Ohio State vs Maryland Odds, Picks, Predictions (11/19/22)

Ohio State visits Maryland this week after winning in a blow out against Indiana the week before. Maryland is coming off a blowout loss to Penn State, on the other side. This should be an interesting matchup for the Big Ten pecking order. Let’s take a look at the odds and make some picks and predictions for this game!

Ohio State vs. Maryland Odds

Ohio State is a 27.5-point road favorite against Maryland and is at -6000 on the money line. The over/under is also at 65. Ohio State being this big of a favorite jumps out, but they are that good and Maryland isn’t on the Buckeyes level. The over/under makes sense too because Ohio State might have the best offense in the country and Maryland’s best unit is its offense. This spread could move down a bit just because it’s such a big spread for a road favorite so keep an eye on that.

Ohio State vs. Maryland Prediction & Pick

The Pick: Ohio State -27.5

Ohio State has been one of the best teams in the entire country all year. They have one of the top two offenses in the entire country, next to Tennessee. They score 47 points and average 502 total yards a game. CJ Stroud is a Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback, and they also have the best wide receiving corps in the country. Marvin Harrison Jr. has come on strong, but they still have Jaxon Smith-Njigba who could come back from injury and make an already stacked receiving room, that much better. The running backs are a concern because both main backs have gotten injured recently.

The defense for the Buckeyes has also been a massive improvement this year, after getting pushed around by a few teams last year. The big test will be against Michigan next week, but so far this defense has proven they are legit under Jim Knowles.

Maryland has been good this year thanks to their offense. Taulia Tagovailoa has been very good at quarterback for the Terrapins, and is a huge reason why Maryland is headed to a bowl game this year. They average 28 points and 396 total yards a game on offense. The Buckeyes are the play here because while Maryland can be a dangerous team, they just don’t matchup well against Ohio State. The difference will be the Buckeye defense being better than the Terrapins defense, and the Buckeye offense being too much still.

Ohio State vs. Maryland Key Matchups

Can Maryland slow down CJ Stroud? Can Ohio State contain Taulia Tagovailoa?

CJ Stroud vs the Maryland Secondary

CJ Stroud has been incredible for Ohio State this year. He has 2,750 passing yards, 34 passing touchdowns, four interceptions, and he has a 67% completion percentage on the year. The Ohio State offense has many different dimensions to it, so Stroud doesn’t have to be flawless every game for the Buckeyes to still dominate. He’s hit five or more touchdown passes in four of Ohio State’s 10 games that they’ve played so far. Maryland is not great against the pass and allows 232 passing yards a game. If CJ Stroud can take advantage of the Terrapins, then this game won’t be close at all.

Taulia Tagovailoa vs the Ohio State Secondary

Taulia Tagovailoa has been very good for Maryland this year. He has 2,152 passing yards, 14 passing touchdowns, six interceptions, and he has a 68% completion percentage on the year. Maryland’s offense has been the deciding factor for the Terps being bowl eligible this year, and Tagovailoa is the biggest key to that offense. Ohio State has a good pass defense and gives up 161 passing yards a game. If Tagovailoa can’t get anything going against this tough defense, then this game is going to get out of hand for Maryland very fast.