Observations on the win over Maryland, 28-0
Michigan comes up with 13 points in 3 red zone trips, and scored 8 points off 3 Maryland turnover; the Terrapins couldn't get into one red zone opportunity, and couldn't convert any points off 3 Wolverine turnovers.
Offense gained 14 first downs, 378 yards in total offense with 198 on the ground, and dominated time of possession by nearly 9 minutes which gave us 11 more offensive plays. Jake Rudock was 16 of 32 for 180 yards, and rushed 4 times for 19 yards after two sacks were deducted with a fumble giveaway. We were 6 of 19 in 3rd and 4th down conversions. Drake Johnson rushed 13 times for 68 yards, and caught a screen pass for 31 yards and a TD that gave us a two score lead late in the 3rd quarter. Khalid Hill caught the two point conversion which put us up, 14-0; those are his first Wolverine points for scoring. Sione Houma had 2 carries for 12 yards, and 2 catches for 14 yards; however, he gave a ball thrown to him to Rudock to a Terrapin defender, Quinton Jefferson, for an interception. Derrick Green had 7 rushes for 26 yards. Ty Isaac gained 17 yards in 6 carries after getting the start with DeVeon Smith not making the trip; he also fumbled twice with one giveaway to Maryland. Jake Butt caught 4 passes fo 61 yards, Jehu Chesson also grabbed 4 for 41 yards, and Amara Darboh caught 3 for 27 yards. Chesson took a handoff in from 66 yards out for his second TD of the season in the 3rd quarter to put us up 21-0. Jermaine Carter had 8 tackles to lead the Maryland defense.
Defense was absolutely dominant forcing the Terrapins into at least seven "3 and outs." The Terrapins had only 7 first downs, 105 net yards of total offense, and were 1 of 18 in 3rd down conversions. The two Terrapin quarterbacks combined for 10 of 36 for 76 yards, and were sacked 3 times. We forced Maryland into 13 punts, and 3 turnovers. Desmond Morgan led the defense with 9 tackles and an interception; Joe Bolden was in on 6 tackles. Jeremy Clark got his first start as Channing Stribling didn't make the trip, and he got his 3rd interception of the season. Jourdan Lewis got another interception, and was great on cover. Mario Ojemudia had 5 tackles, but had to leave the game in the 4th quarter with an right ankle injury.
Kenny Allen made two of three field goal attempts. Jabrill Peppers got a 29 yard punt return, and a 21 yard kickoff return. Blake O'Neill nailed two punts in side the 5, and boomed a 59 yarder for a 40.3 yard average in 4 punts. We contained probably the best return specialist in NCAA Football, William Likely, to 4 returns for 91 yards on kickoffs, and 3 punt returns for 23 yards. Special Teams did a GREAT job overall in the first half!
Northwestern for Homecoming will be quite a challenge! The Wildcats are undefeated, and just shut out a good Gopher team, 27-0; they are a legitimate Top 25 team after also beating Duke and Stanford. We shut out our last two opponents in a row, something we haven't done since October 21, 2000 after defeating Indiana and our beloved Spartans. Go Blue!