New Big Ten Additions Haven’t Fared Well Against OSU

Ohio State has been more successful against new additions to the Big Ten than any other program in the league. Since 2011, when the conference added Nebraska from the Big 12 and then again in 2014 when it picked up Rutgers and Maryland, the Buckeyes are now a near-perfect 21-1against the expansion squads.

The lone loss in that span came in Ohio State’s first matchup against the Cornhuskers, back in 2011.

Ohio State’s next 21 excursions would not be quite so excruciating. Ohio State has since claimed six straight against the Cornhuskers.

The East coast additions are without any wins on which to hang their hats and have just one legitimate bid at an upset against the Buckeyes since 2014. Ohio State easily handled both squads in their first seasons of Big Ten play, dismantling Maryland 52-24 in College Park, Md., on Oct. 4, before returning home to do the same to Rutgers in the next game, 56-17.

The 2015-17 meetings were no different. Ohio State toppled Rutgers by an average score of 54.3-2.3, allowing just one touchdown in three matchups as the Scarlet Knights sifted through the end of the Kyle Flood era and into the disastrous Chris Ash tenure. Ash’s teams scored just three total points against the Buckeyes, hitting a field goal to cut the deficit to 39 in what would become a 52-3 victory for Ohio State in 2018.

Maryland had slightly more luck from 2015-17, though not by much. Under the guidance of Mike Locksley, who was serving as the interim head coach at the time, the Terps managed 28 points in Columbus, but surrendered 49 as Ohio State improved to 6-0. His replacement, D.J. Durkin, didn’t fare well against his former boss in Urban Meyer, falling 62-3 and 62-14 in back-to-back seasons.

It wasn’t until the Terrapins turned to another interim coach – Matt Canada in 2018 – that it seriously challenged Ohio State. The Buckeyes came to town with one of the nation’s strongest offenses but a defense that was badly wounded in a 49-20 loss to Purdue less than a month prior. A pair of get-right games against Michigan State and Nebraska did little to get the Buckeyes right, and Canada’s motion-heavy attack caught Ohio State’s defense sleeping on several occasions on the way to a 52-51 loss in overtime.

The most recent affairs, though, were nowhere near as spicy. Ohio State shredded the two in succession in 2019, beating Rutgers 56-21 and Maryland 73-14, on the back on (to this point still unproven) rumors that Locksley had in some way contributed to defensive end Chase Young’s suspension. The Buckeyes and Terrapins didn’t play in 2020, but Ohio State did take care of business against the Scarlet Knights in Greg Schiano’s first season, 49-27.