When trailing 28-10 early, every execution of a play is premium. Maryland faced a huge opportunity to keep pace against Ohio State in the second quarter.
The Terrapins had a 4th-and-4 from the Buckeyes’ five-yard line. But disaster struck at the start of the play. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa dropped the snap. He was able to scoop the ball up, but Ohio State’s defense swarmed off the edge.
Tagovailoa tried to buy himself time but his feet got in the way as he stumbled to the turf for a 13-yard loss.
Ohio State took over possession of the football on downs. The Buckeyes responded with an 8-play, 82-yard touchdown drive to extend their lead to 35-10 just before halftime.
The fourth down play illustrated the up and down career of Tagovailoa. After a turnover-plagued freshman year in 2020, Tagovailoa got off to a great start in 2021 with 10 touchdowns and one interception in the first four games.
But Tagovailoa has struggled the past two weeks. He threw five interceptions last Friday against Iowa in a 51-14 loss. This week, he hasn’t turned over the ball just yet. But a lot of that has to do with him playing very cautiously despite Maryland trying to keep up with the high-powered Ohio State.
He was 17-of-25 for 157 yards and a touchdown in the first half. But has lacked the wow plays that Maryland has needed.
Losing wide receiver Dontay Demus last week for the season doesn’t help. Then losing wideout Jeshaun Jones on the second play of Saturday’s game against Ohio State just makes the task tougher.
