Observations on the win over Maryland, 31-24
Michigan converted 3 of 5 red zones for 21 points; Maryland gained 4 red zones for 24 points. The Terrapins turned the ball over 3 times to the Wolverines, and Michigan converted those turnovers into 6 points; Maryland couldn't score off one Wolverine turnover.
Offense did not have a good day. The Wolverines gained only 291 yards with 150 on the ground and 20 first downs; they held almost a 2 minute time of possession advantage which resulted in 4 more offensive plays. Michigan was 7 of 16 in 3rd and 4th down conversions, and uncharacterically were forced into five "3 and outs." J.J. McCarthy hit 12 of 23 for 141 yards with a red zone interception; he had his worst game of the season with poor decision-making, underthrows and overthrows, and was sacked once for -7 yards in two carries. Blake Corum ran 28 times for 94 yards and 2 TDs; he caught a pass for 9 yards plus had a tackle on the interception. A Blake Corum fumble was recovered by Trevor Keegan. Donovan Edwards ran 11 times for 39 yards. Kalel Mullings ran twice for 13 yards. Colston Loveland had 3 catches for 36 yards. Cornelius Johnson had 3 catches for 24 yards. Semaj Morgan took a jet sweep in from 13 yards out for a TD, and caught 2 passes for 16 yards. Tyler Morris caught one for 26 yards. Roman Wilson left the game after a 23 yard reception, and a hit to the head due to concussion protocol. Beau Brade had 11 tackles and a pass break up to lead the Terrapin defense; Ruben Hyppolite had 10 tackles.
Maryland gained 262 total yards with 15 on the ground due to 4 sacks; the Terrapins were 7 of 14 on 3rd and 4th down conversions for 17 first downs. Maryland stopped our defensive streak by scoring 14 points in the 3rd quarter. Tualia Tagovailoa hit 21 of 31 passes for 247 yards with 2 second half interceptions by Captain Mike Sainristil; he had 8 rushes for -43 yards with a fumble recovery by Derrick Moore for a touchdown, and an intentional grounding penalty that gave us our final points with a 4th quarter safety. Backup Quarterback, Billy Edwards, ran 4 times in the red zone for 3 yards and 3 TDs. Kaden Prather had 3 catches for 81 yards. Corey Dyches had 5 catches for 26 yards. Roman Hemby had 11 rushes for 35 yards, and caught 3 passes for 28 yards. Tai Felton had 5 catches for 41 yards. Jeshaun Jones had 4 catches for 70 yards. Defense had 3 turnovers and scored 7 points in the process, but only forced the Terrapins into 2 punts; luckily one was blocked for another 2 points and the intentional grounding meant that our defense and special teams scored 11 of our 31 points. Junior Colson had 8 tackles to lead the defense; Michael Barrett left the game after 3 tackles including a sack and a forced fumble recovered by Derrick Moore for a TD; Barrett returned briefly in the second half, but only was in on one tackle. Barrett, Wilson and Myles Hinton all left the game today with injuries.
Special Teams came up big with a HUGE punt block by Christian Boivin for a safety! Tommy Doman had 5 punts for a 47.2 yard average with 2 downed inside the 20; the last one at the one yard line resulted in a safety on the intentional grounding. Maryland's strategy to squib kick didn't help them in field position on the afternoon. It was the first time we had two safeties in a games since Navy in 1976.
Sherrone Moore did not do as well today as the head coach, and Michigan really missed Harbaugh today. When we had a 23-3 lead, and saw it dwindle to 23-17, poor coaching contributed to the problem. Moore's decision to go for 2 was not a good one, and play calling left a lot to be desired. Of course, poor execution at quarterback by McCarthy also contributed to the bad offensive day. I think McCarthy is more motivated and performs better when Harbaugh is present; it was his second game in a row without a TD pass. Maryland played with a lot of grit and fight at their Senior Day, and had a great effort against us. Let's hope the Wolverines can regroup, and prepare for the Buckeyes this week. Go Blue!