Michigan Football: Wolverines post sluggish win over Maryland

1. The Michigan offense is going to cost them multiple games

Entering the 2018 season, Shea Patterson was the topic du jour whenever Michigan football was brought up in discussions this offseason. The Ole Miss transfer was a 5-star, dual-threat quarterback who had shown promise in his brief time as a starter with the Rebels. He was supposed to turn the offense around; he hasn’t.

In games against teams with winning records, Michigan has averaged 379 yards of total offense per game. That’s 10th best in the Big Ten, trailing the like of Iowa, Illinois and Indiana. They put up plenty of points against Western Michigan, SMU and Nebraska, but their upcoming slate of games features much stingier defenses.

Michigan’s next three contests come at home against Wisconsin (Oct. 13), on the road against Michigan State (Oct. 19) and back at home following a bye against Penn State (Nov. 2). They finish the year on the road against Ohio State (Nov. 24).

If the Wolverines can’t move the ball with any sort of consistency against Maryland they’re going to be in for a rude awakening against the rest of their schedule. Poor offensive performances are going to cost this team two, if not three games down the stretch. That means no Big Ten title, again.