Observations on the win over Maryland, 34-27
Offense gained 463 yards with 243 on the ground and 22 first downs with 6 of 13 on 3rd and 4th down conversions; the Wolverines were able to convert 4 red zone opportunities for 17 points. J.J. McCarthy was 18 of 26 for 220 yards for 2 TD; he was sacked twice and fumbled twice with Cornelius Johnson and Obi Oluwatami recovering the fumbles. Blake Corum ran 30 times for 243 yards and 2 TDs from 33 and 48 yards with 1:14 left in the first half and 2:24 left in the game; he was the difference today in a close, hard-fought game. Michigan converted 3 Terrapin turnovers into 14 points; Maryland converted one Wolverine turnover into 3 points. Luke Schoonmaker caught 7 passes for 72 yards and a TD. Ronnie Bell and Cornelius Johnson had 3 receptions each for 72 and 27 yards respectively. Roman Wilson caught 2 passes for 25 yards including a 20 yard TD early in the 4th quarter after neither team scored in the 3rd quarter; it gave the Wolverines its first two-score lead of the day. Michigan had 4 minute time of possession advantage, but Maryland had 7 more offensive plays. A solid running game, and no second half turnovers helped the Wolverines win this one. Freshman Jaishawn Barham led the Terps with 8 tackles.
The Terrapins rolled up 397 yards with 128 on the ground. Taulia Tagovailoa was 20 of 30 for 207 yards for a TD, and ran 4 times for 20 yards; however, the 2 interceptions were very costly. Maryland was 9 of 17 in 3rd and 4th down conversions including 3 of 3 on 4th down. Antwain Littleton powered through the Wolverine defense for 38 yards on 6 carries for a TD; Roman Hemby ran 16 times for 48 yards. The Terrapins dished the ball to 10 different receivers for 25 receptions in 39 attempts; C.J. Dippre caught an 18 yard pass from Billy Edwards with 45 seconds left in the game for their final score. Junior Colson had 13 tackles to lead the defense; Mazi Smith and Mike Sainristil had 8 tackles each. The second half adjustments by Coach Minter helped put more pressure on the Terps, and 5 quarterback finally knocked Tagovailoa out of the game. Michigan gained 3 sacks on Billy Edwards who was 5 of 9 for 62 yards and a TD. The Wolverines did not look like a championship defense today, and showed we will have difficulty stopping powerhouse Big Ten offenses including Ohio State and Penn State.
Special Teams started the game with a fumble recovery at the 9 yard line by Matt Hibner; this led to a quick red zone TD only 3 seconds into the game. Chad Ryland and Justin Moody both had two field goals each. Michigan had no punt returns on 3 Terp punts, and Roman Wilson had one kickoff return for 25 yards. Brad Robbins punted 3 times with two downed inside the 20; Maryland had one 8 yard punt return. Michigan's advantage in the special teams play really helped win this one!
We need to get some injured players back for the rest of the Big Ten campaign! Hopefully, Donovan Edwards, Karsen Barnhart, Erick All, Nikhai Hill-Green, and Trevor Keegan will return for the road trip. Unless we improve, we will have significant problems in conference play particularly against Penn State, Ohio State, and Michigan State. Walk-on Max Bredeson got his first start for the Wolverines today!
Bring on the Hawkeyes! Go Blue!