Michigan 28, Maryland 0

Tag: Maryland


3Oct 2015
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Michigan 28, Maryland 0

Drake Johnson

Ty Isaac thud. I was very disappointed in running back Ty Isaac’s performance. As the second-string running back, he got a chance to start this game since De’Veon Smith was injured and stayed home. He promptly fumbled twice (losing one) on his way to a 6-carry, 17-yard performance. He was not seen after the second fumble except on special teams. In addition to the fumble, Isaac extended a drive by roughing the punter. He had a chance to stake his claim as the potential starting running back, and he literally fumbled away the opportunity, putting the ball on the ground 33% of the time. Welcome to third- or fourth-string, Ty. You just lost your job to Drake Johnson.

Hit the jump for the rest of the game summary.

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2Oct 2015
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Preview: Michigan at Maryland


Rush Offense vs. Maryland Rush Defense

Michigan is now #46 in rushing with 202 yards/game, and their 4.84 yards/carry also rank 46th. The team’s leading rusher, De’Veon Smith, had a bit of a breakout game last week when he broke off a 60-yard run, finishing with 16 carries for 125 yards. He injured his right ankle in the second half, however, and did not return. Reports this week are saying he has been practicing, but if he does not play, the bulk of the carries will likely go to Ty Isaac (8.5 yards/carry) and Drake Johnson (5.2 yards/carry). Michigan’s offensive line has been pretty good over the past few weeks, with left tackle Mason Cole, center Graham Glasgow, and right guard Kyle Kalis all earning praise publicly. Maryland is #101 in giving up 200 yards/game, although their 4.31 yards allowed/carry is slightly better at #75 nationally. The leading tackler is 6’0″, 240 lb. middle linebacker Jermaine Carter, Jr., but the next three players on the list are all defensive backs. Carter also has 5 tackles for loss in the run game, so he’s a force in the middle. The Terrapins did well in the season opener against FCS team Richmond, but they have given up 201, 240, and 304 yards on the ground over the past three weeks. Michigan should have a solid performance with the way they’ve been playing lately.
Advantage: Michigan

Hit the jump for the rest of the preview.
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19May 2015
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Recruiting Snapshot: Maryland

Potomac (MD) Bullis quarterback Dwayne Haskins

2015 Team Ranking: #48. The Terps signed two 4-stars, fifteen 3-stars, and one 2-star.

Cream of 2015 Crop: The Terrapins stole Gaithersburg (MD) Quince Orchard defensive tackle Adam McLean from Penn State after he decommitted in November of 2014. McLean is a 6’2″, 290 lb. prospect who’s a 247 Composite 4-star, the #14 defensive tackle, and #124 overall, and you can see his highlights below. The only other 4-star is Washington (DC) Friendship Collegiate interior offensive lineman Quarvez Boulware, the #256 overall player in the 2016 class.


2016 Team Ranking:
 #21. The Terps have two 4-stars, five 3-stars, and two 2-stars.

Cream of 2016 Crop: Potomac (MD) Bullis quarterback Dwayne Haskins had offers from all over the country, including Michigan, before pulling the trigger for the Terrapins last week. Auburn, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, LSU, Ohio State, and Texas, among others, were all after the 247 Composite 4-star, #5 pro-style quarterback, and #61 overall player. I had Haskins as the #4 quarterback on my wish list for Michigan (LINK). Meanwhile, Olney (MD) Good Counsel linebacker Keandre Jones doesn’t have the same caliber of offers, but he’s the #11 outside linebacker and #146 overall.

24Nov 2014
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Michigan vs. Maryland Awards

Devin Gardner

Let’s see more of this guy on offense . . . a healthy Devin Gardner. Gardner had some very nice throws, and he had several that were just a little off target. Most of all, though, he looked healthier, which means that he can be dangerous on the ground. That adds an element to Michigan’s attack that has not existed for the last several weeks. A healthy Gardner gives Michigan a chance. He ran for over 80 yards in this game, including a 24-yarder and then a 15-yard touchdown. When Gardner is on, he looks like Colin Kaepernick. Hopefully he can stay healthy and break out a big game like he did last year against Ohio State.

Let’s see less of this guy on offense . . . De’Veon Smith. Smith has no speed element to his game, and he doesn’t break enough tackles to warrant being the main guy. Michigan gave Smith 10 carries in this one, which earned them 28 yards. Meanwhile, Drake Johnson (14 carries, 94 yards) and Justice Hayes (6 carries, 36 yards) combined for 20 carries and 130 yards. Michigan’s offensive line isn’t great, but there are some holes occasionally. I am looking forward to next season, when Derrick Green will hopefully be healthy and Ty Isaac will be in the mix. There’s also a chance that Green could return for the Ohio State game after missing the last several weeks with a broken collarbone.

Let’s see more of this guy on defense . . . Willie Henry. I’m assuming Henry has been playing a limited number of snaps because of the hand injury he suffered several weeks ago, so I don’t know if anyone deserves blame here. But without Frank Clark on the roster, I think Henry is arguably the best defensive lineman on the roster. He played a little bit against Maryland, but he didn’t show up on the stat sheet and we’re seeing a lot of Matt Godin. Godin did okay and even notched his first career sack, but he’s not Willie Henry.

