The #20 Ohio State Buckeyes rode a balanced offensive attack and an impressive defensive showing in the first half to a 31-10 lead over the Maryland Terrapins.
Here's what we saw in the first 30 minutes from College Park.
Ohio State's Offense Impresses Early And Often: The Buckeyes scored on four of their first five drives (including three touchdowns) to take Maryland's crowd out of it right off the bat. QB J.T. Barrett emerged once again as the multidimensional threat Ohio State needs him to be, efficiently throwing the ball (11-for-15, 151 yards, 3 TD) and using his legs to great effect (ten carries, 54 yards). RB Ezekiel Elliott was also very impressive, rushing 13 times for 82 yards (including a scintillating 28-yard run for his high on the day).
The OSU Defense Answers The Bell As Well: Including an impressive 13-play, 75-yard drive by the Terps to close a 24-3 gap to 24-10, the Ohio State defense held Maryland to under 100 total yards of offense for the majority of the first half. Credit goes to the Buckeyes' rush defense which bottled up Mayland's entire ground attack from the start of the proceedings on Saturday.
Darron Lee Increases The Gap: Maryland's offense continued to struggle late in the second half, as a CJ Brown pass was picked off by Ohio State's Darron Lee and returned down to the Terps 1. One play later, JT Barrett would find Nick Vannett for an easy TD pass to extend the Buckeyes' lead to 31-10.
Player of the Half: JT Barrett. When he goes, so does the Ohio State offense. He is beginning to find himself with Braxton Miller sidelined by injury, and the Big Ten should be on the lookout for a confident Buckeyes team led by an in-rhythm Barrett.
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