Michigan football: 3 takeaways from a shaky win over Maryland
By Nick Popio
2. Michigan faced some real hardships defensively
Michigan’s defense was challenged by its most rugged test at quarterback to date. Taulia Tagovailoa completed nearly 70% of his passes, but got picked off twice. He was making his impact felt in the first half as Maryland was moving the ball at will. The maize and blue defenders were struggling and Tagovailoa was looking like his brother did last Sunday at Baltimore against another Harbaugh.
He did get banged up though by Michigan’s never say die pass rush. Mike Morris knocked him out for a play and he and the offense never regained that same swagger that they had when there were on top by three. He didn’t even come out for the final drive when trailing by 15, instead coach Locksley preferred to choose his backup Billy Edwards to preserve Tagovailoa for the remainder of their campaign.
Early indicators are that Michigan's offensive line remains very much About That Life, while Michigan's defense has taken some pretty large steps back
— Alex Kirshner (@alex_kirshner) September 24, 2022
Jesse Minter’s guys found a rhythm in half number two, at least until Maryland’s late scoring drive. They got to the quarterback more often and kept the run game in check. Regardless, the defense has a lot to work on this week as they fight to get back to the previous version that we’ve seen from them in the first three wins.