The Ohio State football team draws another undefeated matchup against the red-hot Maryland Terrapins in Columbus on FOX’s Big Noon Kickoff.

An undefeated matchup will go down in the Horseshoe this Saturday as the Ohio State Buckeyes welcome the Maryland Terrapins. After the bye week Ohio State remains ranked No.4, behind only Georgia, TTUN, and Texas. The Terrapins are ranked just outside the top 25 at 26, receiving 81 AP points.

The bye week came after an impressive top-10 battle in South Bend, Indiana for the Buckeyes. They are now 4-0 with home wins over Youngstown State and Western Kentucky, and away wins at Indiana and No.9 Notre Dame. The Big Ten East has all four remaining unbeaten teams in the conference, with Maryland being the biggest surprise out of the four.

For the first time since 1940, the Buckeyes will play five straight undefeated teams to open the year. The 5-0 Terrapins have looked solid on both sides of the ball and started the year with three non-conference home wins over Towson, Charlotte and Virginia. They followed that up with a big road win 31-9 at Michigan State in their first conference affair, and last week handled Indiana 44-17 at home.

The Silver Bullets are going to receive another tough test, as the Terrapins have scored 31 or more in every game, and 38+ points in four out of five games. Senior Terrapins Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has been incredible in his third full season as the starter. Impressive season totals of 111-169 for 1,464 passing yards and 13 passing touchdowns with three interceptions, will give the Buckeye defense something to worry about.

Kyle McCord is coming off a solid showing, especially in the fourth quarter, two weeks ago. He sits at 74-113 for 1,055 passing yards, six passing touchdowns, and just one interception through four games

Sophomore Roman Hemby leads the Maryland run game with 309 yards and four touchdowns on 64 carries. Junior TreVeyon Henderson had an outstanding previous outing and leads Ohio State’s ground game with 295 yards and five touchdowns on just 44 carries. Senior wide receiver Jeshaun Jones has had an impressive connection with Tagovailoa and has 19 receptions for 319 yards and two touchdowns. 

Junior wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. got a minor injury last game but made a clutch catch in the fourth quarter. He leads the Buckeyes through the air with 17 catches for 336 yards and three touchdowns.

The Buckeyes and Terrapins season averages on the offensive side of the ball are nearly identical. They average 447.5 and 454.8 total yards respectively, including just a one yard difference in the passing game.

The defensive side of the ball is where the game will be won, as both offenses will get their share of yards. The Silver Bullets are giving up 255.5 total yards per game including an impressive 106.5 on the ground. Maryland’s defense is a little more prone yards-wise giving up 328.2 per game with 211.8 passing yards.

This week’s matchup, as well as next week at Purdue, will be great matchups to fix up the areas of need ahead of a huge game against Penn State on October 21st. With everyone receiving a well-deserved week to rest up and prepare for the rest of the season, the Buckeyes should be full of energy and speed playing back home.

A close game early could be in play, especially with the talent Maryland has on the offensive side of the ball. The Buckeyes should not have as tough of a problem as they did in their last outing putting up points, and I expect this one to be less nervy in the second half.

Prediction: Ohio State 38 Maryland 20