Best and worst from Michigan's win over Maryland
Michigan Wolverines football dismembered Maryland by a final score of 59-18 Saturday afternoon in College Park, setting up a showdown with arch rival Ohio State that marks the first top-five matchup held at The Big House since 2003.
Here are the best and worst from the Maize and Blue’s win over the Terrapins.
RELATED
• Michigan football 59, Maryland 18: Notes, quotes & observations
• Notes: Special teams and defensive touchdowns lift Michigan in rout of Maryland
• Michigan offense notes: Wolverines play clean, balanced in win over Maryland with Ohio State up next
Things That Bode Well For Ohio State Matchup
Let’s be honest, this game was always going to be put into a unique context. First, the Wolverines had to win and put themselves into the position to win the Big Ten East with a victory over Ohio State the following week. Second, they had to make sure they’re ready for said matchup. Here are some things we feel were encouraging heading into ‘The Game.’
• Michigan stopped Maryland on 11 of its third-down plays and forced a turnover on downs on both of the Terrapins’ fourth-down tries. The Wolverines likely aren’t going to face 14 OSU third downs next week, but they’ll need to be efficient and timely when those situations arise. Ohio State is going to move the ball — it does on everyone — but the Wolverines must be in the right call and come up with big plays on third and fourth downs.
• The pass defense as a whole was extremely good, limiting Maryland redshirt sophomore quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa, who threw for 300-plus yards in six of the team’s first 10 games, to 178 yards and one touchdown with an interception. Yes, Ohio State has thrown for over 300 yards in seven straight contests, including 449 Saturday against Michigan State, and will be an entirely different challenge, but this was a good performance from the Maize and Blue.
• The noise about Michigan’s unwillingness to pass the ball earlier in the season was just that — noise. Michigan has proved it’s going to do what it has to in order to win, including airing it out. The Wolverines had more pass attempts (40) than rushes (35) for just the second time all season, accumulating 352 yards and three touchdowns through the air. The Buckeyes aren’t elite against the pass, so there may be some opportunities there. Getting timing and chemistry down this week was key.
• Michigan broke tendency and put some plays on film that Ohio State will have no choice but to think about and prepare for this week. Examples include rushing to the line and running a pass play, using the running backs more in the pass game, throwing at the goal line, running the wildcat formation for the first time this season, aggressively going after a punt block, using a throwback lateral on a kick return, bringing a cornerback blitz and more.
Things That Don’t Bode Well For Ohio State Matchup
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.
Best Catch And Run
Freshman running back Donovan Edwards ran a wheel route, got open and caught the ball on his own 41-yard line, before finding a cut-back lane and taking it to the house for a 77-yard score, the longest of the game.
Best Grab
Sometimes, a quarterback has to just throw it up to a spot where only his receiver can make a play on the ball, and let him make a play. That’s exactly what happened when freshman quarterback J.J. McCarthy found sophomore wide receiver Mike Sainristil in the end zone for a 13-yard strike. While laying out, Sainristil coralled the ball with one hand, brought it into his body and came up with the catch. Sensational is right.
Top Special Teams Play
Did you know redshirt sophomore Michael Barrett was a quarterback in high school?
While he didn’t make the best throws when practicing this play, per sophomore wide receiver A.J. Henning, who was on the receiving end of the lateral, he dropped a dime when the popcorn was popping, setting Henning up for a 79-yard kick return touchdown.
Michigan also had a blocked punt to set up a score, so there were a couple options for this award.
Welcome To The Big Time
Another week, another big-time performance from a Michigan freshman. It was safety Rod Moore against Penn State and Edwards in this one. He caught 10 passes — tied with sophomore tight end Erick All for a season-high on the team — for 170 yards and the aforementioned score. His 170 receiving yards stand as the most by any Michigan running back in a single game.
“He’s destined for great things,” Harbaugh said of Edwards.
Best Quote
Unlike others, we made sure not to concede anything or give this team a ‘ceiling,’ but damn near nobody predicted they’d be in this spot, playing for a championship against Ohio State. His back against the wall, Harbaugh took a pay cut, revamped his staff, put in more work and made big-time changes behind the scenes. Eleven months later, his team is one win away from heading to Indianapolis for the Big Ten Championship game.
Some of the few who believed, though, were inside Schembechler Hall. And that’s really all that matters, as we’ve learned.
“It means everything that was planned, built for, all the energy that was put in since way back in early 2021 — January, February. All the things the guys have done, the coaches have done to put us in this position,” Harbaugh said. “This is the position we wanted to be in. We want to finish it. 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 bring that preparation to life this week to play for it all.”
They’re going to beat Ohio State next week, or die trying.
