Ohio State vs. Maryland: 2026 game preview and prediction
· Yahoo Sports
Ohio State continued its dominance in October under Ryan Day, improving their record to 23-1 in the month with a 31-14 win at Iowa last week.
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Following the trip to a tough environment in Iowa City, the Buckeyes return home for a week to take on Maryland before two tough games on the road against Indiana and USC to close out the month.
It didn’t take Ohio State long to get on the scoreboard last week, as Julian Sayin found Devin McCuin for a 15-yard touchdown less than two minutes into the game. The Buckeyes would never trail in the game, opening up a 17-6 lead by halftime, and building on the lead in the second half.
Since losing to Texas, Ohio State has outscored its three opponents 136-36.
A lopsided history against Maryland
Next up for the Buckeyes is a home game against Maryland on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State has enjoyed their games against the Terrapins in the past, winning all nine previous meetings with Maryland.
Since taking over in 2019 as head coach, Ryan Day’s Buckeye teams have outscored the Terrapins 219-78 in four games. Ohio State has scored at least 37 points in each of the nine games against Maryland.
Hitting their groove behind Smith and Sayin
With each week Buckeye Nation can see the Ohio State offense gain more confidence after a rocky second half at Texas earlier in the season. Obviously the star of the show is Jeremiah Smith, who is making a strong case to be this year’s Heisman Trophy winner.
With 11 catches for 206 yards and two touchdowns last week, Smith now has gone for at least 200 yards receiving in each of the last two games. After breaking Ohio State’s career receiving yardage record earlier in the season, Smith broke the school’s career receptions and receiving touchdown records last week against the Hawkeyes.
With his next 100-yard receiving game, Smith will break a tie with Marvin Harrison Jr. for most in a career in school history, as both currently have 15 games of at least 100 yards receiving. Since his freshman season in 2024, Smith has 207 receptions for 3,381 yards, and 36 touchdowns. Smith is now 408 receiving yards and four receiving touchdowns away from setting the Big Ten career records.
Along with Smith’s masterful performance, UTSA transfer Devin McCuin had a solid game against Iowa, finishing with four catches for 80 yards and a score. Getting McCuin going is critical to Ohio State’s offense since it helps to take some attention away from Smith. McCuin has 17 catches for 245 yards, finding the end zone twice through five games this season.
Throwing to Smith, McCuin, and the other Ohio State receivers is quarterback Julian Sayin. It feels like all Sayin does is complete around 75 percent of his passes and finishes with at least 250 yards and a few touchdown passes. The Buckeye passing offense is averaging 357 yards passing this season, which currently ranks second in the country.
Sayin faced a lot of criticism for some of his throws in the second half against Texas, but last year’s Heisman Trophy finalist has rebounded 932 yards passing and nine touchdown passes over the last three games. With 45 touchdown passes since the beginning of the 2025 season, Sayin is tied for second-most in the country during that span, only trailing the 49 touchdown passes Darian Mensah has tossed.
What has been interesting to watch this season is the emergence of Ja’Kobi Jackson as a trusted running back for the Buckeyes. Now in his seventh season of college football, Jackson and starter Bo Jackson are essentially splitting carries. Last week the Florida transfer had 14 carries, while Bo Jackson had 16. The elder Jackson finished with 72 yards on the ground, while Bo Jackson had 70 yards.
It is obvious the Ohio State offense line is starting to find some comfort since the Buckeyes are not only doing a better job at protecting Julian Sayin, the rushing attack has had a little more pop over the last three games. After failing to reach 100 yards on the ground against Texas, Ohio State has rushed for over 140 yards in each of the last three games.
Growing confidence on the defensive side
Ohio State’s defense might not quite have as much star power as they did last season, but the group is still tough to score on. Through five games, the Buckeyes are allowing just 12.6 points per game, which ranks eighth in the country. Matt Patricia’s group is also a top-20 defense when it comes to yards allowed, only giving up 267 yards per game.
Last week saw Qua Russaw play his best game as a Buckeye. The Alabama transfer finished with five tackles and a sack, while fellow defensive end Kenyatta Jackson Jr. recorded the other Ohio State sack during the game.
When both Russaw and Jackson are able to get to the quarterback, along with defensive tackles Eddrick Houston and others stuffing the middle of the line is when the Buckeye defense are at their best.
Leading Ohio State in tackles last week was linebacker Payton Pierce, who had six stops against the Hawkeyes. Pierce is currently tied with defensive back Earl Little Jr. for the team lead with 26 tackles. Sitting behind Pierce is Wisconsin transfer Christian Alliegro, who has 20 tackles. Alliegro made a key play last week when he recovered a Iowa fumble.
The most dynamic player in the linebacker group is Riley Pettijohn. The Texas native has 18 tackles, four tackles for loss, two sacks, and an interception. Along with Pettijohn, T.J. Alford has been impressing with his play so far. Alford also has a pick and a couple passes broken up. One thing is for certain, linebackers coach James Lauriniatis has some outstanding talent to work with.
In the secondary, safety Jaylen McClain continues to assert himself as the leader of the group, stepping into the role after Caleb Downs moved on to the NFL. Last week McClain had his second interception of the season, picking off Iowa quarterback Hank Brown late in the third quarter. If Ohio State can get Jay Timmons back healthy soon, they’ll have quite a combo at safety for games against Indiana and USC.
Following some rough performances earlier in the season, cornerback Devin Sanchez has bounced back over the last few weeks. If the Buckeyes have any hopes at a deep run in the College Football Playoff, they’ll need Sanchez and Jermaine Matthews Jr. to be strong at the corner positions. Sanchez has five passes broken up this year, while Matthews has added four PBUs.
