Sayin, Jeremiah Smith lead No. 5 Ohio State past Maryland 45-16

No. 5 Ohio State started sloppy against Maryland on Saturday and won easily anyway. Julian Sayin threw four touchdown passes, Jeremiah Smith caught two of them, and the Buckeyes beat the Terrapins 45-16 at Ohio Stadium.

The Buckeyes are now 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, according to Easy Sportz's recap of the game, which ran on Yahoo Sports. Maryland dropped to 2-4 under Michael Locksley. Ohio State made early mistakes but still led 31-10 at halftime, and Maryland never got close in the second half.

Sayin threw for 242 yards. Smith had four catches for 93 yards and broke short throws into long scores. His 33-yard touchdown came in the first quarter, and he added a 40-yarder in the second. Tight end Nate Roberts scored on a 68-yard catch-and-run, and Mason Williams caught a 1-yard touchdown late in the first half to make it 31-10 at the break.

The running game was just as productive. Freshman Bo Jackson ran for 107 yards and two touchdowns, and Easy Sportz reported that no other Buckeye has topped 100 rushing yards in a game this season. Ja'Kobi Jackson added 76 yards on the ground, so Maryland couldn't put all its attention on Sayin and Smith.

The Ohio State defense shut down Maryland's passing game. Malik Washington went 12 of 25 for 64 yards. The Terrapins ran for 145 yards but had trouble putting drives together, and they didn't threaten after halftime.

Ohio State's biggest problem was discipline. The Buckeyes were flagged eight times for 65 yards, and with the schedule getting harder, Ryan Day needs to fix that.

Next up: a trip to Bloomington

The tough part of the schedule starts next Saturday at Indiana. That game will say a lot more about Ohio State's place in the Big Ten race than a home win over a two-win Maryland team. Ohio State is favored at -174 on Novig, one of the venues pricing the game. The best sportsbook number on the Buckeyes is -205 at FanDuel. Current prices are on the game page.

Indiana will test whether Ohio State can avoid the mistakes it got away with Saturday. Against Maryland, a slow start and eight penalties didn't matter much, because the Buckeyes' playmakers scored from distance often enough to take over. Smith's two long touchdowns and Roberts' 68-yarder showed how fast this offense can change a game. A 100-yard day from Bo Jackson also gives Day a running game to lean on. That kind of balance could matter in a hostile stadium.

Maryland has lost four of its last five and now has to fix a passing game that produced 64 yards against a top-five defense. Locksley's group has to get more out of its offense to make a run at bowl eligibility.