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to have the luxury of a so opening as they bring their new quarterback along. They begin the season with a Thursday night visit to Minnesota, followed by a home game vs. Oregon. The date with the Ducks was supposed to be the sec- ond half of a home-and-home series, but last year's matchup in Eugene was canceled. Consecutive games against Tulsa, Akron, Rutgers and Maryland – all but the game vs. the Scarlet Knights are in Columbus – should allow Ohio State to build up a head of steam heading into back-to-back games against Indi- ana and Penn State. If they make it to November unscathed, the Buckeyes will have a good chance to run the table, as their last four regular-season games are against Nebraska, Purdue, Michigan State and Michigan. GAME OF THE YEAR Beating Michigan will never get old, so The Game is always going to be the highlight of Ohio State's regular season, no matter how lopsided this series gets. Last year, the Buckeyes were denied a chance to extend their current eight-game winning streak vs. the Wolverines, as COVID forced the season's most anticipated Big Ten matchup to be canceled. It was the 2rst time since 1917 that the two rivals didn't meet, and that will only add to the sense of anticipation that greets the resump- tion of the series on Nov. 27 in Ann Arbor. OUTLOOK Remember that old coaching truism about defense and special teams winning championships and o7ense just needing to stay out of the way? This year's Buckeyes are probably going to underscore how archaic that approach has become. To the extent that a program this talented has holes, they're mostly on defense and in the kicking game. And yet Ohio State is inevitably going to be the runaway preseason favorite to claim the conference championship. It has some holes on o7ense, too – not just at quar- terback, where none of the the three contenders for the starting spot have at- tempted a pass at the college level, but also on the line, where Josh Myers and Wyatt Davis must be replaced. But per- sonnel losses on this side of the ball don't really seem to faze the Buckeyes. They just keep rolling. Maybe they'll run into a regular-season opponent this coming fall that can keep up with them for four quarters. Maybe their scoring pace will be a bit slower with so little ex- perience returning at quarterback. But they have yet to lose a Big Ten game under Day, and until they do, there's no reason not to pick them to win their 2h consecutive league title. –M.H. 2020 RECORD 2-3, 2-3 Big Ten COACH Mike Locksley (6-17 in two full seasons and one partial season at Mary- land; career record: 8-43) SERIES HISTORY The Nittany Lions lead the series, 40-3-1. MOST RECENT MEETING Rakim Jarrett scored on 2rst-quarter touchdown passes of 42 and 62 yards, helping Mary- land build a 21-0 lead en route to a 35-19 victory over the host Nittany Lions on Nov. 7, 2020. Sean Cli7ord attempted 57 passes for Penn State, completing 27 for 340 yards. But his three turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble that pro- duced a scoop-and-score touchdown for the Terps – proved insurmountable, as the Lions weren't able to rally aer falling behind early. OFFENSE At only 2ve games, Mary- land's 2020 season was the shortest in the Big Ten last year. So the sample size is small. But Taulia Tagovailoa showed he has the potential to be the di7er- ence-making quarterback that Mary- land has needed in order to be consistently competitive in the Big Ten's rugged East Division. A year ago, he had the league's second-best eF- ciency rating (138.5), trailing only Justin Fields. His touchdown-interception ratio was an unimpressive 7-7, but he threw three of those picks in his debut, a 43-3 loss to Northwestern. He had clearly settled down by the time he lit up Penn State for 282 yards and three touchdowns, and he carried last year's momentum into spring practice, hitting 35 of 47 passes for 353 yards in Mary- land's Red-White Spring Game. He'll bene2t this fall from the return of his top four receivers – Jarrett, Dontay Demus, Brian Cobbs and Jeshaun Jones TOP RETURNEES PASSING Taulia Tagovailoa 75 of 122 | 1,011 yds. | 7 TD | 7 int. RUSHING Peny Boone 19 att. | 86 yds. | 0 TD RECEIVING Dontay Demus 24 rec. | 365 yds. | 4 TD TACKLING Jordan Mosley 24 solo | 17 asst. | 41 total SACKS Ami Finau 2 sacks | 8 yds. Ruben Hyppolite II 2 sacks | 23 yds. Durell Nchami 2 sacks | 15 yds. TOP RETURNEES PASSING None RUSHING Master Teague III 104 att. | 514 yds. | 8 TD RECEIVING Chris Olave 50 rec. | 729 yds. | 7 TD TACKLING Marcus Williamson 20 solo | 7 asst. | 27 total SACKS Haskell Garrett 2 sacks | 9 yds. Zach Harrison 2 sacks | 3 yds. >> WEEK 9 MARYLAND T I M E T B A | N O V . 6 | M A R Y L A N D S T A D I U M | C O L L E G E P A R K , M D .

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