Each Sunday, Scarlet snd Gray Report will release a position-by-position grade card for Ohio State from Saturday's game. Here's how the No. 7 Buckeyes fared after their Week 5, 66-17, win against Maryland.
Quarterback: For the second-straight week, C.J. Stroud was special. The redshirt freshman completed 24 of his 33 pass attempts for 406 yards — his second game of more than 400 passing yards — five touchdowns and no interceptions. Stroud remained incredibly confident in and around the pocket, finding his receivers in stride. He also didn't force anything downfield, checking down to freshman running back TreVeyon Henderson when he needed to. In the past two weeks, Stroud has completed 73.2% of his passes for 736 yards, 10 touchdowns and no interceptions. Simply, Stroud looked like a Heisman candidate. GRADE: A+
Running backs: The Ohio State running backs room was much more productive against Maryland than it was against Rutgers. In the ground game, the Terrapins defense began the game with stopping the run as its main focus, holding Henderson to 19 rushing yards — including a 4-yard touchdown run — on nine rushes in the first half. However, the freshman still made an impact as a receiver in the first half, taking a career-high four receptions for 67 yards and a touchdown. The ground game opened up for him in the second half, ending the game with 102 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns. Master Teague added 31 yards on four carries, while Marcus Crowley recorded only 26 yards on seven touches. Ohio State, as a whole, averaged five yards per carry. GRADE: A-
Wide receivers: Ohio State's core trio was spectacular. Chris Olave, Garrett Wilson and Jaxon Smith-Njigba brought in 17 of the Buckeyes' 26 catches on 22 targets for 307 yards and four touchdowns. The routes were crisp and were normally wide open, so open that Maryland head coach Mike Locksley said this about the unit in his postgame press conference: “We had guys looking like they fell out of airplanes they were so wide open."
GRADE: A+
Tight ends: Jeremy Ruckert's day in the passing game was a bit of a struggle, bringing in only one of four targets for 18 yards, including a drop and a broken up pass. Cade Stover also brought in one pass for nine yards. However, Ohio State continued to use Ruckert and company in the blocking game, helping Ohio State running backs average nearly six yards per rush and three scores. GRADE: B
Offensive line: Ohio State kept Maryland at bay until garbage time, allowing only two tackles for loss in the fourth quarter: a sack of Kyle McCord and a stop of Crowley. It took awhile for the offensive line to help get the ground game going, especially in the first quarter where the Terrapins defensive line seemed to swarm and stop any Ohio State back near the line of scrimmage. But Paris Johnson Jr., Nicholas Petit-Frere, Thayer Munford, Dawand Jones, Luke Wypler and, at times, Matthew Jones, kept Maryland's defense away for the most part. GRADE: B+
Defensive line: Ohio State's defensive line had its best game of the season. It stopped the run for the most part, allowing an average of 1.6 yards per rush. But more importantly, it constantly put pressure on the Maryland offensive line and Taulia Tagovailoa, who recorded -61 yards on eight carries. Jack Sawyer, Haskell Garrett, Cormontae Hamilton and J.T. Tuimoloau combined for four of the Buckeyes' five sacks. GRADE: A
Linebackers: Cody Simon, Steele Chambers and Tommy Eichenberg were both especially good for the Buckeyes in the middle, combining for 21 tackles — 14 of which were solo tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss. The linebacker unit combined for 2.5 tackles for loss, including a sack by Chambers. GRADE: A
Secondary: Other than a garbage time touchdown by Rakim Jarrett and a 7-yard touchdown by Carlos Carriere — both passes from Tagovailoa — the secondary was solid. Ohio State continued its streak of defensive touchdowns with a pick-six by safety Craig Young in the fourth quarter, while cornerback Ryan Watts also added his second interception in as many games. Ohio State has now recorded nine interceptions in its last four games. Marcus Williamson and Sevyn Banks combined for 1.5 tackles for loss, while Ronnie Hickman added five solo tackles. GRADE: A-
Special Teams: Ohio State freshman Emeka Egbuka was special on kickoffs, recording 166 return yards on four kickoffs, including a long of 67 yards. Noah Ruggles hit each of his extra points and added a 32-yard field goal in the fourth quarter. Ohio State did not have to punt against Maryland. GRADE: A
Coaching: Ryan Day's play calling has been exceptional on offense as of late, helping put Stroud and his offensive weapons — whether at running back or receiver — in a position to take advantage of what opposing defenses have been giving him. Ohio State's defensive coaching staff had its best game of the season, with Day giving defensive coordinator Kerry Coombs the game ball after the game. It seemed like pressure was constant on Tagovailoa all night, while not allowing him many open windows to throw. Even when he did convert, the Buckeyes did not get rattled, allowing only two touchdowns and a field goal. GRADE: A
Final Overall Grade: A
