Fortunately for Ohio State and my mental health, Maryland and interim coach Matt Canada decided to go for the win then and there and when Maryland quarterback Tyrrell Pigrome's pass fell incomplete, only then could Buckeye fans breathe with a 52-51 victory,
Dwayne Haskins threw for 405 yards, threw for three touchdowns and ran for three more and for what proved to be the game winner in overtime, while Haskins had plenty of help as J.K. Dobbins ran for 203 and both Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon finished with over 100 receiving yards.
Ohio State improved to 10-1 (7-1 Big Ten) as they return home to conclude the season against that team up North with the Big Ten East title on the line, a slot in the Big Ten title game against Northwestern in Indianapolis and keep any playoff hopes alive.
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1) Ohio State never led until their score in overtime in this game, so despite all of their issues and they are many, the grumbling about the lack of heart shown in West Lafayette should stop, no matter the results next week against Michigan.
The Buckeyes had every opportunity to pack this in and they kept scrapping back.
2) I'm not sure what the issue is that so many have with Urban Meyer on the sideline.
In the Purdue and Michigan State games, the complaint was that Meyer seemed pained and distant.
Yesterday, in the first quarter, I counted three times that the ESPN crew dropped comments about Meyer being "angry" and "that his out of control demeanor could carry over to his team".
One week it is one thing and then the opposite.
Does this team have problems and could Urban Meyer be part of those?
Sure? But ever since Brett McMurphy started his campaign in the summer, ESPN has taken every jab that they could take- time to man up.
3) Dwayne Haskins seemed to take personally the comments by Urban Meyer and some of the Buckeye media about his reluctance to run with the football/
Haskins tucked the ball down and ran fifteen times for 59 yards, which must have those doubters happy and will give Michigan something to think about when watching next weeks film.
4) Had it not been for the day on the ground by Maryland's Anthony McFarland (298 yards and looked to be the next coming of Gale Sayers), the talk of the day might have been J.K. Dobbins ,who may not have had the flashy long jaunts of McFarland, but rushed for 203 yards himself on 37 carries.
Dobbins allowed the Buckeyes to keep Maryland's defense honest against the pass despite being down on the scoreboard all game, which paid off in the passing game.
5) The passing game changed too with Terry McLaurin and Johnnie Dixon going over 100 yards on the day.
Because Maryland had to respect J.K. Dobbins, which was not always the case earlier this season, Dwayne Haskins was able to throw more passes downfield instead of having to use screens and dump offs to replace the running game.
Sometimes, the answer to one problem can be traced to another.
6) There was only one time that I thought that Ohio State might not win this game.
Mind you, that wasn't arrogance on my part, I was checking in on the game when I had an extra second, but Ohio State continued to battle back and with minutes remaining, the Buckeyes had managed to tie the game at 38 but had just allowed another of what seemed to be about 50 big plays over the course of the game to put the Terrapins inside the one with Maryland poised to lead.
The Buckeye defense stepped up for one of the few times on the day and punched the ball loose from quarterback Tyrelle Pigrome and the ball bounced forward into the end zone.
When it was Maryland that fell on the football for a touchdown and the lead, for the first time, I moved from worried and concerned to Oh, No.
7) Dwayne Haskins, as most of you know, was an Ohio State flip from a Maryland commitment and would likely be starting his only game in front of his home crowd, so he was heavily motivated for this game and the drive that tied the game with one minute might be the legacy that he leaves at Ohio State.
Calm, cool and the bullet that he fired to Binjimen Victor from three yards away was as good of a short yardage touchdown pass as you'll see.
Add in that in what might be his only year as the full-time quarterback at Ohio State, Haskins set season records for yards and touchdown passes yesterday in the win.
Haskins might not have been Urban Meyer's idea of a quarterback, but he sure fits mine.
8) But that defense.
It seems like every Anthony McFarland run was straight out of the old Tecmo Bowl video game where you as the defense call pass at the top of the screen and the offense calls a pitch run to the bottom and chaos ensues.
I mean, these plays weren't even close- no breaking tackles, just a run call and run straight to daylight.
Just terrible.
9) Maryland and Matt Canada showed guts in attempting to win the game at the end of the overtime.
In these situations, the less talented team's chances of winning decreases with each overtime period.
And the play call worked-the receiver was open as the Buckeyes wound up sticking two players on one receiver, it's just that the throw anticipated the receiver going one way and he went the other.
The call was good and they just didn't make the play.
I'm usually a little dubious of interim head coaches that get promoted in-season getting the full-time position, especially if they have never been a head coach before.
However, considering Maryland's current problems and yet the effort that they showed, I'd seriously consider scrapping a head coach search and tabbing Matt Canada for the job.
10) Now, next week and the rival for all the marbles.
The Michigan defense is among the best in the nation, but I think they can score on them, although not the type of points as in some games.
Shea Patterson gives them their best passer in years and their offense must be respected.
However, they struggled against Indiana at home yesterday and this game is in Columbus.
I rate Michigan a narrow favorite no more than a field goal.
I think this is a close game and if Michigan cannot get this one against a flawed Buckeye team, I'm not sure when they can.
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