Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Maryland
3. OSU hasn’t given up a first quarter offensive touchdown since Week 1
Ohio State’s defense has been off to an incredible start in 2017, and a lot of that success can be derived from their absolute dominance in the first quarter.
With the exception of Indiana’s 18-yard passing touchdown in Week 1, Ohio State has been absolutely perfect in the first quarter of games this season, and have outscored opponents by a combined score of 56-to-17 through the first six weeks of the season in their game’s opening frame.
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Maryland did manage to score a touchdown on a 100-yard kick return by junior speedster Ty Johnson with 9:40 left to play in the first quarter. But that was an indictment of the team’s special teams unit, as opposed to the defense.
On defense, Urban Meyer’s squad put on an absolute show for their home crowd. Much like in the team’s Week 5 upheaval of Big Ten opponents Rutgers, the Buckeyes’ secondary did not allow a single catch in the first quarter, and held the Terrapins to only 5 yards of total offense in the opening 15.
The Buckeye’s defensive front was absolutely unblockable in the first quarter, and for much of the game, seemingly taking up a residency in Maryland’s backfield, and treating sophomore Max Bortenschlager to a pair of sacks in the first quarter alone.
With games against Big Ten East rivals Penn State, Michigan State and Michigan looming on the horizon for the Buckeyes, Ohio State will need to continue to pitch shutouts in the first quarter, in-order to keeps themselves in games against high-powered offenses.