How Maryland enters this week’s game
Maryland enters Saturday’s game with a 2-3 record, having lost their last three games. Most recently, the Terrapins were beaten 48-23 by Nebraska in Lincoln. The loss came on the heels of an embarrassing 54-3 loss to UCLA at home. Now Maryland has to taken on an Ohio State program they have never beaten.
The recent losses and lack of development in the program has many wondering how long head coach Mike Locksley will be employed by the school. Now in his eighth season at Maryland, Locksley has posted a 39-52 record in College Park.
If the Terrapins don’t make a move during the season, it would be surprising if they didn’t once their regular season ends.
Fear the offense of the Terrapins
Taking the snaps for the Maryland offense will be Malik Washington. As a freshman last season, Washington threw for nearly 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns. The Maryland native has thrown for at least 250 yards in three of his five starts this year, entering this game with 1,288 yards and seven touchdown passes.
Because the Terrapins are often trailing in games, it forces Washington to throw the football more than Locksley and offensive coordinator Clint Trickett would prefer to. The quarterback has now attempted at least 30 passes in eight straight games, which is the longest active streak in the FBS.
Another byproduct of Maryland forcing to play from behind so much is they have to quicken their tempo. This year the Terrapins are averaging 71.8 plays per game, up from 66.3 plays per game last year.
Because of the increased tempo, Washington has at least 350 yards of offense in consecutive games, making him the second Maryland player in the last 30 years to accomplish that feat. Ohio State’s C.J. Stroud is the last Big Ten player to have a longer streak, doing it in five straight games.
Lost in how great Jeremiah Smith has been this year at wide receiver is the numbers Chris Durr Jr. is putting up. The Wyoming transfer has 42 catches for 461 yards and four scores through five games. Durr actually was the first Big Ten receiver this season with two or more games of at least 10 receptions.
The 8.4 receptions Durr is averaging per games is second in the FBS, and he now has at least six catches in five straight games, making him the first Maryland receiver to reach that mark since Tai Felton did so in six straight games in 2024.
Last week Durr finished with 149 yards receiving against Nebraska. In the first quarter alone Durr had 135 yards receiving. The 461 yards receiving so far for Durr puts him just nine yards away from setting a career high for a season.
Three other Maryland receivers to keep an eye on are Dorian Fleming, Na’eem Abdul-Rahim Gladding, and Kaleb Webb. Both receivers have 18 receptions on the year. Gladding has 239 yards receiving and two touchdowns, while Fleming has amassed 171 yards and found the end zone once. While Webb doesn’t have a touchdown, he has 17 catches for 235 yards entering this week.
The offense of the Terrapins isn’t just all Washington and Durr. Maryland has found success running the football. The Terrapins are one of just three FBS teams with at least three running backs with 100 yards and three rushing touchdowns this seasons, joining Alabama and UCLA.
Iverson Howard leads the group with 211 yards and four rushing touchdowns. After missing three games, DeJuan Williams returned last week against Nebraska and had 78 yards and a score on 10 carries. For the season, Williams has 194 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
The third Maryland running back with at least 100 yards on the ground and a trio of touchdowns is Harry Dalton III. The freshman has 113 yards rushing and three touchdowns, with two of those scores coming in the win over UConn earlier in the season.
A defense that is playing with pride
Despite giving up a bunch of points over the last three games, the pass defense of the Terrapins doesn’t give up a lot. Over the last eight games Maryland has not given up more than 250 yards passing, which is the fourth-longest streak in the FBS.
Safety Messiah Delhomme has two interceptions on the season to go along with 15 tackles. The other safety spot for the Terrapins has been manned by Lavian Scruggs.
The featured cornerback for Maryland will be Jamare Glasker. The senior intercepted his first pass of the season last week against Nebraska and has four pass breakups this season. Jordan Scruggs will line up at the other corner spot, while Amari Jackson will also see plenty of time at the nickel in Ted Monachino’s defense.
As a group the Maryland defense has come out of the gates strong in games. The Terrapins have allowed seven or fewer points in the first quarter in 21 straight games, which is the sixth-longest active streak among FBS programs.
A strength of their defense is their ability to get to the quarterback, registering 14 sacks through the first five games. Defensive end Derrick LeBlanc is tied for the team lead with 2.5 sacks. Interior lineman Eyan Thomas has added two sacks.
Lining up at the other defensive tackle spot will be Nahsir Taylor. The sophomore has 15 tackles and 1.5 sacks through the first five games. Sidney Stewart will start opposite LeBlanc and the other defensive end position.
The heart of the Maryland defense is their linebackers. Following a solid freshman season where he had 64 tackles, Carlton Smith leads the team with 34 tackles, with three of those stops coming behind the line of scrimmage.
Joining Smith as a starter is Daniel Wingate. The senior is coming off a 2025 season where he had 102 tackles. So far this season Wingate has 31 stops and a forced fumble. The other linebacker who should feature in Maryland’s rotation is Trey Reddick.
Prediction
There’s no reason Ohio State shouldn’t easily defeat Maryland for the 10th straight time, staying perfect against the Terrapins. The Buckeyes are coming off a strong all-around performance against a gritty Iowa team, while Maryland has lost three straight games.
There’s no question Malik Washington is a talented quarterback, but he has shown he has turnover issues. Against a hungry Buckeyes defense things could get ugly for Washington in Columbus.
As long as Ohio State can slow down the hot play of Chris Durr Jr. then they should be in good shape. Even if Durr puts up some numbers, the Terrapins haven’t shown they have enough to compliment what he does, as evidenced by last week’s game where he had 149 receiving yards and Maryland still lost by 25.
As long as the Buckeyes aren’t looking ahead to next week’s game with Indiana then Ohio State should continue their dominance over the Maryland. The Terrapins are already facing a decision on Mike Locksley. A blowout loss might force Maryland to cut ties with the head coach.