COLUMBUS – The Buckeyes are ranked No. 1 in the Associated Press college football poll for a record-setting 102nd week.
At 6-0, Ohio State also holds down the top spot in the coaches’ poll
Ohio State started the season a unanimous No. 1, but as the Buckeyes have sputtered support has slipped.
Ohio State pulled away from Maryland in the second half Saturday for a 49-28 victory.
The game saw a new approach to the quarterback dilemma for head coach Urban Meyer. Cardale Jones led the offense until the drive reached the red zone, where the Buckeyes have been inconsistent, when J.T. Barrett took over.
“We’ve been having some red zone issues and the QB run, everything condenses so much in there,” Meyer said. “Either you have to be extremely accurate — which we’re going to continue to work at that– in the throwing game. Or, the run game, you have to somehow find an extra hat. That’s only done a couple of ways, that’s option football or QB run to equate numbers.”
On the way to beating the Terrapins, Jones threw for a career-high 291 yards and Barrett recorded the first three-touchdown game of his career.
Running back Ezekiel Elliott extended his streak to 11 consecutive 100-yard rushing games with 106 yards and two touchdowns.
Quarterback-turned-receiver Braxton Miller had his most productive game, with a 19-yard touchdown catch in the second quarter, his school-record 87th touchdown.
The Penn State Nittany Lions visit Ohio Stadium Saturday night (8:00 p.m./ABC or ESPN) when it will be “Dark Night at the Shoe.” The Buckeyes will take the field in black uniforms with reflective, scarlet numerals outlined in gray.