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Michigan Football: Grading the Wolverines win over Maryland

By Chris Peterson

Nov 20, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Cade McNamara (12) rushes during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 20, 2021; College Park, Maryland, USA; Michigan Wolverines quarterback Cade McNamara (12) rushes during the first half against the Maryland Terrapins at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /
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Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports /

Defense: B

The defense more than did its job, holding Maryland to 18 points and winning the turnover battle thanks to a DJ Turner interception which he returned for a touchdown.

However, the defense wasn’t necessarily on top of its game. The Terrapins finished with over 350 yards of total offense and 181 of those yards came on the ground. Tayon Fleet-Davis averaged 6.5 yards per attempt and as a team, Maryland averaged 4.1 yards.

Taulia Tagovailoa only averaged 5.4 yards per pass attempt and was held under 200 yards but he also missed a bunch of wide-open receivers.

As many people said over the weekend, Ohio State would complete those passes and they are right. C.J. Stroud isn’t going to miss open guys in the end zone, not often anyway.

Also, one sack isn’t going to cut it and that’s all the Wolverines were able to muster against Maryland.

Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo were mugged — almost constantly and it’s a shame the Big Ten hasn’t done anything about it — but the fact remains, the pass rush needs to be more effective against Ohio State or the secondary won’t stand a chance.

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