5 questions for Michigan Football in Week 4 vs Maryland

Can Michigan’s pass rush get home?

We’ve talked about it already, but one of the few nitpicky negative things from the first three weeks was the lack of sacks from the defensive line.

I understand that the goal for Hawaii and UConn was to get the ball out as quickly as possible, therefore negating the pass rush, but there were times when the quarterbacks would stand in the pocket for longer and Michigan’s pass rush still couldn’t get home.

With the way Maryland’s offense is set up, it should bode well for Michigan’s defensive line to feast. Maryland does a ton of drop-back passing, with their spread offense, as Mike Locksley loves to let Taulia spread the ball around to his receivers.

More dropbacks and more passing attempts obviously mean more opportunities for sacks, and Michigan football needs to take advantage.

With that being said, the D-line will need to maintain gap control and rushing lanes, because Taulia can scramble and he had 30 rushing yards against Michigan last year in College Park, so he is a threat with his legs.

30 rushing yards isn’t anything crazy, but it is something, and it is three first downs that keep the chains moving, forcing the defense to stay on the field longer.

Hopefully, George Helow, Mike Elston, and Jesse Minter really hammer home the importance of maintaining rushing lanes and gap control against Taulia.