COLUMBUS – The only thing standing between the Buckeyes and an unbeaten record heading into their titanic rivalry game against Michigan are the Maryland Terrapins.
“We have an opportunity to go 11-0 this weekend and still not have reached one of our goals yet. That’s just sobering, but it’s the facts,” OSU coach Ryan Day said earlier this week.
(2) OHIO STATE (10-0, 7-0) vs. Maryland (6-4, 3-4)
SECU Stadium, College Park MD; Nov. 19 (3:30 p.m./ABC)
The Buckeyes are used to focusing on other opponents while never really forgetting about Michigan.
“We’re working (toward) the game at the end of the year, every day out of the year,” Buckeyes. “So that’s not something that is out of the ordinary to know that that’s always in the back of our minds.”
Their ability to compartmentalize will be put to the test on Saturday, when they are 27 ½-point favorites.
The Buckeyes have never lost to the Terps though the 2018 game was a thriller. Ohio State won it in overtime, 52-51, as the late Dwayne Haskins threw for three scores and ran for three more, including a 5-yarder in the second overtime.
Ohio State and Michigan, both undefeated through 10 games, were No. 2 and No. 3 in the most recent College Football Playoff rankings.
The Wolverines, trying to make a second straight playoff, can’t afford to look ahead as they face a desperate Illinois team that squandered its Big Ten West Division lead with back-to-back losses.
The winner of their annual rivalry game on Nov. 26 will move on to the Big Ten Championship, where the winner will be almost guaranteed a spot in the playoff field.
What happens if the Illini, or whoever emerges as the champions of the West Division, pull off the upset and win that game? Probably a CFP without a Big Ten representative.
Buckeye RBs battle injuries
Ohio State’s feature running backs, TreVeyon Henderson and Miyan Williams, are dealing with injuries.
Henderson was in street clothes for last week’s win over Indiana, and Williams departed with a leg injury after rushing for 147 yards and a touchdown in the first half. One of the backups, Chip Trayanum, also was out last week with an unspecified injury.
Without talking specifics, Day said some or all could be back this week.
“I think we’ll get hopefully at least two of them back and then go from there,” he said Tuesday.
First-year back Dallan Hayden and former walk-on Xavier Johnson, who has been used primarily as a wide receiver in his four-year career, are likely to get most of the carries if the others are still ailing.