It took about a quarter for both sides of the ball to settle in for Michigan, but once they did the Wolverines stacked incredible catches and touchdown drives on defensive stops to secure a relatively easy win in College Park.

There aren’t a ton of things to take out of this game, and what there is could be considered pedantic. Overly nitpicky is the name of the game this week, though, as those who watched Ohio State dismantle Michigan State saw a team that looked nearly perfect. With only one game left on the schedule, Michigan has to find a way to polish their performance if they hope to hang with the Buckeyes next Saturday. What happened today that might matter next weekend? Read on to find out:

The short passing game helped move Michigan down the field

Cade McNamara completed 21 of 28 passes today for 259 yards, with 77 of those coming on a touchdown throw to running back Donovan Edwards. Take out the one huge play and he averaged 6.7 yards per attempt. There’s nothing wrong with that, and it’s been working for Michigan all season. By my count McNamara only made two throws on the night that didn’t put the Wolverines in a more manageable down-and-distance situation (e.g. throwing for three yards on 2nd and 13). Every other completed throw was either converted for a first down or put them in a position to either run or pass on the next down.

It’s doubtful that Michigan will come out and decide to air the ball out against Ohio State, so their short passing game should be looked at as both an offensive and defensive tactic. Michigan can use the short passing game to play the way they like: slow and methodical. This limits Ohio State’s potential number of possessions, which is going to be key to limiting their offensive success since they can score so quickly. I’ll have more on this idea in this week’s “Keys to the Game” post.

Donovan Edwards can take said short passes and turn them into big plays

In the game thread TMBR’s Josh Henschke mentioned how tough it’s going to be for defenses to contain Edwards given that he’s essentially a hybrid RB/WR, and that has never been more evident than it was tonight. Edwards caught 10 passes on 11 targets for 170 yards and a touchdown. He was lethal on the wheel route, catching one approximately 17 yards downfield that he took 77 total yards for a touchdown.

Combining sure hands with speed and strength in space is an excellent complement to McNamara’s game. They seem to have good chemistry, as well. McNamara targeted Edwards three times on third-and-six or longer and two of those balls were caught and converted, including the one that went for 77 yards. As to the strength element of Edwards’ game, it’s not just the way he runs in the open field; Josh Gattis called an Edwards run on third-and-short twice and both times Edwards got the necessary yardage (though one came back on an Erick All penalty).

Michigan ran a two-minute drill at the end of the first half. It looked underbaked.

Coming off a blocked Maryland punt, Michigan decided that they’d attempt a two-minute drill from their own 37-yard line. The first two plays looked good, with Michigan moving quickly and McNamara completing two passes to Edwards. Then a 2-yard run from Edwards on 3rd and 1 was erased by a holding call on Erick All. Michigan got out of rhythm here and wasted 14 seconds, though they did convert two third-downs and rode the McNamara-Edwards connection to Maryland’s six-yard line...before a questionable 15-yard personal foul for a chop block on 3rd and goal pushed them back to the 21-yard line and forced Michigan to attempt a field goal with four seconds remaining in the first half. Could Michigan go quickly if needed? Possibly, but 12 plays to go 42 yards with two penalties over 1:36 doesn’t engender supreme confidence.

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