Michigan might’ve had its most complete performance of the season on Saturday.

Aside from a 56-10 win over Nebraska a few weeks ago, the Wolverines’ have struggled to get consistent play on both sides of the ball. That wasn’t the case against Maryland.

Shea Patterson threw for 282 yards and three touchdowns, completing 19-of-27 passes. Karan Higdon racked up 103 yards. The defense held Maryland to 220 yards of total offense. It led to a 42-21 win for the Wolverines.

Michigan improved to 5-1 on the season and 3-0 in B1G play. The Terrapins are 3-2 and 1-1 in the conference.

Sure, you could look at the names on the jerseys and expect Michigan to post a lopsided win against Maryland. But this was a Terrapins team that entered Saturday with a 3-1 record, an early-season victory over Texas and an extra week to prepare. And despite the three-touchdown differential, it was actually a hard-earned win for Jim Harbaugh and Co.

It comes at a great time too.

Michigan is about to enter its most difficult stretch of the season, playing No. 16 Wisconsin, No. 20 Michigan State and No. 11 Penn State over the next three weeks. The Wolverines need to play their best football to survive a brutal month.

No, Michigan hasn’t been tested like it was in Week 1 against Notre Dame. Over the next three weeks, we’ll really find out what Patterson, Higdon and the offensive line is made of. We’ll see if there’s been a dramatic improvement from the season opener or if the Wolverines have taken advantage of less-talented opponents. But Saturday didn’t look like a fluke.

It’s probably still premature to annoint Michigan as the second-best team in the East right now, especially considering how well Penn State played Ohio State last week. But it’s going to get its shot to prove it’s worthy of the discussion. If the Wolverines survive the gauntlet over the next month, they’ll be in position to win the B1G East.

Nobody thought that would be the case five weeks ago.