Michigan football cruised to a 45-20 win over Maryland on Saturday, in a game that was exactly what the Wolverines needed before Ohio State next week.
It was a complete performance. Maybe the most complete of the season. The wins over Washington and Nebraska were solid, but Michigan overwhelmed Maryland, and all three phases were solid outside of one missed kick by Dominic Zvada.
Regardless, Michigan being 9-2 with a freshman quarterback, still being alive for the Big Ten championship and the College Football Playoff going into the Ohio State game is a win.
That felt like a realistic goal for this team. Getting to the playoff and beating OSU feels like gravy, but we'll see. The Wolverines got a heavy dose last season and still seem hungry.
Here are five observations from an important win before Ohio State.
It might not matter who runs the ball
No offense to Bryson Kuzdal, Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall, or anyone else, but the one common denominator is the offensive line.
Michigan ran for 232 yards. Kuzdal had 100 yards and three touchdowns. He's the third running back this season to have 100 yards rushing and three touchdowns.
That's remarkable. People talk about Bryce Underwood and Andrew Marsh as a reason to be excited about the future, which is absolutely true.
But don't forget the offensive line. There is a Joe Moore Award in the room in the next few years. With three redshirt freshman starters, plus Evan Link, Nathan Efobi, Andrew Babalola, Ty Haywood, Brady Norton, and others, all slated to be back. This offensive line room is loaded.
Bryce Underwood has turned the corner
Underwood was close against Purdue. He was even closer against Northwestern. He completed 18 of his first 24 passes, and without two interceptions, he would have been the talk of the college football world last week.
Instead, he made some mistakes before engineering a game-winning drive. That wasn't needed this week after two touchdown passes on 16-of-23 passing for 215 yards. He added 12 on the ground.
Outside of once, the ball wasn't at risk. He also threw some darts, especially on the first touchdown to Andrew Marsh. Underwood's confidence couldn't be in a better spot going into "The Game."
Special teams can be OK
Recovering an onside kick in the first quarter was huge. Andrew Marsh was solid with punt returns, and just negating the negative plays is a big deal.
Zvada can't afford any misses, but at least he ended on a 45-yard make, following another miss in the first half on Saturday.
A little Deja vu
This team has been compared to the 2021 team often. That team crushed Maryland the week before finally ending the losing streak against Ohio State.
You wondered if that team peaked too early. In reality it was peaking at the right tme, just like this team is after the 45-20 win over Maryland, which could have been much worse if Michigan football wanted it to be.
Pass rush is on point
Some things need to be cleaned up. Clock management and not jumping offside are two things to watch next week.
A key factor in all four wins over Ohio State has been the Michigan pass rush. The Wolverines had four sacks against Maryland, after the Terps had allowed just four sacks all season long.
And if they are going to upset Ohio State next week, they need to rattle Julian Sayin.