Michigan Football: 3 things we learned from win over Maryland

The offense needs to get touchdowns, not field goals

It’s hard to find a lot of negatives from a 42-21 victory, yet, one thing that could cost Michigan football against better teams is poor play in the red zone.

That was a huge factor in the Wolverines loss to Notre Dame. Michigan settled for two field-goal attempts in the red area against the Irish and it cost them. Last week against Northwestern, the inability to get in the end zone, almost led to another loss. UM got the touchdown it needed late but settled for two red-zone field goals, when a touchdown would have changed the game.

That was the same story Saturday against Maryland. Michigan opened its scoring with a field goal in the red zone and then leading 17-7, added another red-zone field goal in the third quarter, making it 20-7 instead of 24-7.

Things like that can make a huge difference, especially against the elite teams in the Big Ten. UM plays four of those teams in the final six games and if the Wolverines want to win those games, they will need to start scoring more touchdowns in the red zone.