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Maryland (5-0 SU, 3-2 ATS) looks for a big upset when they meet No. 4 Ohio State (4-0 SU, 1-3 ATS) on Saturday afternoon at 12pmET from Columbus. The Terps have won seven straight games going back to last season, while OSU did not play last week after edging Notre Dame 17-14 two weeks ago.
Last season, the Buckeyes beat the Terps in College Park 43-30, but didn't cover the 25 points.
Maryland is one of those Big 10 programs that have not broken through even the second tier of quality programs like Wisconsin, Iowa, and Michigan State (at least a few years ago). The Terps have gotten close in years past and then they get a wake-up call against a top team and get blasted. Last season, they were shut out at Penn State (30-0), but were close against Michigan on the road (34-27) and to Ohio State at home (43-30). In 2021, they were blasted by Michigan (59-18), Michigan State (40-21), Penn State (31-14) and Ohio State (66-17), so Mike Locksley has gotten his program to a certain stage. Now, he needs to get over the hump.
The Terps were fortunate that the schedule fell the way it did and they won and covered in their last three games over Virginia (42-14), Michigan State on the road (31-9) and last week, took apart Indiana (44-17) at home. QB Taulia Tagovailoa threw for 352 yards and a career-high five TDs to lead Maryland to the easy win where they get up 37-3 in the third quarter and cruised from there. Defensively, Maryland held the Hoosiers to just 321 yards of total offense.
Maryland has a pretty strong running game led by Roman Hemby, who has 309 yards rushing and 4.8 yards per carry. Tagovailoa has completed 65.7% of his passes for 1,464 yards with 13 TDs and just three picks. He has four targets with 18-19 catches led by senior WR Jeshaun Jones, who has 19 catches for 319 yards with two TDs.
Aside from a weak schedule, Maryland's issues on offense are up front on the offensive line, where they are averaging just 157.4 rushing yards per game (68th). On defense, they've been solid, allowing 328.2 yards per game and 211.8 passing yards, but they have not faced a very strong quarterback to this point.
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