Michigan Football: 3 key takeaways from Wolverines win over Maryland
Michigan football dominated on both sides of the ball in the Wolverines win over Maryland Saturday at the Big House. Here are three key takeaways.
Michigan football didn’t necessarily start the way it wanted to against Maryland Saturday at the Big House. But the Wolverines had to be happy with the way they finished in a 42-21 victory.
The final margin of victory might have been 21 points, but the reality is that Michigan football should have won by a lot more. Down 3-0, the Terps scored on a kickoff return touchdown, which gave them a 7-3 lead. However, those were the only points scored by Maryland in the first three quarters.
Down by four, the Wolverines put together an 11-play, 97-yard drive that was capped on a touchdown run by Ben Mason. That gave Michigan football a 10-7 lead and after a defensive stop, UM added to it before halftime when Shea Patterson found freshman Ronnie Bell for a 22-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, giving the Wolverines a 17-7 advantage.
Happy Homecoming! Pick 6 seals the deal for @umichfootball. pic.twitter.com/8emXO5sDGh
— Michigan On BTN (@MichiganOnBTN) October 6, 2018
That drive featured a 51-yard completion to Nico Collins and it was the second of five straight scoring drives for the Wolverines. Michigan added a field goal to start the third quarter and pushed the lead to 27-7 on a touchdown reception by Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Maryland closed the gap to 27-14 early in the fourth quarter, however, the Wolverines responded with a nine-play, 81-yard touchdown that finished with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Patterson to Jared Wangler.
It capped a near perfect day for Patterson, who tossed three touchdowns compared to just one interception. Karan Higdon also had a big day, getting over 100 yards rushing for the fourth straight time and the 9th time in his Michigan career. The defense, which really allowed just seven points, also dominated holding a third-straight opponent to under 250 yards.
Brandon Watson also intercepted a pass in the fourth quarter and returned it for a score to cap a 42-14 win and now that it’in the books, here are three key takeaways for the Wolverines.