Final Score: Michigan 34, Maryland 27

Brief Recap: Michigan was able to get things done in its first B1G game. J.J. McCarthy now has a game against a divisional opponent under his belt. At the end of the day, Maryland played its heart out even if the Terps didn’t get the result they wanted.

It took a little bit for the Michigan offense to wake up, but Blake Corum was ready to go from the get go. Corum finished the game with a solid performance on the ground. Michigan went into halftime up 17-13, and continued to put its feet on the gas as the game went on.

The passing game did have some problems against the Maryland defense though.

Key Player: Blake Corum

Corum was able to set the tone with how he played. At halftime, he had 132 yards rushing and 1 touchdown. The offense was able to feed off of his energy as a result of how he played. This was especially good since the passing game had its problems for the majority of the game. The Michigan tailback had career highs in carries and yards.

If Michigan wants to have some success on offense, Corum should continue to be a focal point of it. Corum ended up finishing the game as the first Michigan running back to have over 200 yards rushing in a game since 2017. The Wolverines’ running game should be fine in Donovan Edwards’ absence. Edwards missed the game with a leg injury.

Key Stat: 3

The Michigan defense was able to take control of the game, and force 3 turnovers. Maryland’s offense was threatening at times, and the Wolverines were able to shut that down fast. Michigan may need to rely on the defense if it wants to compete for the B1G title once again.

What it means for Michigan:

Michigan will not be looking at this win as a statement by any means. However, the Wolverines will be thanking their lucky stars that Corum is still in the backfield. At least McCarthy was able to get some experience against a conference foe.

The Jim Harbaugh offense remains true this season. Using the running game to setup the rest of the offense has been a staple of his for some time now, and it’s still paying dividends.

Michigan will be getting tested further on the down the stretch, and has time to get better as a team. This first game of B1G play did raise some questions about the team.

Maryland was able to make it a one-score game in garbage, but it didn’t end up meaning enough. Just like that, Michigan remains undefeated after the first B1G challenge.

What it means for Maryland: 

The Terrapins came up short in their first B1G game of the season after an exciting 3-0 start. Barring some unfortunate calls at the end of the game that didn’t go Maryland’s way, the Terps were in this game for the majority of the time.

Tagavailoa finished the game with 207 yards passing, 1 touchdown, and 2 interceptions. Hopefully for Maryland’s sake Rakim Jarrett will not be out for too long. Jarrett was seen jogging off the field after his injury following a hard fall.

Maryland will be facing another team from Michigan in Week 5 as Michigan State will be coming to town. Maryland can still be competitive for the B1G East if it can figure some things out before next week.