The Times Herald (Norristown, PA)
Fields, No. 3 Ohio State overwhelm Maryland 73-14
COLUMBUS, OHIO >> Justin Fields threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in the first half Saturday, and No. 3 Ohio State hardly missed suspended defensive star Chase Young in a 73-14 romp over Maryland.
A team that gave the Buckeyes (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, CFP No. 1) headaches last season was no trouble this time, even without the fierce pass rushing of Young. The preseason AllAmerican was suspended Friday while Ohio State investigates a possible NCAA violation involving a loan.
“We went through a little adversity this week,” coach Ryan Day said. “Adversity reveals character, and our character was at the forefront of this game. I felt we came out and showed we’re made of something special here.”
J.K. Dobbins rushed for 90 yards and two touchdowns as the Buckeyes built a 42-0 halftime lead and the backups added to it in the second half.
Fields tossed touchdown passes to Binjimen Victor, K.J. Hill and Chris Olave before taking a seat in the second half. His backup, Chris Chugunov threw another one in the third quarter. Ohio State piled up 705 yards of offense and 40 first downs.
The Buckeyes defense, without Young, held the
Terrapins to a single yard of offense in the first quarter and 139 yards for the game. Anthony McFarland, who rushed for 298 yards against the Buckeyes last season, managed only 7 yards on six carries.
Maryland quarterback Josh Jackson left after the first quarter and didn’t return until the third. He was spelled by Tyrrell Pigrome, but neither was particularly effective. Jackson finally got the Terps on the board in the third quarter with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Dontay Demus, a drive set up by three consecutive 15yard penalties against Ohio State.
“This was a team loss,” Maryland coach Mike Locksley said. “All three phases, coaches, players, all included and I didn’t like the way we showed up and played today.” NO. 10 FLORIDA 56, VANDERBILT 0 >> Kyle Trask threw for a career-high 363 yards and three touchdowns — the best passing performance by a Florida quarterback since Tim Tebow’s college finale — and the 10th-ranked Gators overcame a lackluster start to thump Vanderbilt 56-0 Saturday.
Florida (8-2, 5-2 Southeastern Conference) was sluggish early, failing to convert a fourth down on the opening possession against the league’s worst defense, missing a field goal and throwing two interceptions. It looked like another version of the “Cocktail Party Hangover,” which seems to happen every year after losing to rival Georgia in the game dubbed the “World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party.”
But the Gators responded with their most dominant quarter of the season, turning a 14-0 lead into a laugher in the Swamp. It ended with a sixth consecutive victory against the Commodores (27, 1-5) and 28th in the last 29 years.
Trask completed 25 of 37 passes and ran for a score before giving way to Emory Jones. Trask’s yardage was the most by a Florida quarterback since Tebow threw for 482 yards in the 2010 Sugar Bowl against Cincinnati. NO. 11 BAYLOR 29, TCU 23 >> Denzel Mims made a leaping 4-yard touchdown catch in the third overtime for Baylor, capping another comeback win for the No. 11 Bears and keeping them undefeated with a 29-23 win over TCU on Saturday.
Charlie Brewer also threw a 20-yard TD pass to Mims on fourth down in the second overtime to extend the game. Brewer had a 3-yard TD run in the first overtime.
The Bears (9-0, 6-0 Big 12) finally had the win on Grayland Arnold’s gameending interception of Max Duggan’s fourth-down pass in the end zone. That came six plays, and a facemask penalty that put the ball at the 1, after Duggan’s scramble and spinning move along the sideline on what was initially ruled a 20-yard touchdown before replay review showed he stepped out at the 3.
Baylor forced overtime when John Mayers kicked a 51-yard field goal with 36 seconds left in regulation. The ball just cleared the crossbar to tie the game at 9-9. NO. 23 SMU 59, E.CAROLINA 51 >> Shane Buechele threw five touchdown passes, Xavier Jones broke one of Eric Dickerson’s school records and No. 23 SMU bounced back from a first loss that changed the course of its season by outscoring East Carolina 59-51 on Saturday.
The Mustangs (9-1, 5-1 American Athletic) played from ahead and kept it that way in a second straight game with more than 1,000 combined yards. SMU had fallen behind and failed to close the gap last week in a 54-48 loss to No. 19 Memphis.
Tight end Kylen Granson caught three touchdowns, including a 31-yarder on fourth-and-20 with SMU leading 45-44 midway through the fourth quarter. Granson had 138 yards on seven receptions, while James Proche finished with 14 catches for 167 yards.