COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State really didn’t need another score. Facing a 4th-and-1 at the Maryland 30-yard line, the Buckeyes already held on to a substantial 42-10 lead in the middle of the third quarter.

But redshirt freshman quarterback C.J. Stroud sensed doubt surrounding him, his offense, his team, his program. It’s a space where Stroud thrives, that “Ohio Against the World,” mentality he said he brought to the Rutgers game: his coming-out party after returning to the field from a lingering shoulder injury.

It was as if someone in his head was telling Stroud Ohio State still wasn’t good enough, that its season was over.

Stroud was pissed off. And he viewed that 4th-and-1 as an opportunity to shut people up.

Instead of handing the ball off to running back Master Teague up the gut for a first down, Stroud took the snap, leaned forward on a fake, basically telling the Maryland defense, “Watch this,” and stepped back.

Stroud took two steps and fired across the middle of the field, seeing senior wide receiver Chris Olave on a streak in the slot facing man coverage, trusting that the receiver would do his job. Despite a tight window — made even tighter by a pass interference penalty by the Maryland defender — Olave secured the 30-yard touchdown.

Instead of a bombastic celebration, though, Olave was met by Teague, by the offensive line, by Stroud with a simple handshake.

This is an offense that means business.

“I’m not really surprised,” Olave said. “We have one of the best play callers in the game in Coach Day, so we just dial it up at practice, we run it exactly in the game how it is in practice.”

This is an offense that’s quietly found a rhythm through the ups and downs of the first six games of the season, coming into its matchup with Maryland as the No. 1 offense in the country and adding 598 offensive yards and eight touchdowns.

This is an offense that’s quietly developed a Heisman contender at quarterback with back-to-back five-touchdown performances and 1,293 passing yards in his first five games.

It’s not all about the pure numbers though. It’s also about efficiency, something Ohio State head coach Ryan Day didn’t see from his offense early on.

The Buckeyes offense started the game with a 17-play, 88-yard scoring drive, lasting over six minutes, unable to get it going on early downs, but finding a way to convert third and fourth downs, including a 2-yard pass from Stroud to wide receiver Garrett Wilson on 4th-and-Goal.

“It was just one of those ugly first drives that we couldn’t get our feet going,” Day said. “We didn’t have much rhythm. We were kind of slow for whatever reason. But we pushed through that.”

Ohio State quickly found its rhythm. On its next four offensive drives, the Buckeyes took the ball 247 yards in 18 plays lasting only 4:27.

It was Stroud’s rhythm. Even without some semblance of a ground game to work with in the first half, the quarterback still found something to work with, finding receivers in stride, checking down to freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson instead of forcing something downfield, letting the freshman do the work on the outside.

And the Ohio State offense didn’t miss a beat, recording touchdowns on each of their first five offensive drives, stopped only by halftime.

“That's the thing about being a great offense. You can’t be one-dimensional,” Stroud said.

“We both work for each other. The run game opens up the pass game, the pass game opens up the run game. It’s all about balance. I think the better we keep rolling, keep the momentum, the more balance we will have.”

The success through the air turned into success on the ground, with Henderson finishing the game with 106 yards and two rushing touchdowns, adding one 26-yard touchdown reception.

The balance continued into the passing game too, spreading out 38 targets to seven different receivers, with the core three of Olave, WIlson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba taking the majority of the targets.

“The personnel certainly helps,” Day said. “Having Chris, Garrett, Jaxon and Jeremy, Emeka and Marvin, those guys are very gifted and very talented. They do a great job of getting open. The plays look a lot better when you have really good players out there.”

The numbers are there, the personnel is there. The confidence is even there. But Ohio State is not ready to say it’s offense is elite.

Of Stroud, Day said here’s executing at a high level, but that he still has a lot to build on, praising his preparation, his timing, his efficiency and his ability to make good decisions

“Is he there yet? Absolutely not,” Day said. “He has a long way to go. I’m very encouraged by what I have seen over the past two weeks.”

So what does Stroud need to do next? What does Stroud still need to prove? Nothing really.

He feels the game of football remains the same for him. The difference, he explained, comes from his comfort level, feeling more relaxed and confident in the pocket and getting more trust from the coaching staff to run the offense how they want it to run.

It comes down to more of those bombastic, eye-popping plays ending in a handshake in the end zone.

“I don’t think my game has ever changed,” Stroud said. “I’m just feeling more comfortable.”