Opponent: No. 9 Ohio State (9-1, 6-1 Big Ten)
Location: Maryland Stadium, College Park, Md.
Kickoff: Noon, Saturday, Nov. 17
Last matchup: Ohio State 62, Maryland 14 — Oct. 7, 2017
Last week: Maryland lost to Indiana 34-32, Ohio State beat Michigan State 26-6
Line: Ohio State -14, per ESPN
TV: ABC — Dave Pasch (play-by-play), Greg McElroy (analyst) and Tom Luginbill (sideline)
Streaming: ABC Live Stream
Radio: Maryland Sports Radio Network (105.7 FM Baltimore, 980 AM D.C.) — Johnny Holliday (play-by-play) and LaMont Jordan (analyst)
Student radio: WMUC Sports (88.1 FM College Park) — Justin Gallanty and Max Marcilla
What to watch for the Terps
An attempt at competence against the Buckeyes
Since joining the Big Ten in 2014, Maryland is 0-4 against Ohio State, with an average margin of defeat of 39 points. But Purdue managed to beat Ohio State at home earlier this year, and the Terps are hoping they can pull off the upset, too. If they fall short of that — and let’s be real, they will — they can at least try to cover the spread.
Tyrrell Pigrome’s first 2018 start
This one kind of goes without saying, but Saturday is a pretty big day for Pigrome, who makes his first start since week 1 in 2017. After Kasim Hill tore his ACL last weekend against Indiana, Pigrome entered in relief and got Maryland back into the game, although his fumble ended the team’s last-ditch shot at a victory.
Javon Leake and Tayon Fleet-Davis’ running
Obviously, Anthony McFarland is Maryland’s feature back, but he won’t get 100 percent of the carries. And with Ty Johnson likely to be sidelined, Leake and Fleet-Davis will be tasked with spelling McFarland. They’ve each had their moments this year — Leake had 140 yards and three rushing touchdowns against Illinois, and Fleet-Davis racked up 102 yards and a score at Bowling Green — and they’ll need to come through again if the Terps are to have any hope in this one.
What to watch for the Buckeyes
Dwayne Haskins’ return to the DMV
This is the moment Terps fans have been dreading for a while — the prodigal son comes home. As a star at Bullis School in Potomac, Haskins committed to Maryland in May 2015, then flipped to Ohio State in January 2016 after Randy Edsall was fired. Now a redshirt sophomore, he ranks fourth in the nation in passing yards (3,280), eighth in completion rate (68.9 percent) and second in passing touchdowns (33). He’ll look to continue his dominance against Andy Buh’s short-handed secondary.
J.K. Dobbins’ funk
After steamrolling the conference as a freshman, Dobbins has gotten a lot worse this year, especially as of late. He’s averaged less than four yards per carry in five of his last six games, and picked up 389 total rushing yards in that span. For the season, he’s at 4.5 yards per carry, nearly three below his 2017 average. Tre Watson and Byron Cowart have helped Maryland’s run defense become competent this year, and they’ll hope to extend Dobbins’ slump.
Dre’Mont Jones’ sneaky-good season
Without a great deal of fanfare, Jones has become one of the best defensive lineman in the country this year. In 2016 and 2017, he had a total of nine tackles for a loss and one sack; in 2018, he’s already at 10 and 6.5, respectively. While the Buckeyes’ run defense isn’t as ridiculous as it was last season — they seriously gave up 2.9 yards per carry — Jones’ breakout has helped to strengthen the unit, which could give McFarland and co. some trouble.