The Maryland football team (3-1, 0-1) dropped its first Big Ten game of the season to No. 4 Michigan (4-0, 1-0), a 34-27 decision that marked the Terps’ seventh straight loss to the Wolverines.
The game began with a fumble on the opening kickoff by Maryland sophomore receiver Tai Felton, which was recovered by the Wolverines. This led to Michigan sophomore quarterback J.J McCarthy finding senior tight end Luke Schoonmaker one play later to put the Wolverines up 7-0.
“Good teams don’t need help and sure gave them a cheap, easy one right off the bat,” Terps head coach Michael Locksley said, adding that his team spotted Michigan seven points “and the outcome of the game is seven points. … We don’t need to help good teams.”
“I was going around telling people, ‘It’s cool, we spotted them seven points but it’s on to the next,'” redshirt senior right guard Spencer Anderson added. “We responded pretty well. Nobody was really fazed by it.”
Maryland senior kicker Chad Ryland netted a 53-yarder to put the Terps on the board to cap off their first drive. Then the next time it had the ball, Maryland went on 75-yard touchdown drive. Redshirt junior quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa went 4-for-5 and scrambled for a first down on a crucial third-and-8 during the drive. Then redshirt freshman Antwain Littleton II scored his fifth touchdown in four games. The first quarter ended tied at 10.
Ryland also kicked a 52-yarder at the beginning of the second quarter put the Terps up 13-10 and extend his streak of consecutive made field goals to 23.
“I was fortunate enough that Coach Locksley trusts me and my teammates trust me,” Ryland said. “Personally didn’t have the best week of practice but they still trust me come game time to flip the switch and get the job done.”
But after Ryland’s second field goal, Maryland’s offense struggled until the fourth quarter. A 33-yard rushing touchdown by Michigan junior running back Blake Corum put the Wolverines up 17-13 late in the first half, a lead they would not relinquish.
Michigan increased its lead to 24-13 at the beginning of the fourth quarter when McCarthy found junior receiver Roman Wilson. Maryland responded with a touchdown of its own on another 75-yard drive, which featured a fourth-and-1 conversion by Felton. Felton finished off the drive with a score to make it 24-19 after a 44-yard pickup by tight end Corey Dyches put Maryland at the Michigan 6-yard line.
After a Michigan field goal made the score 27-19, Tagovailoa threw a back-breaking interception on a pass intended for junior wideout Jacob Copeland. This led to Corum’s second touchdown of the day, giving Michigan a 34-19 lead. Corum finished with 243 yards on 30 carries, an average of 8.1 yards per carry.
“Every gap should be controlled,” Locksley said of Corum’s late touchdown run. “We have a player in every gap. They don’t have enough guys to block us. We’ve got to make the play.”
Tagovailoa was on the bench for Maryland’s final drive. Locksley said his quarterback was dealing with knee and rib issues. Tagovailoa finished 20-of-30 for 207 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions.
Freshman quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. led the Terps to their final touchdown late in the game. The 10-play, 75-yard drive was capped off by a touchdown pass to sophomore tight end CJ Dippre.
“The two-minute drive that [Edwards] came in and executed, those are the things that give me hope that they’re listening, that they understand that we’re not a team that will play to the scoreboard,” Locksley said. “It’s all about us executing the things that we asked them to do.”
Maryland will now look to get back in the win column against Michigan State at SECU Stadium on Oct. 1.
Photo Credit: Kenya Allen/PressBox