COLUMBUS, Ohio – The top-ranked Buckeyes will begin the final stretch of the regular season against Maryland, a team that gave the Ohio State defense a headache on the ground last season.

While both teams have had much different trajectories since their matchup last November, the game offers plenty of intrigue as the Buckeyes look to continue the dominance they showcased through their first eight games. Let’s look at some of the most important questions that Ohio State can answer in its first game back from the open week.

Coming into the game as huge favorites, the Buckeyes will likely put the game away rather early. Beside winning the game, Ohio State will look to limit the amount of hits Justin Fields takes in order to keep the sophomore quarterback healthy.

The protection of Fields all starts with the play upfront. For the most part, the offensive line has performed exceptionally well, but Fields was sacked a season-high five times against Wisconsin. While some of Fields’s 18 sacks this season can be attributed to the young quarterback holding onto the ball too long, the result is the same, nonetheless.

Keeping Fields upright will help prevent any injuries that could derail Ohio State’s championship hopes. It will be interesting to see how quickly Ryan Day decides to get his young quarterback out of the game.

The Ohio State defense has dominated every opponent that has lined up across from them this season. Surrendering multiple touchdowns only one time this season, the Buckeyes have showed a consistency that has made them the most complete football team in the nation.

After the big matchup with Wisconsin, it will be interesting to see if the Buckeyes can maintain the focus and intensity against the likes of Maryland and Rutgers. While the defense’s best performance won’t be needed to knock off the next two opponents, developing bad habits could prove costly against Penn State and Michigan.

Maryland was able to rush for 340 yards last season against Ohio State, and the Buckeyes were susceptible to the big play early in the game. While Ohio State has cleaned up its mistakes from last season, falling back on the bad habits from last year would be a cause for concern as the Buckeyes begin to enter the critical part of their season.

It seems almost impossible that Chase Young could keep up his blistering pace, but it will sure be fun to watch No. 2 try to continue his hot streak. The junior has recorded a sack in each of his past 10 games, and he is now only 0.5 sacks away from the Ohio State season record.

He had his best performance of the year, four sacks and two forced fumbles, against the best offensive line the Buckeyes have faced this season in Wisconsin. With an inferior Maryland offensive line coming into town this weekend, it will be interesting to see what havoc Young is able to cause.

While the Heisman candidacy is not the focus of the players or coaches, Young has a chance to continue to build his resumé and position himself to be the second ever defensive Heisman. With the NFL Draft also coming into focus, it will be interesting to see the intensity Young plays with against the Terrapins.

The Buckeyes like to run the ball, and they take pride in winning the battle in the trenches. Ohio State boasts the No. 4 rushing attack in the country, gaining over 284 yards per game on the ground.

J.K. Dobbins has thrived in his third year at Ohio State. Dobbins is averaging just under 139 rushing yards a game, the highest of his career, and 7.2 yards per carry. Behind an offensive line that has performed at a high level all season, the Buckeyes have been able to use the ground game to wear down their opponents.

Fields will likely not be used in a large capacity on the ground against the Terrapins, so a the bulk of the load will fall on Dobbins and Master Teague. In the backup role, Teague has 588 rushing yards and four touchdowns. Teague should see a lot of playing time over the next two weeks, as the Buckeyes are likely to cruise to victories.

In order to win the turnover margin, the offense needs to take care of the ball and the defense needs to get some takeaways. So far in 2019, both sides of the ball have helped contribute to Ohio State’s plus-11 turnover advantage.

The Ohio State offense has been turnover free in half its games this season, and the defense is yet to go 60 minutes without taking the ball away from an opponent. The defense has been on a roll of late, forcing multiple turnovers in each of its last five games.

Offensively, Fields still has only one interception to his name, and the ball security from the rest of the team has been very solid. As the games begin to get tighter, it will be important for Ohio State to benefit from any momentum shifting plays, so continuing to dominate the turnover battle against Maryland will continue the positive trend.