Michigan Football: 3 things we learned from win over Maryland

The defense never ceases to amaze

Many pundits might dismiss what the Michigan defense did against Maryland Saturday, but the reality is they shouldn’t. The Wolverines held the Terps offense scoreless through the first three quarters (minus a kickoff return TD) and stymied one of the best rush offenses in the country.

Maryland came into the came with the 11th-ranked run offense in the FBS. The Terps were averaging 258 yards per game and 6.1 yards per attempt. Yet, against a Michigan defense that came in ranked sixth in the nation against the run, the Terps didn’t stand much chance.

After getting some chunk plays in the fourth quarter, the final numbers were respectable but Maryland still managed just 147 yards on 37 carries. Maryland also threw for just 73 yards, giving them 220 for the game. Imagine how bad the numbers would have looked without two scoring drives in the fourth quarter when the outcome was already decided.

As of now, Michigan leads the nation in total yards and passing yards allowed. The run defense is top five and through three weeks of Big-Ten play, Michigan football has 12 sacks and 30 tackles for loss.

It looks like the best defense in the conference and over the next three weeks, we will find out if that’s true or not.