The Ohio State Buckeyes are not having their dominant start to the season like we've seen in the past. Instead, the scoring is kept relatively low by Ohio State standards, and the games are much closer. Yet, the team entered Week 6 with an undefeated record and the fourth-overall ranking in all of college football to take on the Maryland Terrapins, who were also undefeated on the year.
It wasn't easy for the Buckeyes, causing fans to panic, but they walked out of Ohio Stadium with a 37-17 victory. Ohio State pulled away at the end of the third quarter, beginning with a go-ahead, 27-yard field goal by Jayden Fielding. Ohio State dropped 17 points in the fourth quarter to put things away.
With Ohio State now 5-0 on the season, let's take a look at what head coach Ryan Day had to say after the game.
Everything Ryan Day said after Ohio State's Week 6 win over Maryland
After the game, Day spoke with FOX Sports reporter Jenny Taft, who asked the head coach what was spoken about in the locker room at halftime when the team was tied 10-10 and how they finished the game. Day said he wasn't happy with how the team played in the first half, particularly on offense, but liked how they played in the second half.
"The way we played in the second half, that's the way Buckeye football is supposed to be played," said Day.
Day also praised the defense, which held Maryland to 302 yards and forced two turnovers from quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa. But Day said that they could play even better.
"When we're playing complementary football like this, we have a chance to be as good as we want to be," said Day. "We're not close to where we need to be, but it was good to play it this way in the second half. A lot to grow upon, a lot to build on. I don't know what it was coming off the bye week, whatever that was. But the guys played tough, I thought they played physical in the game. It was a good win to get here, now we've got to regroup and beat Purdue."
This was also a milestone victory for Day, as it was his 50th win as head coach for the Buckeyes. 50 wins in 56 games as head coach. Day spoke about it with Taft.
"It's the players, it's the coaches, it's a wonderful place, a great place to be," said Day. "And one of my favorite things is getting the win at noon and going home and celebrating with the family, so we're going to do that today."
In his postgame press conference, Day did reveal some news regarding one of their top players on offense. Running back TreVeyon Henderson was ruled out ahead of Saturday's game, but no reason was specified. Day revealed that Henderson was dealing with a minor injury and held him out for precautionary reasons. Henderson is expected to play next week in the team's game against Purdue.
Wide receiver Emeka Egbuka left the game due to an apparent leg injury. Day said after the game that he doesn't expect it to be serious, but that the team was still evaluating him. However, Egbuka was spotted leaving the stadium wearing a walking boot on his left foot.
Ohio State got off to a slow start, but they were able to pull away with the victory on their first week back from the bye week. Next week, they take on Purdue, who has shown to be a thorn in the side of Ohio State over the years.
