3 Takeaways from Michigan’s dominant performance against Maryland

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Michigan took care of business against Maryland in College Park on Saturday. Per usual, their elite defense led the way as they tortured a banged up Maryland offense.

Michigan did exactly what they were supposed to do and did so in a convincing fashion. Nothing too fancy from the Wolverines, just good all-around football. Here are the three biggest takeaways from their 35-10 victory over the Terps.

ANOTHER “GOOD, NOT GREAT” START FOR PETERS

As Michigan fans wait on pins and needles for Peters to show some sign of greatness in the passing game, he turned in another “good but not great” start. The positive sign is he seems to avoid the mistakes that his predecessor would make as Peters avoided any turnovers today.

Peters also shows some solid pocket awareness and ability to extend plays while keeping his eyes up the field. On this play, he extended the play with his legs and found Higdon for a big gain.

The redshirt freshmen happened to miss a couple of throws downfield in which he had an open receiver. Most notably in the second half where receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones had a couple steps on his man.

Nonetheless, Peters managed the game well and led the offense to 35 points and another win. Peters finished the day with 145 yards on 9/18 passing and two touchdowns, one of them being a 33-yard dime to an open Zach Gentry.

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His running back duo of Karan Higdon and Chris Evans helped him out as they consistently made big plays throughout the game. Their stats were nothing crazy (compared to last week vs. Minnesota), the two combined for 130 yards, but that’s partially due to the short field they were working with all game thanks to the Michigan defense. The offensive line appears to be creating holes for the two backs as they have exploded since Peters took over the job.

SUFFOCATING DEFENSE

The Michigan defense held Maryland scoreless through nearly three-quarters of football. The defense gave Peters and the offense great field position throughout the game. David Long picked off Maryland quarterback Ryan Brand in the end zone and returned it 80 yards to set up a Michigan field goal attempt, which Nordin missed.

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Khaleke Hudson added another interception in Maryland’s own territory late in the game. The Maryland offense put up a surprising 340 yards but was unable to get the points to show for it.

After a completely dominant first half, Michigan defense appeared to take their foot off the pedal for a second late in the game allowing Maryland a couple of scoring drives. Besides that, they had a field day with Maryland’s offensive line.

The defensive line was in the backfield wreaking havoc from the kickoff. They made sure that the redshirt sophomore quarterback and U of D Jesuit product for Maryland felt them in his first career start.

KEY INJURIES

While the rather convincing victory for Michigan is very encouraging, it came at a certain cost.

  • Emerging star running back Karan Higdon left the game and did not return. Although it appears to not be serious it is something to monitor this week heading into a big-time matchup at Wisconsin.
  • Star defensive end Rashan Gary also left the game late and did not return due to an apparent arm injury.
  • Cornerback David Long departed with a knee injury but returned shortly after with a brace on his left knee.
  • Michigan’s other starting cornerback Levert Hill left with a concussion.

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Michigan has relied on all three of these guys all season and will certainly feel the absence of any of these guys are unable to go against undefeated Wisconsin. Fortunately, it appears that none of them are too serious. The biggest concern of the group is Hill being in concussion protocol.

Michigan now gears up for a showdown at Camp Randall against another top-10 foe in Wisconsin (10-0, 7-0 Big Ten). The College GameDay crew will be setting up shop in Madison next Saturday.