Michigan Football: Wolverines Storm Past Maryland, 35-10
Michigan might have empathized with former assistant DJ Durkin’s injury-battered squad. But old associations and pity go only so far.
Maryland didn’t get far behind its fourth quarterback of the year, paving the way for a rare road rout by Michigan. The Wolverines turned short fields into scores and made soup of the Terrapins, running away with a 35-10 win in College Park on Saturday.
Michigan (8-2 overall, 5-2 Big Ten) piled up a 28-0 halftime lead in front of a crowd teeming with maize and blue. The Wolverines further torched the Terps’ sinking season (4-6, 2-5), positioning themselves for a regular-season finish against division leaders Wisconsin and Ohio State.
“It might have been our best ball game in all three phases,” Harbaugh said. “There was so much good — three-and-outs by our defense, the turnovers, the interceptions, a special teams blocked punt, no turnovers and stopped a fake [punt] attempt as well. Offensively, we were very sound, no turnovers. We were able to make the big play.”
The Wolverines stayed true to their recently simplified formula, pounding away for 160 rushing yards. Sophomore tailback Chris Evans led the way with 15 carries for 80 yards and two touchdowns, while junior Karan Higdon — who left with what appeared to be a leg injury — rushed 10 times for 50 yards.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters went 9-of-18 passing for 145 yards and two touchdowns through the air, while Michigan’s defense crushed Maryland’s offense. Terps QB Ryan Brand wound up 16 of 35 for 136 yards and one TD.
The Terrapins entered the game averaging 29.9 points per game, fourth in the Big Ten. They left the 44,325 in attendance wondering how that ever happened.
The Terps actually wound up with more total yards than the Wolverines, 340-305, but Michigan capitalized on situations like a python on a rabbit.
Maryland managed only 112 yards in the decisive first half, 57 of them coming on two plays late. They moved the ball in the second half, but couldn’t score much against a crew Durkin, the former Michigan defensive coordinator, knows well.
The Wolverines cranked it up early, employing the beefed-up offensive front on display of late. An extra lineman or tight end set the stage for a pounding run game and a nine-play, 67-yard drive to open the scoring.
Peters found redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry for 21 yards on a crossing pattern to set up the TD, which fifth-year senior fullback Henry Poggi — from nearby Baltimore — cashed in from two yards out. At 6:11 of the first quarter, the Wolverines were off and running.
“It meant the world,” Poggi said of scoring in front of the home folks. “It was awesome. I was so happy to get that in front of friends and family.”
U-M’s next strike proved far less methodical. Peters rolled right, briefly avoiding pressure and connecting on a quick dump-off to Hidgon in the flat. The junior raced away, cutting back across the field for 35 yards, and when officials flagged Maryland for blasting Peters after the release, the play ranged from the U-M 34 to Maryland’s 16.
The Wolverines covered that remaining span on the ground, Evans banging in on a second-effort one-yard TD to make it 14-0 with 12:21 remaining before the half.
Precisely one minute later, the score stood 21-0, Michigan fearing the turtle like an offensive lineman fears free pie night at the local lodge.
A Maryland three-and-out — complete with a quarterback-rocking hit by sophomore linebacker Josh Uche — might have engendered a bit of panic in Durkin’s squad. It faked a punt on fourth-and-seven from its own 30, turning the ball over three yards downfield after fooling precisely no one.
Peters wasted no time turning that bad decision into a decisive advantage. He loaded up a throw down the middle to Gentry, hitting him perfectly in stride behind the Maryland defense for a 33-yard touchdown.
“Their safety was playing way backside, and the seam just popped,” Peters said.
“I saw the safety rotated away, and a big hole opened up in the middle of the field,” Gentry concurred. “Brandon made the right read and put it in a spot where I could catch it and run it in.”
Maryland’s short-fields largesse had only begun. Following the Terrapin’s next nowhere drive, sophomore safety Josh Metellus burst through to block punter Wade Lees’ attempt, sophomore linebacker Devin Gil diving on the ball at the Maryland 19.
Higdon’s 16-yard run set up a three-yard rollout toss from Peters to sophomore tight end Sean McKeon. At 28-0 with 8:21 left in the half, the Terps were toast.
“That was really crucial, the blocked punt and the interception,” Peters said. “That was great for field position. It really helped us get some points on the board early in the game.”
Even when Maryland managed to break a couple of plays — a 36-yard Lorenzo Harrison III run and a 21-yard reverse pass from wideout DJ Moore to Brand — the Terps kept fearing the end zone. Brand fired there, only to see sophomore cornerback David Long pick it off, racing back 80 yards.
Redshirt freshman kicker Quinn Nordin’s miss on a 31-yard field goal attempt kept it at 28-0 at intermission, but the damage had been done.
Maryland’s Henry Darmstadter returned the favor on the field goal miss midway through the third quarter, misfiring on a 43-yarder.
The Terps took the goose egg off the board with 19 seconds left in the third quarter, Darmstadter booting a 20-yard field goal. Maryland moved from their own 13 to the Michigan 1, but couldn’t break into the end zone.
They did so on their next possession, driving 75 yards in 10 plays, Brand firing a 10-yard touchdown pass over the middle to wideout Taivon Jacobs. The Wolverines still led comfortably, 28-10 with 9:46 remaining, but the Terps controlled the second half to that point.
The Wolverines put an end to that surge, driving 65 yards for a touchdown in the closing moments. Evans’ 17-yard TD burst up the middle made it 35-10 with 4:55 left.
“You’re never as good as you think, and I know there were some mistakes that we made, but overall special teams, defense, offense put a full 60 minutes together and played very well,” Harbaugh said.
Five Best Players Of The Game
1. Sophomore tailback Chris Evans — With junior running back Karan Higdon going out via injury, Michigan needed someone to carry the load. Evans stepped up rushing for 80 yards, scoring twice on the ground and catching a pair of passes for 29 yards.
2. Sophomore cornerback David Long — Long not only guarded Maryland’s best receiver, DJ Moore, all day long, he prevented a touchdown with a pickoff in the end zone and subsequent 80-yard return. Long also broke up a pass and secured four tackles. Moore finished with just 37 yards on five catches with a long of 11.
3. Fifth-year senior defensive tackle Maurice Hurst Jr. — Hurst logged nine takedowns, two of them behind the line of scrimmage, with Michigan’s only sack of the game. He remained a presence all day long.
4. Redshirt sophomore tight end Zach Gentry — Gentry delivered instant points with his 33-yard touchdown reception after Michigan got the ball off a failed fake punt. The tight end wound up with three catches overall, leading Michigan in that department, for 63 yards.
5. Sophomore viper Khaleke Hudson — Hudson continued his ball-hawking ways, picking off a pass and making seven stops for the Wolverines. He returned his interception 22 yards and chased down several Terrapins on the night.
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