Michigan football countdown to kickoff: 59 days until 2022 season

anthonytbroome

Donovan Edwards — (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

There’s much anticipation heading into the Michigan Wolverines football season, and TheWolverine.com is counting down the days until the Sept. 3 opener against Colorado State. We’ll discuss current Michigan events, upcoming season and/or take a look at a significant number that correlates with how many days remain until kickoff, whether it be a player’s jersey number, a year, a date, a score, etc.

Michigan football is now just 59 days away from its season opener against Colorado State, which brings us to an interesting fun fact from the 2021 season. Head coach Jim Harbaugh’s 59th win as head coach of the Wolverines came in a 59-18 victory over Maryland in the 11th game last season. Today, we look at what that game meant and how it set up what came the next two weeks.

Coming off an emotional 21-17 win at Penn State the week before, Michigan was heading into its tune-up against the Terrapins with a shot at Ohio State coming one week later. There are times when the game after a big win can result in a hangover. There are also times when the week before a rivalry tilt can be a trap game. Michigan had never lost to the 5-5 Terrapins, but health and execution can always be in danger on a stage like this.

It did not matter.

Michigan handled its business that day in what was an underrated test of its championship DNA. They were able to put the emotions of the previous week behind them while focusing on the task at hand. The challenge of Ohio State was a problem for next week. It would not matter if they did not handle the obstacle in front of them.

Scoring drives

Michigan jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a two-yard pass from Cade McNamara to tight end Luke Schoonmaker and a one-yard run from Hassan Haskins. Maryland struck back in the second quarter with a 31-yard field goal to cut things to 14-3, but Michigan scored the next ten points. A 13-yard pass from J.J. McCarthy to Mike Sainristil and 39-yard Jake Moody field goal had U-M up 24-3 at halftime.

The two squads traded touchdowns on four possessions in the third quarter. A one-yard Haskins run was answered by a Maryland touchdown pass from Taulia Tagovailoa to Carlos Carriere, narrowing the deficit to 31-10 in favor of Michigan. The Wolverines busted out a trick play on a kickoff return that resulted in an 81-yard touchdown for AJ Henning to go up 38-10. Maryland answered with a 17-yard scoring rush from Tagovailoa and two-point conversion to put the score at 38-18.

Top 10

View All

Michigan hit the accelerator down the stretch, scoring the final three touchdowns of the day. Running back Donovan Edwards (more on him shortly) took a 77-yard touchdown pass to the house and cornerback DJ Turner returned an interception 42 yards to put the Wolverines up 52-18 heading into the fourth quarter. U-M’s last score of the day came from McCarthy on a five-yard run to stretch the lead to 59-18.

A glimpse into the future and taking care of business

The game was notable for the promise that a handful of offensive weapons showed. Edwards caught 10 passes for 170 yards and the long touchdown, while McCarthy finished 5-for-5 passing with 58 yards and two total scores (one rushing). The Wolverines hope to see more big performances from this duo in due time.

Michigan got the best of all possible worlds. No issues healthwise. A workmanlike victory with contributions in all phases of the game. 59 points in Harbaugh’s 59th victory. It never felt like a day in question, but the approach to the week helped set the stage for what came next.