Mistakes derail Maryland football’s upset bid in 37-17 loss at No. 4 Ohio State

NCAA Football: Maryland at Ohio State — Joseph Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports

The Terps pushed the Buckeyes, but self-inflicted wounds spiraled their chances at a monumental win.

COLUMBUS, Ohio — History was there for the taking, but slipped right through Maryland football’s grasp.

The Terps were yet to defeat a ranked Big Ten opponent since joining the conference, had a winless all-time record against Ohio State and were 73 years removed from their last top-five road win. Perhaps more importantly, a victory would have validated the growth head coach Mike Locksley has seen since taking over ahead of the 2019 season.

But, despite ample opportunities to stake their claim to a program-altering triumph, the Terps ultimately fell short in a mistake-laden 37-17 loss to the No. 4 Buckeyes.

To start, it looked like Saturday would finally be the day Maryland got the signature win it has long been desperate for. The Terps came out of the gates firing on all cylinders, taking advantage of a sloppy Buckeyes start. When an errant snap on an Ohio State punt gave the Terps a short field, Taulia Tagovailoa targeted Kaden Prather in the end zone, who made an acrobatic one-handed catch to thrust them ahead.

When Jeshaun Jones nonchalantly muffed a punt, Dante Trader Jr. was there for a momentum-salvaging recovery. It was the antithesis to Maryland’s consistent struggles against the Big Ten’s elite. Maryland scored the first 10 points, outplaying the No. 4 team in the nation, on the road no less.

But then came the mistakes, ones forgiven against the lesser teams Maryland faced in its first five games, but irredeemable in a game of this magnitude. The Terps could have initiated a panic at Ohio Stadium on a second-quarter drive, but Tagovailoa instead gave fuel to the unnerved Buckeyes by throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown by Josh Proctor.

Later in the period, with the score tied and 12 seconds left on the clock, Tagovailoa fired a pass only five yards downfield to Antwain Littleton II, who was promptly tackled to end the half instead of giving Maryland a chance to kick a field goal.

Maryland’s defense was sensational in the first half, forcing Ohio State into five straight scoreless drives to open the game. No team had held Ohio State to that measure since Clemson did so in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

But as time went on, freshman quarterback Kyle McCord found his groove by targeting the insurance policy known as Marvin Harrison Jr. The junior, widely considered the best wide receiver in college football, hauled in eight receptions for 163 catches, and caught a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter that shut off the lights on the Terps’ comeback hopes, which at that point had already dimmed.

The Terps battled with one of the best teams in the nation and surely earned the respect they set out to prove they deserved. But when they look back upon Saturday, missed opportunities will be the prevailing theme.

Three things to know

1. Tagovailoa’s decision-making was errant. On Saturday, spectators were treated to the entirety of the Taulia Tagovailoa experience. At times, the redshirt senior made gutsy throws and had clutch scrambles to ignite his team. But with that came his costly mistakes, most notably his two interceptions.

2. A tale of two halves. Despite its mistakes, Maryland outplayed Ohio State in the first half. But as time went on, the Terps’ offense slowed down and their defense couldn’t hold off the ever-potent Buckeyes. McCord ended up passing for 320 yards and two touchdowns and Ohio State outscored Maryland by 20 in the second half.

3. What could have been. A win for Maryland would’ve been one of the most monumental in program history, and it was a real possibility for much of the game. The Terps showed themselves to be competitive with one of the nation’s top teams early, but lacked the full 60-minute clean effort required to knock off a team of Ohio State’s caliber.

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