Michigan football is hoping to keep its slim Big Ten title hopes alive on Saturday afternoon against the reeling Maryland Terrapins.
If you’re Jim Harbaugh, you have to be pleased with how your young team has played through the first nine games of the year. However, the media and fans aren’t feeling the same way. Michigan had lofty expectations prior to the 2017 season and the Wolverines knew that not all were attainable.
Michigan is one of the youngest teams in college basketball and it showed early on. The Wolverines have been playing much better as the year has progressed, though. They’ve even done so without Wilton Speight and shuffling to John O’Korn before landing on Brandon Peters. The young gunslinger is looked at as the future under center.
On top of that, Karan Higdon has been a pleasant surprise in the backfield, rushing for 804 yards and 10 touchdowns on the year.
Maryland, on the other hand, is led by former Michigan defensive coordinator D.J. Durkin. He turned the Terrapins into a bowl team last year, but a postseason berth seems doubtful this season. The Terrapins have been the victims of some bad luck, in terms of injuries.
In fact, Tyrrell Pigrome started the year at quarterback, helping the Terrapins shock Texas on the road. He was injured in that game and replaced by freshman Kasim Hill. However, the replacement was injured and replaced by third-stringer Max Bortenschlager. Unfortunately, he, too, went down with an injury recently and the Terrapins are settling with walk-on Ryan Brand.
As for the run game, the Terrapins have two capable backs in Ty Johnson and Lorenzo Harrison III who have combined for 1,134 yards and seven touchdowns.
Here’s how you can watch Saturday’s Michigan vs. Maryland game:
Date: Saturday, Nov. 11
Time: 3:30 p.m. ET
Location: College Park, Md.
Venue: Byrd Stadium
TV: Big Ten Network
Live Stream: BTN2Go
Keys to Victory
Michigan needs to stop the run game, led by Johnson. He’s one of the more underrated running backs in the conference, but hasn’t rushed for over 100 yards since September. If the Wolverines can slow Johnson and Harrison III, they will be able to control the game. Also, getting Peters more chances to throw the ball will be important. This young quarterback needs to build confidence, and this is a perfect opportunity for that.
Maryland needs to stop Michigan’s run game as well as get pressure on Peters. The young quarterback might get rattled if he has little time to throw the ball, so if the Terrapins are going to pull off the massive upset, they will need to rely on their defense to make Peters uncomfortable. Offensively, don’t rely too much on the pass with the fourth-string quarterback and get Harrison III and Johnson going.
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Prediction
This one won’t be all that pretty, but what Big Ten game is? That’s the beauty of this conference, though. Teams aren’t afraid to get gritty and Michigan will have one of its best defensive showings of the year. The Wolverines will sack Ryan Brand six times and pick him off three, giving Brandon Peters good field position. He will also play well, passing for 200 yards and two scores, but the score won’t reflect just how dominant Michigan was in this one.
Final Score: Michigan 31, Maryland 10