The Ohio State football team improved to 5-0 on Saturday with a 37-17 win against Maryland football. The Terrapins went up 10-0 in the game and they also led 17-10 in the third quarter, but the Buckeyes rattled off 27 unanswered points to finish the game to get the victory. Ohio State got the win, but it didn't come as easy as many people were hoping, and anyone that watched that game knows that the Terrapins had a lot of mistakes that cost them greatly. The final score indicates a stress free win for Ohio State, but that wasn't the case at all.

Mistakes came often for Maryland football in this one, and the first big one came in Ohio State territory with the Terps up 7-0. Maryland had a 4th and one, and it should've been an easy conversion, but a very questionable play call by offensive coordinator Josh Gattis led to a turnover on downs. Gattis certainly didn't have his best game, and a lot of his calls hurt his team's chances of pulling off the upset.

On the next drive, Maryland was able to kick a field goal and they got the ball back after that with a chance to add to their lead, but Taulia Tagovailoa threw a pick six, and that is when the game changed completely. Those mistakes can't happen when you're trying to upset a top-five team on the road. Maryland had all of the momentum at that point in the game, and it all went over to Ohio State after that.

The end of the first half saw a critical mistake by Maryland that was a complete head-scratcher. It was 10-10, and the Terps had the ball deep in Ohio State territory, but a completed pass in the middle of the field led to the clock winding down, and Maryland couldn't get a field goal attempt off.

The point of those details is that the Buckeyes were lucky to be in this one at halftime, and against a good team, they wouldn't have been in it. Here are three causes for concern for Ohio State football after the Maryland game.

Physicality

Ryan Day has been puffing his chest about his team's physicality over the course of the past two weeks, but the Buckeyes didn't look the part on Saturday. The Terrapins dominated the line of scrimmage in the first half and had Kyle McCord on his back a few times, and Ohio State flat out didn't look like a physical team. When Ohio State is going up against tougher teams in the Big Ten like Michigan and Penn State, that isn't going to fly.

The schedule

Ohio State football has seven games left and the toughest opponents on the schedule are Penn State, Wisconsin and Michigan. The Buckeyes will be hosting the Nittany Lions, but they will have to hit the road to face the Badgers and Wolverines. If the Buckeyes start off those games like they did on Saturday, they're going to be in trouble. There is still time to figure things out, but if this team doesn't start playing better, there is a chance that they could end up with a 9-3 record.

Starting games

The Maryland game wasn't an anomaly, this Buckeyes team has been getting off to slow starts all season. It's not like this team isn't good, there's a reason they are ranked #4 in the country. Ohio State is a good team, but it's been taking them awhile to find their groove in games. They have to get off to better starts if they're going to win those harder games on the schedule.

At the end of the day, Ohio State football is one of the top teams in the country, but they need to consistently show it. The only player that has been doing that is Marvin Harrison Jr. The Buckeyes could very well end up going 12-0, but there is definitely a reason for concern at this moment in time.