Maryland vs Ohio State Odds, Predictions, Picks: Spread Continues to Move

We have a battle of unbeatens in the Big Ten, as both Maryland and Ohio State enter this matchup still perfect on the year.

For the Terrapins, it's been relatively smooth sailing on the way to a 5-0 start. Maryland has won each of its five contests by double digits, and the victory over Charlotte was actually the only game the Terps haven't won by 20+.

To be fair, the schedule has been very favorable, with UVA being possibly the worst Power Five team in America and Michigan State and Indiana standing as two bottom feeders in the Big Ten East.

We'll know a lot more about this team after Saturday.

As for the Buckeyes, the win in South Bend over Notre Dame stands out. Kyle McCord looked shaky to begin the year, but he made some big throws late against the Irish in a game Ohio State really gutted out.

A return trip to the CFP remains the goal for Ryan Day's program.

Let's discuss where the betting value lies in Columbus in a game with heavy Big Ten East implications.

Maryland, once again, possesses a high-powered offense with Taulia Tagovailoa running the show at the quarterback position. The veteran signal caller went for 352 yards in the air and five touchdowns last week against Indiana, and that's been the norm for each of the five games played to this point.

Most importantly, he's taking better care of the football this season with a 13/3 TD-to-INT ratio.

Defensively, there are some major concerns with the Maryland rush defense. The Terps currently check in outside the top 110 nationally in both Defensive Rush Success and Line Yards.

That's not a great recipe for success against an Ohio State backfield that features the likes of TreVeyon Henderson, Chip Trayanum and Miyan Williams.

If it wants to hang around in this matchup, Mike Locksley's team will need to do a much better job up front.

When you lose an elite talent like CJ Stroud from your offense, it makes sense that the unit isn't performing at the same level as it did for the last couple of seasons, despite all of weapons at the skill positions.

So, why do I think this Buckeyes team has the potential to still be as good as last year's group? Because of the vast improvements on the defensive end.

There are very few coordinators in the entire country that I respect more than Jim Knowles. Knowles runs a very complex system, and you're starting to see some of the benefits of that system that probably took a year to get fully ingrained.

Ohio State has high-level talent at each level of its defense, and while the unit was hardly perfect against Notre Dame, it did an unbelievable job of making the Irish work for every yard. The Buckeyes made some key plays on fourth and short in the first half and didn't allow any big plays down the field.

If McCord can continue to progress as the year goes on, this team has a chance to really elevate its ceiling. Leaning on the ground game early against Maryland could help free up McCord to then take some chances down the field to his stud receivers Marvin Harrison Jr and Emeka Egbuka.

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Toggle the dropdowns below to hide or show how Maryland and Ohio State match up statistically:

Maryland Offense vs. Ohio State Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	57	15
Line Yards	62	46
Pass Success	24	33
Havoc	14	46
Finishing Drives	30	11
Quality Drives	16	3

Ohio State Offense vs. Maryland Defense

	Offense	Defense	Edge
Rush Success	76	115
Line Yards	15	111
Pass Success	23	37
Havoc	9	95
Finishing Drives	26	8
Quality Drives	9	15

Pace of Play / Other

PFF Tackling	21	20
PFF Coverage	43	5
Special Teams SP+	80	30
Middle 8	16	3
Seconds per Play	25.5 (42)	26.3 (55)
Rush Rate	46.4% (101)	46.8% (97)

This is a tricky game to handicap because of some of the unknowns on the Maryland side given the soft early schedule.

Ohio State sits at a 19.5-point favorite currently, and that feels about right given the Buckeyes are at home coming off of a bye and should be able to lean on their ground game.

I believe the betting value lies on the under, which currently sits at 57.5. Because Ohio State will want to run the ball, its possessions should be longer, thus resulting in more time off the clock.

Additionally, Maryland's offense may have dominated inferior opponents, but I don't see the Terps scoring with ease against a strong Buckeyes defense that I detailed above.

I expect this game to be a little bit more low scoring than what the public may think and as a result, give me the under here in what should be a fun one at the Horseshoe.

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