ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Michigan football had a tougher time than expected in its first Big Ten test. Now, the question is: Was this weekend a much-needed reality check for the Wolverines, a cause for concern, or a sign that Maryland is better than we thought?
Let’s dive into each argument, because there’s a chance that the truth is a combination of all three. While Michigan finally showed some obvious flaws, there were also some positives to take away from Saturday’s win.
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Reality check
In some ways, it’s probably a positive for Jim Harbaugh’s team to experience adversity after how easily it blew through the non-conference schedule.
While they were beating up on Colorado State, Hawaii, and Connecticut, the Wolverines didn’t have to worry about the outcome of the games. Those three teams are probably all among the 10 worst in the country, so the talent gap was wide enough for Michigan to win without any pressure.
Saturday was different -- a lot different. Even though Maryland isn’t one of the more consistently competitive programs in the conference, it’s still a Big Ten school. Harbaugh can use this game as a reminder that every team left on the schedule can beat Michigan if it doesn’t prepare and execute at a high level.
Remember, Michigan isn’t just replacing the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, Daxton Hill, and several others on the field. It’s also replacing both coordinators, and these young coaches have to learn from experience, as well.
Jesse Minter wasn’t brought to Michigan to build a defense that shuts down Hawaii. His job is stop the likes of Penn State, Michigan State, Ohio State, and, yes, Maryland. There were times Saturday when that didn’t go so well.
The same goes for Sherrone Moore and Matt Weiss. It feels a whole lot better to learn from an ugly win than it does to learn from a crushing defeat.
Last year, Michigan struggled in its first Big Ten game against Rutgers, and then improved enough to win the conference championship. The Wolverines have a long way to go, but that’s some important perspective to keep in mind. A game like Saturday’s can often end up looking more like an outlier than a black eye on the resume.
Cause for concern
I’m not sounding the alarm after Saturday’s game, but there are some legitimate concerns that Michigan will need to address. The most pressing is the lack of a pass rush on defense.
After losing Hutchinson and Ojabo to the draft, Michigan’s pass rush became a major question mark. None of the edge rushers on the current roster are proven, and everyone is hoping a player will emerge out of nowhere, a la Ojabo a year ago.
For most of the game Saturday, Michigan had trouble getting any pressure on Taulia Tagovailoa. He had plenty of time to sit in the pocket and go through his progressions, and that resulted in the Terrapins racking up 269 passing yards.
Mike Morris was the only Michigan defender who consistently found ways to get into the backfield, but even he was largely held in check for the first three quarters of the game.
Does one bad game mean everyone should give up on Michigan’s pass rush? Obviously not. But since this was a concern coming into the season and it remained an issue in the team’s first real game, it’s worth keeping an eye on.
If the Wolverines can’t make C.J. Stroud or Sean Clifford uncomfortable in the Ohio State and Penn State games, the consequences will be much more severe.
Another minor concern: J.J. McCarthy and his wide receivers couldn’t effectively stretch the field.
McCarthy was mostly on target on short and medium passes, but when it came to connecting with his receivers downfield, he was not on the same page. He overthrew the first three deep shots of the game, and then bounced one at the feet of an open Andrel Anthony in the second half.
It was an odd sign from a quarterback who had completed nearly 90% of his passes the first three games, many of them over the top of the defense.
Maryland’s pass defense isn’t exactly a juggernaut -- it allowed 369 yards to SMU last week. But this was still by far the toughest unit McCarthy has seen since taking over as Michigan’s starter.
So while he had some ups and downs, the fact that McCarthy still completed 18 of 26 passes for 220 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions counts for something. He found a way to hit Ronnie Bell in stride on a critical deep pass on third down, which was a sign that he can recalibrate in the face of adversity.
There are much better defenses than Maryland’s on the upcoming schedule, so McCarthy and his receivers will need to get on the same page -- and fast. Blake Corum isn’t always going to be able to bail them out with 243 yards and a pair of scores.
Quality win
It feels like most people are planting their flag in the “Michigan needed a wake-up call” camp or the “Michigan isn’t that great” camp. But there’s a third possibility: Maybe Maryland is better than we thought.
The Wolverines found a way to contain Maryland’s dangerous running attack, but still, Tagovailoa kept his team in the game. The Terrapins put up nearly 400 total yards despite a quiet game from star running back Roman Hemby -- that’s a sign of a balanced offensive attack.
Nobody really knows what to expect from the Terrapins, but this is a team that quietly won seven games a year ago and came into the Big House undefeated. It’s possible that over the next several weeks, this will look more like a quality win than a near-disaster for Michigan.
The voters in both major polls weren’t necessarily turned off by Michigan’s performance, keeping the Wolverines at No. 4 in the country despite No. 5 Clemson’s road win against a top 25 opponent.
What’s important is that Michigan escaped with a win. We’ll find out much more about this team next weekend when it faces its first road test at Iowa.
