After three wins against woefully outnumbered opponents to kick off the season, No. 4 Michigan was finally tested on Saturday in a 34-27 win over Maryland. The visiting Terrapins recovered from a horrific special teams blunder in the game’s opening game to take a 13-10 lead in the first half, pushing the Wolverines all the way to the end.
Finally, the Michigan defense delivered a key moment when RJ Moten intercepted Maryland quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa with 5:55 left. From there, Blake Corum’s 47-yard touchdown run with 3:31 left helped the Wolverines get some separation. Corum finished with a career-high 243 yards rushing on 30 attempts with six runs for 10 or more yards.
Even after Corum’s final scoring run, the Wolverines had to recover an onside kick with 44 seconds left to take the win. Maryland had 23 first downs in the game when Maryland quarterbacks Tagovailoa and Billy Edwards Jr. together hit 10 different recipients.
Maryland will host Michigan State next week as the Wolverines play in Iowa in a game that could affect the division title on both sides of the Big Ten.
Here are some takeaways from Michigan’s victory over Maryland on Saturday.
Michigan’s Mortality
Michigan’s 3-0 start came against Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn, teams that ranked numbers 113, 125 and 126 in our CBS Sports 131 respectively. With the Wolverines beating opponents 166-17, expectations for this team may have gotten too inflated. While a win over a previously undefeated conference foe is nothing for the Wolverines to complain about, Maryland has exposed some of Michigan’s flaws. In fact, the Terrapins played Michigan dead even after a muffled first game kick-off led to a Wolverines touchdown just eight seconds into the game.
JJ McCarthy shaky in crucial start
When Michigan fired Maryland 59-18 last season, the airstrike led the way with Cade McNamara as quarterback and McCarthy getting reps in the game as a backup. But in McCarthy’s first game against a Power Five opponent as starting quarterback for the Wolverines on Saturday, it was the running game that stood out for the Wolverines.
Although Corum stole the show, for the most part McCarthy performed well. He finished 18-of-26 passing for 220 yards and two touchdowns without interception. The sophomore never threw consecutive omissions and was fired only twice. However, one of those sacks was particularly costly as it caused a fumble that led to the field goal that put Maryland ahead in the second quarter.
Maryland’s QB Situation
Tagovailoa came out of the game midway through the third quarter after taking a big goal and was replaced by backup Billy Edwards Jr. for a third-and-9 play that led to a punt. Tagovailoa returned for Maryland’s next possession and led a touchdown drive in the fourth quarter.
Tagovailoa was absent from Maryland’s final offensive possession when Edwards returned to lead a 14-play, 75-yard touchdown drive that reduced the score to 34-27. Edwards’ 5-for-9 performance through the air coupled with the speed he showed on a 23-yard run was an encouraging display for the Terrapins. Tagovailoa took several big hits on Saturday and if there were any lingering injury issues, Edwards seemed more than capable as a backup.
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