Ohio State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Maryland

1.Urban Meyer remains undefeated against former assistants at OSU

Urban Meyer has established himself as on of the most prolific coaches in college football history. In Ohio State’s Week 6 victory over Maryland, his team faced off against former coordinator D.J. Durkin’s Maryland squad.

In his almost two decades head coaching career, Meyer has helped to develop not only countless players, but also dozens of coaches who have gone on to find success post-Meyer. There are currently an astounding 11 college football head coaches who belong to the Meyer’s coaching tree, with some, like Tom Herman, Kyle Whittingham and Dan Mullen, becoming incredibly successful in their own right.

One of these former assistants who hope to establish his own dynasty in the Big Ten is D.J. Durnkin, who served as Meyer’s defensive coordinator at Florida from 2013-to-2014 and was named the head football coach of the Maryland Terrapins before the 2016 college football season.

And while Maryland has improved under Durnkin’s tutelage, currently the owners of a 3-2 record behind their now fourth-string quarterback, they did not have the firepower needed to unseat Meyer’s squad in Week 6.

This game marked the 11th time that a Meyer’s lead squad has faced off against one of his former coordinators, and for the eighth consecutive time, Ohio State defeated their coaches former assistant.

Urban Meyer has built Ohio State University into one of college football’s premier football factory, one that seemingly spits out dozens of pros each year, and restocks them with four and five-star prospects with ease.

This talent not only at the top of the roster, but throughout it, has allowed Meyer’s squad to amass a 66-7 record over the last six seasons, and even a national championship in 2014.

Much like Durkin’s 2017 squad, the 2014 Buckeyes also lost their top-two quarterbacks, Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett, to injuries, but because of their depth they still won a national championship behind the arm of third string quarterback Cardale Jones.

While Maryland hasn’t quite reached that level of player development, as they failed to score a single point against the Buckeyes behind the arms of third string quarterback Max Bortenschlager and fourth stringer Caleb Henderson, they did show some promise against Ohio State in Week 6.

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Even though Ohio State scored over 50 points for the third consecutive week, the Terrapins didn’t allow a 100 yard rusher for the fifth consecutive week, an impressive feat even in defeat.

Maryland could eventually become a threat in the East, but for the time being it doesn’t look like Meyer will be upstaged by his protege anytime soon.