What they're saying after Michigan football's blowout win at Maryland
Michigan football earned a thorough team win by a score of 59-18 over the Maryland Terrapins in Week 12. It sets up one of the biggest games of the Jim Harbaugh era in another tilt against the Ohio State Buckeyes with the Big Ten East title on the line.
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RELATED: Wolverine TV podcast: Instant reactions to Michigan football’s win over Maryland
Here is a look at what the local and national media are saying after Saturday’s blowout win:
John Borton, The Wolverine: Wolverine Watch: No boasts, no brags, but a chance for riches from rags
Michigan fans watching the Buckeyes dismantle Michigan State before their team trashed Maryland’s Terps, 59-18, weren’t feeling the swagger. Ohio State obliterated the Spartans worse than the Athenians in the first half, 49-0, and pretty much called it a day.
MSU could have brought its 1966 team to Columbus, packed Spartan Bob and its favorite Big Ten replay official on the busses and still gotten smacked down. Ryan Day self-imposed the mercy clause or he might have hung 100.
In other words, the Bring-on-the-Buckeyes bellow doesn’t come without a bit of trepidation — at least outside Schembechler Hall.
For skeptics and the faint of heart, it’s like Yellowstone hikers hollering out, “Bring on the grizzlies!”
But Michigan didn’t come this far to get scared now. It didn’t fight through an offseason devoted to change only to turtle in its toughest moment.
“Games like next week are the reason why you come to Michigan, and these are definitely games that quarterbacks dream of, growing up as a kid,” redshirt freshman quarterback Cade McNamara said. “I’m excited, and I know I’ll be prepared for that game.”
McNamara also offered this: “I think we’re ready. It’s hard not to think about that team when you’re so close, but I’m glad that we came out of this game as a win. We did what we had to do, and now it’ll be pretty easy focusing this week. We’re going to be dialed in; we’re going to be ready.”
Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Michigan football 59, Maryland 18: Notes, quotes & observations
When it comes down to it, though, rivalry games are about execution, playing to exhaustion — and yeah, some breaks.
MSU used up all its good fortune in a win over U-M, a game it could easily have lost by multiple scores, in proving fraudulent. Now, Harbaugh’s Wolverines, still owed multiple breaks by the football gods, will get their shot.
It won’t be easy, but even being in this position is impressive. Nobody predicted they’d have a shot to play for a Big Ten East title this year coming off last year’s 2-4 campaign, but here they are.
Rose Bowl sources say the Wolverines would likely be the choice to play in their game if they lost to the Buckeyes next Saturday. That’s the floor, and that’s one heck of a consolation prize.
Harbaugh and his guys aren’t thinking about that, though. They only have one goal.
“We want to finish it,” Harbaugh said. “We want to win all the marbles, so we’re in the position we want to be in.
“We’ve been preparing for this really the entire year, and now we bring that preparation to life this week to play for it all.”
Be careful what you wish for, some might say, especially after watching the Buckeyes embarrass MSU and its $95 million coach Saturday.
Regardless, it beats the alternative. This will be the third time in seven years Harbaugh has played Ohio State for a chance to go to the Big Ten title game, but the first at home.
Just like the lottery, you can’t win if you don’t play.
So … bring on the Buckeyes, and let it roll. You never know what those football gods might have in store.
Clayton Sayfie, The Wolverine: Best and worst from Michigan football’s win over Maryland
Here are a couple concerns from this game, one week before playing the Buckeyes.
• Michigan was gashed in the run game at times against a Maryland offense that averages just 118.6 yards per game on the ground. The Terrapins recorded 181 rushing yards, averaged 4.7 yards per carry when not factoring in sacks and had five runs of 10-plus yards.
• Fifth-year senior safety Brad Hawkins left the game with an injury in the first half and did not return. The Wolverines seemed to struggle against the run with him off the field. The good news is that head coach Jim Harbaugh said that he doesn’t think the ailment is anything serious.
