Ohio State steadies itself late, beats Maryland 45-16 in homecoming test

Ohio State did what the calendar demanded on homecoming day, limiting Maryland long enough to pull away and secure a 45-16 victory. The Buckeyes improved to 5-1 overall and 3-0 in Big Ten play, a start that matters because it sets the pace for a November stretch when Big Ten results get harder to replace.

Maryland made the Ohio Stadium atmosphere work against Ohio State for a stretch. The Terrapins pulled within 14-10 in the second quarter, and for a few minutes in the rain, the game felt closer than a two-score Ohio lead suggested. That brief swing is the kind of test that can expose whether a team’s early rhythm is real or merely convenient.

Ohio State’s response centered on its ability to run and to defend without needing perfect execution on every touch. The recap credited Jeremiah Smith and the Buckeyes’ run game for doing the heavier lifting, and it also pointed to a lockdown secondary that tightened after the initial erosion in momentum.

The path to the final score was not portrayed as smooth. The storyline included struggles from quarterback Sayin, implying that Ohio State’s offense did not always generate clean, repeatable drives, even though the team still found ways to keep Maryland from building a lasting comeback.

Still, the difference between “close for a few minutes” and “back in the game” is what Ohio State produced once it settled. After Maryland’s early compression to a one-possession deficit, Ohio State stopped the bleeding and gradually turned the contest into one of distance rather than uncertainty.

For Maryland, the final score ended the hope of extending what had briefly looked like a manageable afternoon, even as the Terrapins demonstrated they could strike early and disrupt the tempo. For Ohio State, the win preserves their Big Ten momentum heading into the next round of conference matchups where teams with similar league starts tend to separate themselves quickly.