Mixed signals: OSU excites, but win no recipe for beating Michigan

We kept waiting Saturday for Ohio State to handle ball-carriers as roughly as coach Urban Meyer tossed his headset. And his replacement headset. And the replacement for the replacement.

With you-know-who up next, there's hope, right? We saw Dwayne Haskins actually look like a dual-threat quarterback, rushing for 59 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries, so an equally stunning transformation from OSU's defense is always possible.

Right?

Meyer didn't have an answer immediately after watching his Buckeyes win a road shootout they never led until overtime. Like everyone else, he was still trying to comprehend what he had just witnessed in the wild 52-51 win over Maryland.

That's twice this season his team has yielded at least 49 points in a game. But it could be worse. OSU came awfully close to losing to a second unranked team in the same season (Purdue being the first) for the first time since Meyer came aboard in 2012.

Saturday provided exciting theater and the outcome needed for Ohio State to stay in Big Ten title contention and, at 10-1, at least on the periphery of the playoff discussion. 

It also came at the expense of a team whose quarterback was starting his first game of the season with a supporting cast of true and redshirt freshmen doing much of the damage.

So how does this Ohio State team stack up with the maize and blue monolith coming up next?

"We'll have to play much better than that on defense or we won't win that game," said Meyer, who after an emotionally exhausting afternoon still had enough wits about him not to mention OSU's archrival by name.

"That will be the message all week and I anticipate we'll play much better."

The defense couldn't play much worse. 

But how about that offense? Haskins, when he wasn't imitating J.T. Barrett with his legs, enjoyed his fourth 400-yard passing game of the season, setting the school's single-season records for passing yards and touchdown passes and doing so back home against the school where he had originally committed.

Haskins has now thrown for 36 TDs — breaking Barrett's mark by one — with three against Maryland, including a 68-yarder to Terry McLaurin and 3-yarder to Binjimen Victor to send the game into overtime.

But Haskins made an even bigger impression as a runner, especially since he had seemed so adverse this season to toting the rock. Meyer saw every yard he gained as another step closer to providing Barrett-type leadership.

"It meant everything to go out there and ball like that in front of family and friends," Haskins told the OSU Radio Network. "I just wanted to show I could lead and do whatever it takes to win."

After a couple of sub-par efforts, Haskins looked more himself despite fumbling once and throwing a pick-6 at the outset of the second half that put Ohio State in a 31-17 bind. He had to be great in the clutch to overcome his own self-destructive moments and another meltdown by the defense.

Meyer didn't expect to go on the road and watch a Big 12 game break out. 

The scoreboard, like Meyer, overheated. That will happen when there's 103 points scored and 1,223 yards gained. Throw in 10 OSU penalties, three OSU turnovers and too many explosive plays by Maryland to count on one hand and the stress can be over the top for a head coach who spoke recently about his own health issues.

Meyer was asked what it's like to be in the eye of a topsy-turvy Saturday and threw it right back at the reporter.

"What's it like for you?" he said. "It's frustrating when you see a pick-6, and you see a tight end not release on a pass, and the quarterback fumble. You see a guy who's a very good running back for Maryland. It's up and down, up and down ... what a chess match at the end of the game."

Tshimanga Biakabutuka's name often comes up during Ohio State-Michigan week because he's part of series lore. His 313 yards rushing is a record against OSU and led to an upset of the No. 2 Buckeyes, dashing their dreams of a 1995 national championship.

His name came up a week earlier than usual as Maryland redshirt freshman Anthony McFarland flirted with Timmy B's mark, finishing with 298 yards on 21 carries. The bulk of that came on touchdown runs of 81 and 75 yards on Maryland's first two series, establishing the tenor for what Meyer called a "streetfight."

The Buckeyes don't catch up if not for Haskins and J.K. Dobbins, who with Mike Weber ailing and unavailable, had a career day, rushing for 203 yards and a TD on 37 carries. Unable to stop them, Maryland gambled — and failed — on the 2-point conversion try in overtime that sealed its fate. 

I would have done the same thing.

Conversely, I would not have thrown the ball on the fourth-and-inches play that kept OSU's drive alive to start OT. Yes, I would have eschewed the field goal, but I would have stuck the ball in Dobbins' gut.

Ryan Day's pass play worked. As did many by the Buckeyes down the stretch.

But Meyer doesn't want to get used to this, winning in Big 12 fashion. He admitted this is no formula for winning a Big Ten title.

But it sure gave Michigan plenty to watch, from the grand to the grotesque.