The Maryland football team lost to Ohio State, 43-30, on Nov. 19, dropping its third consecutive game.
Maryland (6-5, 3-5 Big Ten) played with more energy against the Buckeyes after two lackluster performances in losses to Wisconsin (23-10) to Penn State (30-0) but ultimately fell short.
The Terps will now look to avoid a fourth straight loss when they host Rutgers (4-7, 1-7) in the season-finale at noon on Nov. 26.
“We’re never satisfied with a loss, but what you saw today is us going blow for blow with a team that I consider to be one of the best in the country,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said.
“We fought hard,” senior cornerback Jakorian Bennett added. “We knew that it was going to be a four-quarter game. They are the No. 2 team in the country. We don’t believe in moral victories, but at the same time, we’re glad we went out there and fought.”
Maryland entered halftime with a 13-10 lead — its only lead of the game — but was held without a point in the third quarter and could do nothing but watch as the Buckeyes increased their lead to 27-13 by the end of it.
Maryland managed just 45 yards in the third quarter. The Buckeyes blocked a punt in Terps territory to get things rolling early in the second half. The blocked punt set up a touchdown run by freshman running back Dallan Hayden, which gave the Buckeyes a 17-13 lead. Hayden finished with 146 yards and three touchdowns on the ground.
“The big thing was the blocked punt. Those things are huge momentum plays,” Locksley said. “We had the chance to continue to change the field position, and to give up seven points like that hurt.”
“We had a rough patch in the third quarter,” sophomore tight end CJ Dippre said. “… I was out there on the punt team. I missed a call and we had a punt block, which was a big thing in the game.”
Ohio State finished the third quarter with that 14-point lead after Hayden’s second touchdown run late in the period. Even though momentum had shifted, the Terps refused to roll over against the undefeated Buckeyes and were in the game until the final seconds.
The fourth quarter saw 33 total points between the two teams. Maryland redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 128 yards in the fourth quarter alone. He also converted a two-point conversion to junior receiver Jacob Copeland that cut Ohio State’s lead to 27-21.
“Offensively, [Tagovailoa] plays better when we play fast,” Locksley said. “We got into our mayday, our two-minute style offense, and he made some plays in the fourth quarter.”
Tagovailoa finished the day with 293 yards and three total touchdowns on 26-for-36 passing. He is now the all-time leader on the Maryland career passing list (7,317 yards). Tagovailoa had managed just 151 passing yards and one touchdown pass combined in the last two games.
“It was good to see [Tagovailoa] look like the old [Tagovailoa] today,” Locksley said. “He’s taken a lot of stuff around here with how he’s played the last couple of games. I thought that he played well, he had that look, and I know he went worked his tail off this week. … He gave us a chance. That’s all you can ask of your quarterback.”
It appeared that Ohio State may have put the game away with Hayden’s third touchdown run, but senior cornerback Deonte Banks blocked the extra point, which was returned by Bennett for two points. That pulled Maryland to within 10 points (33-23).
“I wish it was a touchdown. [Locksley] emphasized that because we took the field goal block and did not go as hard on it last week,” Bennett said. “So, we emphasized going hard and just trying to make a difference in the game.”
A 1-yard touchdown pass by Tagovailoa to redshirt senior receiver Jeshaun Jones made the score 33-30 with less than 10 minutes remaining. But Ohio State drained the clock on its final two possessions and kicked a field goal with 42 seconds remaining.
Then, the Buckeyes delivered the final blow with a strip-sack by senior Zach Harrison, which senior Steele Chambers recovered for a touchdown with only seconds remaining.
“The goal was to get it to the fourth quarter and check their oil to see how they would react to having to play a good football game in the fourth quarter,” Locksley said.
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics