Heat check time: Level-headed Maryland takes undefeated record to No. 4 Ohio State

The Maryland Terrapins are off to their best start since 2001. They’ve scored at least 38 points in every game and won every contest by at least 18. They boast the best total offense in the Big Ten and the second-best scoring offense in the conference.

All of that comes to a head in the biggest heat-check game for the program in more than two decades at No. 4 Ohio State on Saturday.

“As we go into this thing, I think our players need to understand that this is why you come to Maryland: to compete against the best. And here’s an opportunity, and what a gauge it’ll be for our program to see what happens as we go up there to compete,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said Tuesday.

The respect for the Buckeyes’ pedigree and playmakers is there, with Locksley noting outstanding OSU running back TreVeyon Henderson and calling all-American wideout Marvin Harrison Jr., “the best receiver we will face all year long.” 

But Locksley is doing his best to keep his program level-headed — “it’s not the Super Bowl” — as they prepare to go to Columbus.

“We don’t adjust how we prepare … I told our coaches, we don’t need to play the fight song in the locker room this week. This isn’t one of those weeks where gimmicks are going to get the job done,” Locksley said.

Still, circumstances are decidedly different this week. 

An expected homecoming crowd of 100,000-plus is expected at Ohio Stadium, in what will likely be the harshest environment Locksley’s team will face this season.

The Terrapins (5-0, 2-0 Big Ten) just missed being ranked for the first time in four years, coming up nine points short in this week’s AP Top 25, an indication that there are many who still don’t take the program seriously. 

Locksley acknowledged Saturday’s game would be a litmus test for the Terrapins.

“You know, for us, it’s about earning the respect that we feel we deserve. An opportunity to compete against one of the top teams in our conference the last few years, and I know our players are really excited about it.”

The Buckeyes (4-0, 1-0) early-season results have been a bit tepid compared to OSU teams of recent memory, running up the score against Western Kentucky and Youngstown State but with less eye-popping performances against Indiana and Notre Dame. 

“They do a really good job of simplicity for the receivers in the quarterback’s reads, but they do a lot of motion adjustments to get defenses off of what they’re trying to do and get them into certain checks and manipulate them, and get guys freed up like Marvin Harrison in the slot,” safety Dante Trader Jr. said. “We’re going to have to do a good job of knowing where [No.] 18 is all the time.”

With Kyle McCord taking the starting reins after C.J. Stroud’s departure to the NFL, the new Ohio State quarterback will look to build on the momentum of orchestrating a last-minute, 65-yard drive to beat the Fighting Irish two weeks ago.

“He’s gotten better every week that he’s started,” Locksley said of McCord, “and that’s what you expect with a first-year starter at the quarterback position. He’s taken over a system that is a quarterback-friendly system. He has the intangibles. He has the ability to make all the throws. But I thought they’ve really done a really good job of how they brought him along.”

Maryland is 0-8 all time against Ohio State, with their two closest chances for a win coming in College Park last year (a 6-point game in the final minute) and in 2018 (failed 2-point conversion attempt in overtime). The closest they’ve come in Columbus is a 21-point loss in 2015.