Ohio State-Maryland | Ray Stein’s Bottom Line

U mad, bro? Who knows which school, if any, turned in Ohio State to the NCAA for Chase Young’s loan. And it really doesn’t matter under the letter of the law. But whoever spilled the beans, OSU certainly made Maryland pay the price. Rarely has “playing angry” been such an obvious point of emphasis. Shield the children, Mama. Leaves are awarded on a zero-to-five basis. — Ray Stein

Offense (5)

The first unit delivered a clinic of textbook football that often looked like 7-on-7 summer drills. No wonder the first half produced some devilish Ohio State statistics: six possessions for six touchdowns of six points each. Even more revealing, OSU went 8 of 8 on third down in the first half. The reserves got plenty of time to tidy the place.

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Defense (5)

It’s hard to fathom that Maryland is the same team that pinballed its way to 535 yards and 51 points in a narrow loss last season. This year the operative word for the Terrapins was tilt, at least until the Buckeyes cleared their bench in the second half. Even without Young, OSU registered seven sacks and forced two turnovers. Message sent.

Special teams (4)

No matter what happened in this game, short of pyrotechnics and/or feline magicians, the visual highlight was guaranteed to be the perfectly executed onside kick that OSU pulled off after its second touchdown. And it was manifest beauty. Outside of that, things were quiet on the specialists front except for PATs and a few immaterial returns.

Coaching (4)

Coming out of the Wisconsin victory and a second off week, Ryan Day wanted to make sure his team didn’t lose its emotional edge. Mission accomplished, boss, and then some. Perhaps too much edge, in fact. Ohio State clearly took care of business on the field but engaged in far too much horseplay (13 penalties, 141 yards) to suit the brass.

Fun (2)

Nobody appreciates a good public flogging like an Ohio Stadium crowd that has lapped them up for generations, but even the most hard-core believers were looking for OSU to call off the dogs late in the first half. Best non-onside kick moment: Buckeyes surrounding former teammate Keandre Jones with love in a postgame swarm.

Opponent (2)

This turtle soup is officially cooked. After scoring 142 points in its first two games this season, Maryland is 1-7 — the one win affirming that no matter what happens, the Terrapins are still better than Rutgers. That, friends, is the definition of a low bar. Not once did the Terps make OSU feel uncomfortable.

Officiating (3)

Jerry McGinn’s crew established a runaway season high by throwing 13 penalty flags at the Buckeyes’ feet, and another six in Maryland’s general direction. They also set likely world records, twice, for taking the longest amount of time to drop a flag for intentional grounding: gather, discuss, debate, point, confer, mingle, throw flag.

rstein@dispatch.com

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