Michigan Football traveled to Maryland this past weekend, looking for a big win heading into the last week of the regular season. The Wolverines were looking to improve on their offensive play as they gave up five turnovers in their game against Northwestern.
The Wolverines needed to play clean to avoid another close game against a lesser opponent. We haven't seen this team walk away with blow out wins this year, but they have done enough to win games.
Putting themselves in a position to be fighting for a playoff spot at home against Ohio State has been the goal since losing to USC. Each week, this team has gotten better in order to get themselves to the playoffs. This is the youngest team in the Big Ten, but they are still fighting for a spot in the playoffs.
Breaking down Bryce Underwood vs. Maryland
With that being said, this weekend we saw a battle of two true freshman quarterbacks between Bryce Underwood and Malik Washington. In this battle, Bryce Underwood had one of his best games this season as he was 16 of 23, throwing for 215 yards and two touchdowns.
The offense had a great flow in this game, and it felt like they were firing on all cylinders, even with some major injuries and some guys stepping up to provide a spark in this offense.
Bryson Kuzdzal was amazing as he filled in for Jordan Marshall, as Michigan football is down to its third-string running back. It never felt like he was less experienced than Jordan Marshall and Justice Haynes because of the way he ran the ball for the Wolverines.
The run game certainly opened the pass game against Maryland as Underwood was making a lot of comfortable throws and making the right reads. One of the best plays of the game was the first touchdown he threw to Andrew Marsh, where he caught the defense offside and threw it up for Marsh on a free play and put it on the money.
Everything Underwood did in this game felt calculated, and it came down to his great decision-making. Even while running the football, he made great decisions on whether to run or throw the ball.
Underwood continues to improve each week, but his leadership truly shone this week due to the injuries the Wolverines are facing; he had to step up and lead this team. Leading this team to one of the best wins of the season on the road in blowout fashion means he is maturing and learning on the fly.
For this week, I'll give Bryce Underwood an A- for his performance. He showed everything we wanted to see before the biggest game of his career against Ohio State.