“I don’t think it’s going to be [bad],” he said. “I think I know what happened and I don’t think it’s significant, but I don’t know for sure.”
• While Michigan fared well against the pass overall, the Wolverines didn’t manufacture much of a pass rush. Maryland has a solid offensive line, but Ohio State’s is even better. Tagovailoa is mobile and got out of the pocket, but Michigan had no quarterback hurries and just two sacks. It’s hard to hold up in coverage against Ohio State, so the pass rush is going to have to get home more.
John Niyo, The Detroit News: Harbaugh has UM right where it wants to be, playing Ohio State for ‘all the marbles’
The table was set for one shortly after lunch.
By dinner, there was a reservation for two back in Ann Arbor. And though they’d been planning this date quietly for months, now Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have the invitation they needed.
“The Game” is back on again, and Michigan — to the surprise of just about everyone but themselves, perhaps — will host Ohio State at the Big House next weekend with a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game on the line and a gnawing hunger that’s impossible to ignore.
…
That their title hopes didn’t die with that fourth-quarter collapse in East Lansing a few weeks ago says something about the Wolverines’ resolve, certainly.
So does the way they finished this one off against the Terps, ending any suspense with an explosion of big plays late in the third quarter. One each from each phase of a team that has shown steady improvement in nearly every area this season.
There was A.J. Henning’s 79-yard touchdown on a kickoff return, courtesy of a throwback pass from Michael Barrett — a trick play that capped another stellar day for Michigan’s special-teams units and coordinator Jay Harbaugh. (A blocked punt set up another Michigan touchdown drive late in the second quarter.)
There was also Donovan Edwards 77-yard touchdown reception, which came on a well-designed wheel route and capped a record-setting breakout game for the true freshman. (His 10 catches for 170 yards set a school record for a running back.)
“He was rolling,” Harbaugh said, flashing a big grin. “How fast did he look? Really fast.”
Rainer Sabin, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football has win No. 10, but is it ready for Ohio State next week?
In the summer, Jim Harbaugh stood on the stage at Big Ten media days and declared his team would beat its rivals or “die trying.” Three weeks ago, Michigan State wounded the Wolverines with a comeback victory that dropped Harbaugh’s record against the Spartans below .500. The result staggered Michigan, but the team regrouped and won its next two games to set up a showdown with Ohio State that will decide the Big Ten East title.
Harbaugh couldn’t have asked for anything more. Saddled with an 0-5 record against the Buckeyes since his return to Ann Arbor, he has the opportunity to redefine his tenure and change the trajectory of the program. He has worked that end since the offseason. A “Beat Ohio” drill became a fixture in practice, and the Wolverines rolled out a motivational banner in the weight room to encourage players to think about the Buckeyes.
Now, after 10 wins in 11 games, the mighty Buckeyes await. Ohio State has won 15 of the last 16 meetings and was salivating to take another pound of flesh last year before a Michigan COVID-19 outbreak wiped out “The Game.” In August 2020, multiple outlets reported Buckeyes coach Ryan Day vowing to “hang 100 on them.”
That doesn’t seem likely now, even with Ohio State’s offense functioning at an optimal level. After all, the Wolverines — buttressed by a potent rushing attack and a stingy defense — are far better than they were in 2020. But will those strengths be enough to overcome the Buckeyes this time? If not, Harbaugh and Michigan are destined to suffer another painful blow.
Nick Baumgardner, The Athletic: Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan grinders took the long way back. Now the biggest step: Beating Ohio State
In spring, the mood among those who know what they’re talking about was hopeful. By the end of August, that mood had turned to cautiously optimistic.
Not because anyone around Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan football program knew of any surprises around the corner. There was no unusual talent, no schematic change that would catch opponents off guard.
But, to quote one former Michigan football player — a teammate of Harbaugh’s from way back — the mood changed when practice observers started to see things from the old days. Stuff they hadn’t seen in a while.
“When practice is over,” the ex-player said in August, “these guys don’t want to leave the field. That’s how it used to be. You just loved getting better.”
