Keys to the game: Michigan Wolverines football at Maryland

Michigan football coach Jim Harbaugh secured arguably the biggest road win of his U-M career last week when his Wolverines beat Penn State, 21-17. 

It wasn’t easy. The defense and offense both had lapses in the fourth quarter, but a late Erick All touchdown and a defensive stand made up for it. 

Watching the offense run out the clock and take a knee with the ball was refreshing, reminiscent of the old days. 

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But there’s still work to do, starting with a ‘trap’ game Saturday at Maryland. The Terrapins are down several wide receivers, but they have a capable quarterback in Taulia Tagovailoa. Their defense is sketchy, and home field advantage … well, hasn’t been much of one in this series. 

East Coast Michigan fans, in fact, are expected to show up in droves Saturday, as they usually do for this game. 

Maryland isn’t a one-man team, but closer to it with all the wide receiver injuries. The Terps have, frankly, been a disappointment since opening the season with an impressive win over West Virginia, and U-M should win comfortably. 

Here’s what the Wolverines need to do to help make that happen:

Michigan football key: Keep Maryland’s offense one-dimensional

Tagovailoa hasn’t been much of a runner this year, but neither had Penn State’s Sean Clifford in the last several games before playing U-M. He had some success scrambling and on a few quarterback draws last Saturday, and it wouldn’t surprise to see the Terps try something similar. 

The Wolverines adjusted, but not before some damage had been done. 

Maryland is 112th nationally, averaging only 112.4 yards per game rushing. Running isn’t what they do, and Harbaugh is aware. 

“They’ve got a great scheme,” he said. “Taulia is a dynamic thrower. It’s fun to watch. We’ve been watching it in cross-over games. We watch it in the quarterback room a lot when we’re watching the opponent we’re about to play. He just deals it … it’s a really good passing game.”

They’ve lost starting receivers Dontay Demus, Jeshaun Jones and now freshman Marcus Fleming for the year. That doesn’t bode well against a pass defense that ranks eighth nationally. 

Stop the run, as expected, and don’t let the ball over their heads. Do that and the Wolverines will have a great chance to keep the Maryland offense in check.

Michigan football key: Don’t peek ahead

It’s natural for teams to overlook opponents heading into big rivalry games. Indiana squads have given the Wolverines fits in the recent past the week before Michigan games with Ohio State, and more recently, Ohio State barely got by Maryland on the road (2018) in the game before The Game. 

Harbaugh was on the losing end of one of those games, falling to Minnesota at home in 1986. U-M rebounded to beat the Buckeyes in Columbus, but that ended any national championship hopes. 

It’s human nature to take a breath from time to time when it seems warranted, especially among 18- to 22-year-olds who have been battling through bumps and bruises all year. This team has great leadership, though, and you wouldn’t expect that to happen.

Michigan football key: Stay balanced on offense and protect the ball

Maryland’s pass defense is as bad as its run defense, 105th nationally in relinquishing 258.2 yards per game. The weather will be fine — 50 degrees and mostly cloudy, no wind — and with as much man defense as the Terrapins play, offensive coordinator Josh Gattis will probably have some plays dialed up to take his shots through the air. 

But he needs to ride the horse (redshirt sophomore running back Hassan Haskins) who got him there, first. With freshman back Blake Corum out for a second straight game, they’ll be tempted to play freshman Donovan Edwards more, too. 

They should — but only after they’re up a few scores, which needs to be the goal. You’d love to save some of Haskins’ juice for the Buckeyes, but he’s Michigan’s MVP on offense. He doesn’t turn the ball over (and let’s be honest — if Maryland is close in this one, turnovers would likely be a factor) and he’s outstanding in pass protection. 

Keeping redshirt sophomore quarterback Cade McNamara clean and healthy is as important as anything this game, and Haksins has a role in that. 

Two hundred yards on the ground, a couple hundred in the air, no fumbles or interceptions equals a three-score win and call it a day.

The Breakdown: Michigan Wolverines football at Maryland

All of Michigan’s goals are still alive. The Wolverines will likely be in control of their postseason destiny after this weekend, assuming Ohio State beats Michigan State and they take care of business themselves. 

But they can only control what they can control. Harbaugh knows it, and he’s confident his group won’t overlook the Terrapins.

“It’s just what we’ve been doing. It’s the next game up,” he said when asked about not looking ahead to Ohio State. “You’ve got to be … in a playoff mindset. 

“You’re in a mentality of you have to win. If you don’t win, you’re going to be out of the championship race.”

Nobody expected them to be in this position, but there they are. And while many fans, etc. point to ‘next year’ and the good young talent coming back, this team has the potential to do it now. 

As former Michigan basketball coach John Beilein used to say about the NCAA Tournament, ‘You never really know if and when you’re going to be in this position again.’ 

And he’s right. We’ve seen it over the years — teams with more talent have faltered in big moments, while less-talented squads have achieved more with great chemistry and opportunistic play. 

This one falls into the latter category, but it’s a team capable of winning the last three games, for sure. It starts Saturday with a win in College Park.