Ohio State vs. Maryland: What to know about Saturday’s game

Where: SECU Stadium, College Park, Md.

TV/Radio: ABC/1410

Series history: Ohio State leads 7-0 in a series that began when Maryland joined the Big Ten in 2014.

Last meeting: C.J. Stroud threw for 406 yards and five touchdowns and Ohio State scored on its first nine possessions en route to a 66-17 victory in Columbus last season.

Coaches: Ohio State’s Ryan Day is 44-4 in four seasons, including 30-1 in the Big Ten. Maryland’s Mike Locksley is 19-27 in four seasons at Maryland and 21-53 in seven seasons as a head coach.

Ohio State notes: The Buckeyes have won 10 games for the 10th consecutive year (excluding the abridged 2020 season)… Ohio State is national top 10 in four notable defensive stats: 7th in total defense (271.5 yards per game), 6th in third down conversions (27.9%), 6th against the pass (161.2 ypg) and 7th in scoring (15.6 ppg)… C.J. Stroud leads the nation in passing efficiency and touchdown passes (34)… Tommy Eichenberg leads the Big Ten in solo tackles (57)…Ohio State is third in the country in red zone offense but 103rd in red zone defense…

Ohio State has two players from Maryland: senior DL Taron Vincent (Baltimore) and redshirt freshman LB Mitchell Melton (Silver Springs).

Maryland notes: The Terps are 70th in the nation in scoring (28.3 points per game), 53rd in points allowed per game (24.6), 63rd in total offense (396.3 yards per game) and 72nd in total offense (381)… Taulia Tagovailoa is still third in the Big Ten in completion percentage and completions per game while ranking fourth in passing yards 2,152… He has 7,023 passing yards at Maryland and needs 279 to break the school’s career record… Maryland is 44th nationally in passing efficiency and 42nd in passing efficiency defense… The offense is 15th in scoring in the red zone… The Terps are 120th in penalties and 126th in penalty yards per game.

Quoted: Locksley on bouncing back from back-to-back bad performances: “I’m confident again that our team will show up. They showed up yesterday with the right mindset. I mean what a great opportunity to play top two team. I mean for me, probably the number one team in the country, here at home with nothing to lose. As I told our team there’s nothing more dangerous than a desperate desperate man that has nothing to lose. And that’s kind of where we are. They’ve got everything to lose. They’ve got a big game after ours, I think. I don’t know who they play but they play somebody after our game that is a pretty big game. So for us it’s going to be about us going out doing the things that we practice with the right kind of effort, with the right mentality.

Next week: Ohio State returns home to face Michigan in a game that will decide the winner of the Big Ten East Division. Maryland closes the regular season at home against Rutgers.

Prediction: Ohio State 45, Maryland 17