Last November, Michigan’s football program was under water. No one knew what was coming next. There were questions about Harbaugh’s future. Questions about whether anything could be done to flip the script and get this whole thing back on track.
Now? After routing Maryland 59-18 on the road Saturday, Michigan’s 10-1 and in control of its own Big Ten and playoff future.
Michigan challenged Harbaugh this year to tear down the bad stuff and rebuild it with something better — quickly. Harbaugh responded by giving his school — and his team — everything he had. He flipped the staff. He invested in younger coaches. He changed his recruiting department. Changed the way he eats. Changed the way he listens. Changed the way he coaches.
And his team, in turn, has responded by matching his intensity. Michigan doesn’t have a perfect football team. But it has a grinder. The job Harbaugh and his staff have done to get this club from where it was a year ago to 10-1 with a chance to play for the Big Ten East championship on the biggest stage of the year has been outstanding.
Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic: After blowout losses thin the ranks of contenders, who’s moving up before season finales?
5. Michigan (10-1)
The Wolverines took care of business in a straightforward 59-18 win at Maryland and can now turn their full attention toward the Ohio State game in Ann Arbor. The winner of The Game will represent the East in the Big Ten championship game in Indianapolis. Win that game, and the East champ will almost assuredly make the Playoff. So, there is a lot on the line as Jim Harbaugh tries again for his first win over the Buckeyes.
This is undoubtedly Harbaugh’s best, most balanced and most consistent team yet, and these Wolverines have won the types of games that past versions haven’t: against high-level competition, on the road, in situations that required comebacks, etc. Can they do something they haven’t done as a program since 2011 and knock off Ohio State? The Buckeyes look largely unstoppable offensively, but they haven’t faced a defense as good as Michigan’s all year. Is it next Saturday yet?
Daniel Dash, The Michigan Daily: Donovan Edwards flashes star potential in record-setting performance at Maryland
With sophomore running back Blake Corum out on Saturday due to a lower-body injury, the Wolverines leaned on Edwards in the passing game. He entered the game with just two catches for 14 yards on the season and hauled in 10 of his 11 Saturday targets — tied for the most receptions of any Michigan player in a single game this season.
He turned those 10 catches into 170 receiving yards, setting the Wolverines’ all-time program record among running backs.
“That’s something we’ve seen in practice since he got here,” McNamara said. “His elusiveness, his ability to catch the ball, it’s really at a high level for a running back. I’m just so fired up that he was a big part of this game plan and that I was able to get the ball to him.”
But that wasn’t the case at the beginning of Edwards’s days in Ann Arbor. After winning a state title at West Bloomfield last fall, he enrolled early at Michigan and underwent surgery on his thumb. The procedure kept him in a hard cast for the first three weeks of the Wolverines’ spring practices.
Instead of collecting dust on the shelf, Edwards used those three weeks to improve his ball skills as a receiver. It didn’t take Harbaugh and his staff long to see the true freshman’s potential in the passing game.
“This guy doesn’t drop anything, and he’s wearing a hard cast on his hand,” Harbaugh recalled realizing. “The work he’s put in, he’s got so many built up reps.”
ESPN.com ranks Michigan football No. 5 in latest power rankings
There would be no letdown for the Wolverines before the much-anticipated Ohio State showdown. Playing without its second-leading rusher Blake Corum, Michigan jumped ahead of Maryland with two first-quarter touchdowns and never looked back in a 59-18 win, its second straight on the road. The 59 points mark Michigan’s most against a Power 5 opponent in the past five seasons. Quarterback Cade McNamara played efficiently, while not stretching the field much other than a 77-yard Donovan Edwards touchdown. Freshman J.J. McCarthy completed all five of his pass attempts, including a touchdown to Mike Sainristil. Other than the third quarter, Michigan’s defense shut down Maryland’s offense, denying the Terrapins on 11 of 14 third-down attempts. — Adam Rittenberg
