What they're saying about Michigan football's win over Maryland

Michigan Wolverines football took down Maryland, 34-27, Saturday afternoon at The Big House. Here is a look around the internet at what they’re saying about the Maize and Blue’s Big Ten season-opening win.

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Chris Balas, The Wolverine: Michigan 34, Maryland 27: Notes, quotes, and observations

Sophomore quarterback J.J. McCarthy completed 18-of-26 passes for 220 yards and two scores, but he missed several receivers deep and fumbled twice. Both were recovered by the offense. He also scrambled backward — Jim Harbaugh style — and fumbled, and was nearly picked in the end zone. The defender caught the ball out of bounds, allowing grad student Jake Moody to kick a key field goal. 

“It definitely wasn’t my best performance. I want some things back that went out there. But I was happy with the way we were able to move the ball in times when we needed to respond.

“With the timing [on deep balls], I don’t think that’s the issue at all. I take full responsibility for all those throws that I missed on him [Andrel Anthony]. My arm was feeling 110 percent today. It’s been a while since it felt like that.”

In short — he’ll need to protect the ball better and make better decisions scrambling. At the same time, if that’s his “bad” — it’s not so bad. And keep in mind, it’s only his third career start.

We’ll likely see more of him in the read option, etc., too when Cade McNamara gets back. He’s too much of a weapon to keep shackled.

John Borton, The Wolverine: Wolverine Watch: Michigan plays survivor on Homecoming

There are certainly other games on the schedule the Wolverines won’t win unless they handle some business, such as…

• Taking care of the football better.

• Corralling elusive QBs and creating a better four-man pass rush.

• Getting sophomore tailback Donovan Edwards back in the lineup to take some of the load off Corum.

• Develop more consistency on both sides of the ball against increasing competition.

Harbaugh knows that, of course. Later, Harbaugh acknowledged: “We’ve got some things to work on, no doubt about it. We always feel good to work on it when you get the win. We’re 4-0, as good as we can be now. Now we get the answer — can we go on the road, play our first road game in the Big Ten and be successful? We’ll turn our focus to that for a great week of practice and preparation. On to Iowa.” And on to the crisper part of fall … presumably without taking one.

Nicole Auerbach, The Athletic: USC, Clemson survive while Minnesota, Tennessee make big moves: Auerbach’s Top 10

4. Michigan (4-0)

Ramp up the quality of opponent, and wins will be harder to come by. Sometimes they’re going to be uglier. Much of Michigan’s 34-27 win over Maryland went the way I expected it to, with Taulia Tagovailoa and the explosive Terps offense making enough big plays to keep the visitors in the game. J.J. McCarthy had bright moments alongside some mistakes that showed his youth. Ultimately, one team had Blake Corum and the other didn’t.

Shawn Windsor, Detroit Free Press: Michigan football’s J.J. McCarthy has a lot of talent. He also has a lot to learn

Fortunately for McCarthy, his natural gifts and breezy self-awareness will help him navigate the competition as it gets trickier this fall; though how tricky is hard to say considering the increasingly miserable state of the Big Ten. And with a little quicker decision making, he’ll be able to pull off a few of those scrambles.

As for his arm, which is ripe with easy torque and allows him to flick the ball 50 yards the way a boy flicks a rock across the pond, well, think of the 20-yard, across-the-body dart he threw to Roman Wilson for a touchdown, ending the biggest drive (to that point) of the game.

“It was a beautiful thing to see,” said McCarthy.

The play, not his throw. He’s too savvy to discuss his own exploits like that. But Wilson’s speed and precision? Corum’s block to keep McCarthy’s pocket clean? The coaches who drew it up during the week?

Yeah, that was beautiful to him. All of it might look more beautiful to him and his coaches as the reps start to catch up with his talent — and his confidence.

It’s been a while since U-M has fielded an offense with a quarterback this gifted. And while Maryland gave the Wolverines a better look into what McCarthy may become, clarity remains a ways away.

