbling on the play and going down in pain as the fumble was recovered by Steele Chambers to give the Buckeyes a 43-30 lead with just 9 seconds remaining in the game.

Tagovailoa was able to walk off the field following the play and believes he should be ready to go when the Terps host Rutgers in their season finale next weekend.

“My knee is good,” Tagovailoa said after the game. “Obviously, it’s been bothering me the whole season but I think it just hit the ground real hard. I think it’s just a bad bruise.”

On an afternoon in which several of the nation’s top teams competing for playoff spots were nearly upset, including Ohio State rival Michigan, the Buckeyes had plenty of problems of their own with the Terrapins.

Things didn’t look good for the Terps early on, as Ohio State scored the game’s first touchdown on their opening drive with running back TreVeyon Henders taking a pass from Stroud 31 yards to put the Buckeyes up 7-0 just 1:32 into the first quarter.

After a couple of field goals by kicker Chad Ryland, the Terps took a 13-10 lead into halftime after Tagovailoa found tight end CJ Dippre in the end zone with 3:52 left in the second quarter.

Ohio State quickly took the lead back early in the third quarter, as Maryland’s Colton Spangler had his punt blocked and returned to the Terps’ own 14-yard line by Ohio State’s Denzel Burke. The Buckeyes scored two plays later, as running back Dallan Hayden rushed into the end zone from 8 yards out to put Ohio State back up 17-13 with 12:13 remaining in the third quarter.

The Buckeyes were up just 33-30 after Maryland converted a 4th-and-1 from the Ohio State goal line with Tagovailoa finding wide receiver Jeshaun Jones for the score with 9:49 remaining in the 4th quarter.

Ohio State’s Noah Ruggles kicked a 45-yard field goal with 42 seconds left, and Chambers added the final touchdown with 9 seconds to play to close out the scoring.

“We’re never satisfied with a loss, obviously, but what you saw today is us go blow for blow with a team I consider to be one of the best in the country,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said after the game.

Maryland will look to close out the regular season with 7 wins when they host Rutgers next Saturday at noon.