Previewing Michigan Football’s First Big Ten Matchup vs Maryland

Saturday, Michigan Football has its conference matchup when it will take on the Maryland Terrapins at home. In addition to this being the Wolverines’ first conference game, it is also their first time being favored by less than 25 points this season.

Michigan Football’s offense has been dominating all of their opponents so far this season, leading the Big Ten in touchdowns, total points, and points per game. Much of this success can be contributed to sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who has completed an impressive 88.2 percent of his passes so far this season.

The offensive depth for the Wolverines is unlike anything we have seen in recent years. Against UConn, Michigan football had seven different quarterbacks, eight different running backs, and ten different receivers rack up stats.

Running back Donovan Edwards is questionable to play against Maryland, however, Blake Corum and CJ Stokes are ready to go. Corum is tied with Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim for the most touchdowns in the Big Ten with seven. Corum reached this feat with only 34 carries compared to Ibrahim’s 67 carries.

Corum also tied the Michigan football record for most touchdowns in a game with five this past weekend against UConn. He is tied with Hassan Haskins who scored five rushing touchdowns last season against Ohio State.

Senior wide receiver Ronnie Bell has come back with a bang this season, already recording 181 yards on 14 receptions. Junior wide receiver Roman Wilson has also had an impressive start to the season, averaging 28.5 yards per catch and scoring touchdowns on two of his six receptions.

In addition to an impressive offense, the Wolverines’ defense has allowed the least number of passing yards in the Big Ten with 274 total yards over three games. Opposing teams have scored zero points and averaged 31 total offensive plays in the first half against this defense this season.

Sophomore linebacker Junior Colson has been a leading piece to Michigan’s defense with 17 tackles this season. Senior linebacker Michael Barrett has also been a strong part of the Wolverines’ defense with 12 tackles and a sack.

Other defensive players to keep an eye on for Michigan are defensive backs RJ Moten, Mike Sainristil, and Rod Moore. Moten has nine tackles and one sack, Sainristil has seven tackles and one sack, and Moore has six tackles and the Wolverines’ sole interception so far this season.

The impressive gameplay continues into Michigan’s special teams. Senior kicker Jake Moody has scored the 3rd most points in the Big Ten this season with 31 points. Moody is only behind Blake Corum and Minnesota running back Mohamed Ibrahim who have each scored 42 points.

AJ Henning also continues to be a vital part of the Wolverines’ special teams, averaging 12.7 yards per punt return and scoring his first return for a touchdown last week against UConn. Senior punter Brad Robbins has only punted the ball eight times this season, four of which ended up within the 20-yard line.

Getting to Know Maryland

Maryland is the first undefeated team Michigan football will play this season after a close non-conference game last weekend. Saturday, The Terrapins rallied back to score 14 unanswered points in the fourth quarter and beat SMU 34-27.

Maryland had a similarly impressive start to the season last year, going 3-0 in non-conference play and winning their first conference matchup against Illinois. However, when the Terrapins took on their first challenging matchup vs Iowa, they lost 51-14 and only won two additional games that season.

This year, Maryland has averaged 40 points per game and leads the Big Ten in average rushing yards per carry with 6.2. Michigan is the next closest team in this field, following closely behind with 6.0 average yards per carry.

Junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa has returned for the Terrapins this season with quite an impressive resume. Tagovailoa has completed 77.3 percent of his passes and has thrown for 895 yards and six touchdowns. However, he has also already thrown two interceptions and been sacked three times this season.

Freshman running back Roman Hemby has been a double threat for Maryland this season, excelling with both reception and rushing yards. Hemby has 294 rushing yards for three touchdowns and 91 reception yards on seven catches.

Similarly to the Wolverines, the Terrapins have a pretty deep wide receiver room. Tagavailoa’s favorite targets have been wide receivers Rakim Jarrett and Jeshaun Jones, and tight end Corey Dyches. Each of these players has at least 11 receptions and at least 100 receiving yards.

Defensive back Beau Brade has been essential to Maryland’s defense so far this season with 27 tackles and an interception. Defensive back Jakorian Bennett has also had an impressive nine tackles and five defended passes for the Terrapins. Maryland’s defense has seven sacks totaling in 55 lost yards so far this season, so it is important that McCarthy is able to get the ball off quickly.

Michigan needs to keep a focus on special teams this weekend, as two Terrapins lead the Big Ten in both kick and punt returns. Sophomore wide receiver Tai Felton averages 35 yards per kick return while junior defensive back Tarheeb Still averages 14.7 yards per punt return.

While the Terrapins will be the Wolverines’ first challenge of the season, the same is true for Maryland who has only had one previous opponent who has won a game this season. It will be exciting to see how this Michigan Football team looks against their most challenging matchup so far this season.