Let’s see less of this guy on defense . . . Matt Godin. I don’t know who else to pick, so I’ll choose the guy who would be replaced by Henry. You can’t argue with that pristine logic.

Play of the game . . . Joe Kerridge’s fake punt run. It showed some creativity in play calling that we haven’t often seen from this Michigan staff. Granted, it was perhaps the most boring kind of fake punt possible. Baby steps. Kerridge rumbled for 52 yards before being taken down inside the 10 yard line. I’ll just throw this out there, but if that were Ben Gedeon, I think Gedeon would have scored. But hey, that will probably go down as Kerridge’s biggest play of his career (he had only 1 career carry for 3 yards going into the game, and his longest catch was a 17-yarder against Indiana a few weeks ago), so hopefully he enjoys the memory.

MVP of the game . . . Devin Gardner. There aren’t many options here. Nobody really stood out on defense as they gave up two fourth-quarter touchdowns, and the offense stalled out regularly, as usual. Gardner looked more like the player from the second half of the 2013 season, someone who was dangerous on foot (14 carries, 82 yards, and 1 touchdown) and potentially through the air (13/24 for 106 yards and 1 interception), though his receivers dropped numerous balls.

23Nov 2014
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Maryland 23, Michigan 16

Joe Kerridge

Goodbye, Brady Hoke. I thought Hoke’s fate was sealed a few weeks ago, but this was Hoke’s chance to redeem himself in front of a home crowd that had to brave a late start, some cold weather, some rain, and some ugly football. The sloppy way in which this one played out was indicative of Michigan’s last couple seasons. The only real question at this point is whether Michigan fires Brady Hoke this week, or whether they allow him the dignity of finishing out the season before dropping the guillotine. I don’t see a reason to let him go right now. Michigan doesn’t have a suitable replacement on staff, recruiting wouldn’t be affected in a positive way, and there’s no home game next week for which to please ticket buyers. Furthermore, through it all, I think Hoke has been a class act and seems like a good guy. I think Michigan should let him coach out the week and fire him next Monday, but I still wouldn’t be totally surprised if he got the Will Muschamp treatment.

Big gaffes. Michigan made some stupid plays and decisions down the stretch to seal their fate. Unfortunately, this has become the 2014 team’s modus operandi. A punt return touchdown was called back for a pointless block in the back. A field goal turned into a touchdown when cornerback Jourdan Lewis took out the kicker, giving Maryland an automatic first down. (Regardless of what some bitter Michigan fans say, it was clearly a roughing the kicker penalty and worthy of 15 yards, whether you think Maryland kicker Brad Craddock exaggerated or not.) Worst of all was Brady Hoke’s clock management at the end of the game. Michigan’s drive stalled with roughly four minutes remaining in the game, and Hoke waited most of that time before calling his one timeout. By the time he did, the Terrapins just had to run one running play before allowing the final 34 seconds or so to run off the clock.

Speaking of bitter. Maybe I’m bitter, too, but how was Maryland head coach Randy Edsall allowed to do what he did at the end of the game? With a little over 30 seconds remaining, he rushed out onto the field. When the officials stopped him, he turned around, threw his headset in the air, and started celebrating in the middle of the field. I fail to see why a coach is allowed to celebrate on the field before the game is over, but maybe I’m just old-school.

Joe Kerridge fun time. Redshirt junior fullback Joe Kerridge had himself a pretty good game. It’s not often that fullbacks get attention, so here’s some for him. Kerridge has turned into a solid blocker. He also has good hands – as evidenced by his one-handed catch for 7 yards. The most memorable play of his career so far, though, is probably the fake punt run from the first quarter. Michigan was set to attempt a quarterback sneak on 4th-and-1 when running back De’Veon Smith inexplicably false started (seriously, a running back false starting on a quarterback sneak is among the dumbest things you can do on a football field). On 4th-and-6, Michigan would surely just punt the ball. Instead, they snapped it to upback Kerridge, who plunged through the line and then got to the left sideline on his way to a 52-yard run. He couldn’t quite get past the punt returner for the touchdown, but that play got Michigan inside the 10 . . . so they could settle for a field goal.

This is the Devin Gardner I like. I can’t say that Gardner played a brilliant game, but this was the best he has looked since the first few games of the season. His ankle finally looked somewhat healthy, which allowed him to use perhaps his best asset – his ability to tuck the ball and run. He ran the ball 14 times for a net of 82 yards (5.9 yards/carry), including a 24-yarder and a 15-yard touchdown. Passing the ball, he was 13/24 for 106 yards and 1 interception. He looked decent throwing the ball at times and was victimized by a few drops, including a Freddy Canteen drop that would have been a touchdown, a Jake Butt seam route that may have been a touchdown, a near-catch by Bo Dever that turned into the interception, and your standard Devin Funchess drops. Remember in 2011 when Michigan’s receivers – mainly Junior Hemingway – bailed out Denard Robinson on numerous occasions? This year is the opposite of that.

