What They're Saying: Michigan Wolverines Football 38, Maryland 7
A look around the web and what the media is saying after the Michigan Wolverines steamrolled Maryland on the road 38-7.
Chris Balas, TheWolverine.com: Notes, Quotes & Observations From The Win
Coordinator Don Brown likes to blitz and bring pressure, but there’s not much better for a defense than pressure without having to blitz. Senior linebacker/end Josh Uche was dominant off the edge, using his speed to turn tackles into turnstiles. Danna made the guard who tried to cut block him look foolish by making him eat turf before hitting quarterback Josh Jackson and forcing the bad throw.
The one disappointing part — that the Wolverines couldn’t force more of them. Maryland had enough success between the tackles on early downs throughout the first half that they faced many third and shorts.
They were still only 3-for-9 overall in the first half, 1-for-1 on a short fourth down. And the disappointment is relative, of course. The Terrapins managed only 114 yards in the stanza and trailed 21-0 at the half. Give credit to the Terps’ backs, too. They were all good YAC (yards after contact) backs, falling forward for a few extra yards when being hit.
“They were doing a good job in their running game,” Harbaugh admitted. “We tightened up on that. Coverage was really good all day, too. You can say some of those throwaways were pressure throwaways, but a lot of them were coverage throwaways, as well. I didn’t see too many open guys every time I was watching the pressure and then looked back and checked the secondary … the coverage was really good consistently all day.”
There's nothing like a trip to Maryland to chase a big win over a rival that could have been hangover-inducing.
A week after Michigan pounded Notre Dame in wet and windy conditions, the 14th-ranked Wolverines went on the road and had the luxury of facing slumping Maryland on Saturday. And in the 38-7 victory over the Terps, the Wolverines learned plenty about themselves.
Michigan is now 7-2, 4-2 Big Ten and is off next Saturday before facing Michigan State at Michigan Stadium. The Terps have lost four straight and are 3-6, 1-5.
“The thing you worry about, you come off a big win like we had the week before, what’s the mindset going to be like?” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. ”It was to put the pedal down, put the foot on the gas. I admire that the most.”
Quarterback Shea Patterson was 13-of-22 for 151 yards and a touchdown before backup Dylan McCaffrey took over in the fourth quarter. Michigan had 331 yards, including 176 yards passing. Hassan Haskins had 13 carries for 60 yards and a touchdown, and Zach Charbonnet had two rushing touchdowns on eight carries for 28 yards.
The Wolverines took the lead almost instantly when Giles Jackson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown.
“We always try to start the game off fast and that was a big emphasis coming into this game on the road,” Patterson said. “That was cool to see him take off and set the tone for the game.”
It was the first of several exclamation-point plays.
“We were just able to execute and apply pressure,” said linebacker Josh Uche. “We got home.”
That has been the case for weeks.
Through the entire month of October, Michigan averaged 15 hurries per game, according to ProFootballFocus.com.
The aggressive bent in Don Brown’s scheme never disappeared even as the Wolverines incorporated more zone-coverage concepts. On Saturday, Michigan rarely bent. And it never broke. The Wolverines surrendered only 3.4 yards per play and eight of Maryland’s possessions ended with a punt.
It’s why Harbaugh couldn’t stop talking about the defense afterwards.
“Three-and-outs,” Harbaugh said.
“Drive-stoppers.”
The buzzwords tumbled out of his mouth.
“Heck of a game by the defense,” he crowed.
It was the easiest of sales jobs for Harbaugh, the Michigan (pitch) Man who let his defense do the talking for four quarters until he entered that cramped room and went to work.
Tom VanHaaren, ESPN: Top 25 Analysis
Despite somewhat of a slow start from its offense in the first half against Maryland, Michigan continues to show improvement. From the second half of the Penn State game to now, the Wolverines have changed the trajectory of their season. Michigan will face a struggling Michigan State team, followed by Indiana, before a huge matchup with Ohio State. The Wolverines have a renewed outlook and an opportunity to close out the season on a high note if they can get to that game against the Buckeyes at 9-2.
Aaron McMann, MLive: Michigan football relishes ‘big plays’ in win over Maryland
Michigan has now successfully converted two fake punts this season, and this one helped rejuvenate an offense that had stalled on its previous two drives. Facing fourth-and-1 at its own 27-yard line, Barrett took the direct snap and broke through the line of scrimmage for, officially, a 14-yard pickup.
One play later, quarterback Shea Patterson hit receiver Nico Collins down the field for a 51-yard completion. A touchdown came two plays later.
“The ball was in the air, it was one-on-one (coverage) and you got to come down with it,” said Collins, who caught two passes for 65 yards. “And I did.”
Harbaugh made it a point of complimenting safety Josh Metellus as well, for his nine-tackle game and two that resulted in negative-yardage plays for the Terrapins. Metellus’ first tackle for loss came on a second-and-7 play for Maryland inside the Michigan red zone, when he broke the line of scrimmage and stopped backup quarterback Lance LeGendre for a three-yard loss. End Josh Uche (two sacks) followed up with a sack on Josh Jackson a play later, forcing the Terps to attempt a field goal.
Metellus put Maryland in a second-and-long situation on its next drive when he tackled running back Anthony McFarland for a three-yard loss.
“The (defensive) line was doing a great job of keeping them from being able to hit up the middle, kicking it out to me,” Metellus said. “I’m the spill guy. I’ve got to be able to make the plays when they come out to the sideline.”
Ashley Bastock, Toledo Blade: Here's how it's still possible for Michigan to play for Big Ten title
If Michigan wins out, Penn State loses three games, and Ohio State loses one before facing Michigan, then Michigan would win the East Division and go to the Big Ten championship game for the first time ever after beating Ohio State head-to-head.
Unlikely, but not impossible. In that way, the Wolverines still have some hope.
“We’re still going to ball, because you never know what’s going to happen later in the season,” defensive end Kwity Paye said. “A team may get those two losses, and we’re right back into the fight. We’re just going to keep fighting and keep playing.”
But if Michigan and Penn State have the same record at the end of the year, Michigan loses the head-to-head tiebreaker. If the Wolverines are tied with Ohio State and lose to Ohio State, Ohio State wins the head-to-head and would still win the East.
Now, where things get interesting is if a three-way tie emerges.
Head-to-head is always the first tiebreaker in determining who wins the division. If Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State each go 1-1 against each other and finish 7-2 in the Big Ten (the most likely reason for a three-way tie), then the tiebreakers go like this:
1. Best winning percentage in the division.
2. Records of the tied teams compared against the next highest placed teams in the division in order of finish.
3. Records of the tied teams compared based on winning percentage against all common conference opponents.
4. Records of the tied teams compared by best cumulative conference winning percentage of non-division opponents.
5. Records of tied teams compared against highest placed non-divisional teams in their division order of finish.
6. Team with the best overall winning percentage.
7. Team chosen by random draw.
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