Maryland football lost to Michigan, 45-20, on Nov. 22, ending its hopes of earning a bowl bid.
Michigan’s offense was nearly flawless, scoring on all but three drives — a missed field goal, time expiring before halftime and time expiring at the end of the game. The Wolverines piled up 443 yards of offense and held the ball for 35:38.
“[Michigan was] 12 of 14 on third down. The execution of getting off the field showed up again,” Maryland head coach Michael Locksley said. “Our defense played a short field all game long. Obviously, the kicking game, and the drive starts for them, was not advantageous, but we do have to be able to get off the field on what we call money downs, and we didn’t do that today and didn’t do very well.”
Maryland (4-7, 1-7 Big Ten) started strong before Michigan answered with 21 consecutive points.
The Terrapins opened the game with a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive sparked by freshman running back Dejuan Williams, who rushed for 20 yards on the first play. Freshman quarterback Malik Washington then connected with senior wideout Shaleak Knotts for a 29-yard reception, putting Maryland at Michigan’s 24-yard line.
Washington later found senior receiver Octavian Smith Jr., who made a tough catch to set the Terrapins up at the Wolverines’ 1-yard line. That catch marked Smith’s 100th career reception.
Two plays later, sophomore tight end Dorian Fleming caught a touchdown pass with a defender draped over him on fourth down to give Maryland an early 7-0 lead.
“We had our opener list, stuff we felt good about going into the week,” said Washington, who finished 19 of 39 for 210 yards, one touchdown and one interception. “… We were able to get the ball down the field and guys were making plays.”
Maryland then attempted an onside kick to try to catch the Wolverines off-guard, but Michigan recovered. Locksley said regular kicker Sean O’Haire wasn’t available for kickoffs, so the Terrapins had Ryan Capriotti kick off instead. The coach said the team noticed “some things … to try to steal a possession, generate some momentum, to generate explosives. We wanted to be aggressive.”
With a short field, the Wolverines responded with a seven-play, 47-yard touchdown drive. Michigan freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood found freshman receiver Andrew Marsh in the corner of the end zone to tie the game.
On Michigan’s next drive, Maryland redshirt junior defensive back Lavain Scruggs dropped an interception, which proved costly. The Wolverines continued their march downfield, capping a 12-play, 85-yard drive with junior running back Bryson Kuzdzal scoring to make the score 14-7.
Kuzdzal finished with 100 rushing yards and three touchdowns. Sophomore backup Tomas O’Meara entered the game late in the fourth quarter and finished with 71 yards on eight attempts. Michigan finished the game with 228 rushing yards.
“We didn’t set the edge of the defense very well,” Locksley said. “The last few weeks have been a lot of, what we call, interior runs. Today, the ball came off the edge, which typically means that we’ve got to get the force players down tighter. They’ve got to do a better job of forcing them all back to where the help was. Today, I didn’t see a lot of balls being forced back inside.”
Things went from bad to worse when Washington was intercepted on Maryland’s next possession.
The Terrapins’ defense looked ready for a stop after freshman defensive end Zahir Mathis stuffed a run in the backfield, but on third-and-9, Underwood found wideout Donaven McCulley for an 18-yard catch-and-run, extending Michigan’s lead to 21-7.
Underwood finished 16 of 23 for 215 yards and two passing touchdowns. Just a week earlier, he threw zero touchdowns and two interceptions in Michigan’s 24-22 win against Northwestern.
Maryland added a field goal on its next drive after stalling in Michigan territory, thanks in part to a sack by former Terrapin linebacker Jaishawn Barham. The teams went into halftime with the Wolverines leading 21-10.
Maryland kicked the ball out of bounds on the second-half kickoff, giving Michigan the ball at its own 35-yard line. The Wolverines then went on an eight-play, 65-yard drive to extend their lead to 28-10 with Kuzdzal’s second rushing touchdown of the game.
After 24 consecutive points, Maryland finally scored its second touchdown with just under six minutes remaining.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Khristian Martin found senior wideout Jalil Farooq for a 29-yard reception that was fumbled but recovered in the end zone for a touchdown, cutting the lead to the final score of 45-20.
The Terrapins close out their season against Michigan State at Ford Field in Detroit on Nov. 29, looking to end a seven-game losing skid before the offseason begins.
“We have one more opportunity — next weekend, Detroit — to send our seniors out with a win,” Locksley said. “I know this team, because the character they’ve shown in the last seven weeks here, will … finish this thing the right way.”
Photo Credit: Courtesy of Maryland Athletics