COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ohio State is again using Cardale Jones and backup J.T. Barrett at quarterback and coach Urban Meyer sees success, not controversy.

The No. 1 Buckeyes used their array of quarterbacks to hold off the upset bid of Maryland as they pulled away from an early third quarter tie with 28 consecutive points for a 49-28 victory.

Jones passed for two touchdowns, Barrett ran for three in red-zone situations and wide receiver and former quarterback Braxton Miller caught a touchdown pass.

Also, running back Ezekiel Elliott ran for two short touchdowns as the Buckeyes scored all six times in the red zone.

They had just six touchdowns in 16 tries in the first five games and coach Urban Meyer followed through with the idea to insert Barrett in those situations because of his ability to run off the option.

"I'm very happy with it," Meyer said. "To see a smile on those guys' face and to see they worked hard, and it's a unique situation."

Jones' second touchdown, a 48-yard throw to Jalin Marshall midway through the third quarter, gave Ohio State (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) a 28-21 lead and Barrett then scored from 1 yard to make it 35-21.

After Elliott ran for his second score, Barrett ran in from 16 yards to make it 49-21.

Jones has no problems ceding control to Barrett within sight of the goal line.

"It was great. It was all in the coach's plan to win," Jones said. "He felt like J.T. would be an extra element to the game down in the red zone and certain thing we wanted to do in the running game and he proved to be right once again."

Jones completed 21 of 28 passes for a career-high 291 yards. Barrett rushed 12 times for 62 yards.

Maryland got the final score with 55 seconds left on a 1-yard run by Wes Brown but questions linger about the program with reports that coach Randy Edsall could be fired.

"They put all the distractions behind them and played to the end," Edsall said. "As a coach, I couldn't have asked more what they did here today."

He was not pleased by the line of questioning about his future and abruptly ended his press conference.

Quarterback Perry Hills of Maryland (2-4, 0-2), in his first start in four games, ran for touchdowns late in the first half and to open the third quarter to rally Maryland into a 21-21 tie.

A 69-yard tying drive was aided by a roughing the passer call on Ohio State All-American defensive end Joey Bosa. Hills later scored from 4 yards with 11:16 left in the third.

Hills had 170 yards on 25 carries after entering the game with 119 yards. He also completed 10 of 27 passes for 133 yards and threw two interceptions in the fourth quarter.

He said the team heard the rumors about Edsall but didn't let them get in the way of their play.

"Everything going on in the outside doesn't matter," Hills said. "It's about us being a family and playing for each other."

Hills threw a 52-yard touchdown to D.J. Moore on the Terrapins' first possession for a 7-0 lead and right before halftime he ran 75 yards to set up his 3-yard touchdown run to cut the deficit to 21-14.

"We just saw a great opportunity and we wanted to take advantage of it," Hills said. "You don't get any bigger stage than this."

In between, Hills' exploits Ohio State quarterbacks were busy.

Barrett came off the bench to tie the score 7-7 with a 3-yard rushing touchdown. After Elliott scored from 2 yards, Jones had successive completions of 33 and 19 yards to Miller, the second for a touchdown that put the Buckeyes ahead 21-7 with 6:41 left in the quarter.

After Ohio State missed a field goal, Maryland got the ball back at its 27 with 1:27 left in the half and was set back 5 yards on a false start. Two plays later, the Terrapins were in the end zone on Hills' 3-yard run.

But the Buckeyes had too many weapons, especially at quarterback where two is better than one.

"I think it can work," Jones said. "Coach Meyer does a great job of managing it. He makes sure both players are prepared in each situation."

NOTES: Ohio State RB Ezekiel Elliott had 106 yards in 21 carries to surpass 100 yards for the 11th straight game. He had 31 yards at the half. ... This was Maryland's first game in Ohio Stadium. ... The teams had never met until Maryland joined the Big Ten last season. ... Ohio State won 52-24 in College Park, Md., in 2014. ... The last time the Terrapins played in the state of Ohio was Nov. 8, 1975, when they defeated Cincinnati 21-19.