Betting Line: Ohio State -34.5 | O/U 55.5
Ohio State put up a historic performance against Iowa in Week 5, and it wasn’t just Jeremiah Smith.
Smith was the major storyline, now holding the Triple Crown in the Buckeyes’ record books as the program’s all-time leader in receptions, receiving yards and touchdowns. However, as a team Ohio State’s 31-14 victory over the Hawkeyes also tied the largest win by a road team at Kinnick Stadium since 2013, matching Purdue’s 17-point win in 2021.
Smith stole the show with 11 catches for 206 yards and two
touchdowns, his second straight game with at least 200 receiving yards. That said, it was also another impressive performance for Julian Sayin, who, with the help of Smith, has thrown for just under 700 yards with eight total touchdowns. The run game is also slowly coming together, with Bo Jackson and Ja’Kobi Jackson combining for 142 yards on 4.7 yards per carry against the Hawkeyes.
The Ohio State defense had a bit of an up-and-down start, recording a takeaway on a sack fumble on the third play of the game but proceeding to allow points on the next two Iowa drives. Matt Patricia’s group locked in from there though, forcing punts on the next four Iowa drives with an interception on the fifth. The Buckeyes held the Hawkeyes to 39 yards rushing on 1.9 yards per carry.
Ryan Day’s group looks to be improving week over week, and they will now look to carry that momentum back home to Columbus, where they will host a Maryland squad that has dropped three straight games.
The Terrapins are not a very good football team as a whole, but they have an excellent quarterback in Malik Washington that Ohio State has to take seriously.
The sophomore has thrown for nearly 1,300 yards with seven touchdowns, but is prone to turnovers with six interceptions on the year. His top target, Wyoming transfer Chris Durr Jr., leads the team with 461 yards and five touchdowns on 42 receptions.
Defensively is where the bulk of the issues lie for Maryland. The Terps have allowed 102 points combined in their last two games against UCLA and Nebraska, and their scoring defense ranks 116th nationally this season allowing 30.2 points per game.
The unit does have its standouts, though. Defensive linemen Derrick LeBlanc and DD Holmes have combined for five sacks on the year, while one-time OSU target Messiah Delhomme leads the team with a pair of interceptions.
This is a bit of a perfect matchup for Ohio State ahead of a three-game gauntlet against Indiana, USC and Oregon. Maryland likely won’t challenge the Buckeyes in terms of winning the game, but the Terps do enough well in some key areas to test some of the pain points on either side of the ball.
All odds courtesy of FanDuel Sportsbook.