John Niyo, The Detroit News: Niyo: Blake Corum carries the load — and the day — for Michigan

Michigan, which hadn’t even allowed a first-half point through three games, actually trailed for nearly 13 minutes in the second quarter of this game, which is longer than they’d trailed in any of their regular-season games last season.

“But it wasn’t like we were playing some scrub team here,” Blake Corum said.

And he would know, really. Because Corum, who grew up in northern Virginia an hour from the Maryland campus, knows many of the Terrapins personally. He grew up playing youth football with some of them and attended the same Baltimore high school (St. Frances Academy) as several Maryland players. In fact, at one point early in Saturday’s game, Corum said he lined up in the backfield, locked eyes with one of his former teammates — freshman linebacker Jaishawn Barham — “and just smiled and said, ‘Let’s see who’s gonna win this one.’”

Stewart Mandel, The Athletic: Mandel’s Final Thoughts: The Big 12 is wide open … and perhaps CFB is after the top 3

After three glorified scrimmages to start the season, Michigan (4-0, 1-0 B1G) got a little dose of reality from Maryland, which did a nice job containing quarterback J.J. McCarthy and whose own QB, Taulia Tagovailoa, hit some downfield throws himself. But boy, Wolverines running back Blake Corum is a stud. In a classic Jim Harbaugh script, Michigan fed Corum 30 times for 243 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 win.

The Wolverines finally play a road game next week at Iowa, a place where the Wolverines last won in 2005.

Austin Meek, The Athletic: Michigan observations: Wolverines need every bit of Blake Corum’s big day vs. Maryland

After coasting to three easy wins in nonconference play, Michigan encountered resistance for the first time this season and had trouble pushing through it. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy was up and down, connecting on some big plays but showing some of the wildness that creeps into his game at times. The defense was on its heels for a lot of the day. On top of that, the Wolverines were playing without several key contributors, including Edwards, left guard Trevor Keegan and tight end Erick All.

After freshman CJ Stokes fumbled on his first and only carry, Michigan made the decision to ride with Corum almost exclusively. It was the right call, as Corum churned out yards all the way up to his 47-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that put the game out of reach.

“I feel like I was always able to carry the load at any time,” Corum said. “I prepared in the offseason for a reason.”

This wasn’t Michigan’s most artful performance, but the Wolverines kept their composure and stayed in the ranks of the unbeaten.

David Cobb, CBS Sports: Michigan vs. Maryland score, takeaways: Blake Corum carries No. 4 Wolverines past tough test from Terps

Michigan’s 3-0 start came against Colorado State, Hawaii and UConn, teams that ranked Nos. 113, 125 and 126, respectively, in our CBS Sports 131. With the Wolverines outscoring those opponents 166-17, expectations for this team may have become over-inflated. While a victory against a previously unbeaten conference foe is nothing for the Wolverines to complain about, Maryland did expose some of Michigan’s imperfections. In fact, the Terrapins played Michigan dead even after a muffed kickoff on the first play led to a Wolverines touchdown just eight seconds into the game.

Trent Knoop, Wolverines Wire: Michigan vs. Maryland: Five takeaways from the Michigan football victory

Michigan had the 131st strength of schedule entering Week 4 vs. Maryland.

Maryland may not be a top-10 team, but the Terps have an elite offense with Taulia Tagovailoa and the receivers at his disposal. The Terps entered with the 54th-ranked rushing attack in football, so Maryland has a formidable offense.

But the defense is what has struggled all season. The Terps entered the Big House with the 88th-ranked defense, allowing 392 yards but only 19 points per game.

A couple of new things happened against the Michigan defense on Saturday. Maryland’s field goal were the first points allowed by the defense in the first half all season. Plus, the Terps took a first-half lead, the first time Michigan has trailed all year, and held it until Blake Corum’s 33-yard touchdown with 20 seconds left in the second quarter.

Maryland stuck around. Michigan hasn’t faced determined competition all season, but instead of panicking, the maize and blue kept fighting and the different units did what they needed for Michigan to win.

Not every game is going to be pretty, and Michigan will not put up 50 points every game, but the Wolverines walked out of the Big House 4-0 to start the 2022 season.