The Ohio State Buckeyes came into Saturday with an 8-0 record, having recently been named the No. 1 team in the nation by the College Football Playoff Rankings.
The Maryland Terrapins came into Saturday with a 3-6 record, failing to score as many points combined in their last seven games as they did in their first two.
With the Big Ten contest scheduled for Ohio Stadium in Columbus and the Buckeyes entering as 42-point favorites, it hardly seemed necessary for OSU to pull out any tricks. They didn’t really seem necessary, even if the team wouldn’t have the services of Chase Young.
And yet…the Buckeyes did do a little trickeration in the first quarter that was pretty darn cool.
Already up 14-0 in the initial period of play, OSU was kicking off to a Maryland side just settling into the idea that this game was getting out of reach. Perhaps aware of their lapse in focus, the Buckeyes kicker pooched the kickoff towards the sidelines right into the waiting arms of Chris Olave.
Ohio State would capitalize on their third touchdown on the day and take a 21-0 lead into the second quarter where they are likely to keep marching towards covering.
You could make the case the Buckeyes didn’t need to run that play, but then again you can also make the case it’s Maryland’s job to stop them from doing it.