Devin Funchess isn’t really trying. Funchess and Blake Countess are the two biggest disappointments this season, but at least Countess seems like he’s trying out there. Funchess, on the other hand, seems lackadaisical most of the time. For being 6’5″ and 230 lbs., he doesn’t have a great desire to dominate people who are smaller than him. It’s the same mentality that got him moved away from tight end. He didn’t try very hard to block, so the coaches moved him to wide receiver. Now he doesn’t try very hard to catch the ball, and when he does, he goes down way too easily. I don’t think I can say this about any other regular during Hoke’s tenure, but Funchess looks lazy and too often self-centered. (I know there is the occasional  effort to, say, snatch the ball away from a Penn State safety or chase down a Northwestern safety who dared to intercept the ball – but those plays just hint at what he can do if he does that whole “trying” thing.)

I’ll give Funchess a pass on his last “drop.” Maryland safety Jeremiah Johnson pretty clearly interfered with Funchess when Michigan was trying to drive the ball for a game-tying touchdown near the end of the game. Johnson’s left hand got to Funchess’s left hand when the ball was still a few feet away. The big guy may very well have dropped it on his own, but he never really got the chance.

Walk-ons. Fans complain when starters are out there on special teams, so I hope they’re not complaining today. Dennis Norfleet finally returned a punt for a touchdown only to see it called back because walk-on safety A.J. Pearson blocked a Maryland player in the back for no good reason. The Maryland player wouldn’t have made the play, anyway, but that’s kind of the point. Walk-ons are walk-ons for a reason. Sometimes they overreach because they’re trying to prove themselves, and sometimes the game just moves too quickly for them. Of course, starters are capable of committing penalties, too, but they don’t have those things working against them. Meanwhile, Bo Dever’s failure to reel in a catch resulted in a William Likely interception. The ball was thrown behind Dever, but he still got both hands on it.

Speaking of Bo Dever, why Bo Dever? Wide receiver recruiting/development has failed in a big way if this is what Michigan has to throw out there. I have been supportive of wide receivers coach Jeff Hecklinski the past few years because of the work he has done with Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree, and Jeremy Gallon, among others. But this season has been ridiculous. Let’s take a look at Michigan’s contributors at the position:

  • Devin Funchess (Jr.): Recruited as a tight end, couldn’t block, moved to WR, generally lackadaisical, too many drops, physical specimen
  • Amara Darboh (RS So.): Recruited as a wide receiver, mediocre speed, mediocre route runner, great hands
  • Dennis Norfleet (Jr.): Recruited as a kick returner/running back, can’t block, can’t catch anything other than a screen pass
  • Jehu Chesson (RS So.): Recruited as a wide receiver, best blocker at position, questionable hands, seems to play less and less
  • Freddy Canteen (Fr.): Recruited as a wide receiver, decent speed, has done zilch
  • Bo Dever (RS Fr.): Not recruited, slow, supposedly decent hands
  • Da’Mario Jones, Jaron Dukes, Maurice Ways don’t play at all
  • Drake Harris is injured
Two of Michigan’s early-season starters (Funchess, Norfleet) weren’t recruited as receivers, a large contributor wasn’t recruited at all, and three able-bodied guys are mired on the bench. Meanwhile, nobody in the receiving corps is exceeding expectations.
Did Michigan miss Frank Clark? Yes, I think they did. His replacement, Mario Ojemudia, had an okay game (5 tackles, .5 tackles for loss, 1 pass breakup), but Ojemudia is not a match for Clark. Clark was consistently overpowering offensive tackles, and he had reached a point where he was not committing the immature mistakes that plagued him early in his career. Ojemudia lacks the same strength, and there were a couple times where he ran too far upfield and allowed Maryland quarterback C.J. Brown to take off and run. I think Clark would have slowed down the running of Brown (18 carries, 87 yards, 1 touchdown). Obviously, it’s nobody’s fault but Clark’s – I respect Hoke for booting him immediately, and I think Ojemudia did what he’s able to do. It just sucks for Michigan and for his (alleged) victim that he’s such a moron.

Can Michigan beat Ohio State and go to a bowl game? Yes. Ohio State lost earlier this season to a Virginia Tech team that is currently 5-6 after a double-overtime loss to Wake Forest by a score of 6-3. Ohio State almost  lost to a 3-8 Indiana team yesterday, but they pulled it out with a 21-point fourth quarter. There are some chinks in the Buckeyes’ armor, particularly defensively. Indiana running back Tevin Coleman had 228 yards rushing on 27 carries, including touchdowns of 90 and 52 yards. Unfortunately, Michigan hasn’t had a running back like Tevin Coleman in a very long time. Even so, Drake Johnson has shown a decent burst (14 carries, 94 yards yesterday), and a healthy Devin Gardner gives you a chance on offense. The Buckeyes will be the overwhelming favorite, especially when they’re playing for a chance at the playoff, but anything can happen.