Michigan Football: Wolverines post sluggish win over Maryland

3. The Michigan defense is every bit as good as the offense is bad

When you strip out the big play on the kickoff return, Maryland’s offense was completely non-existent against Michigan on Saturday. The Terps entered the weekend with the No. 4 scoring offense in the conference and had moved the ball well against teams like Texas and Minnesota. It was expected they’d have a tougher time on offense against Michigan, but the extent of their struggles was impressive.

Maryland had five third down conversions on 13 attempts. They scored on two offensive possessions. The Terps had more penalty yardage than they had passing yards, 107-73.

It doesn’t matter which metric you look at, Michigan’s defense was dominant across the board. They’re thre reason Michigan is ranked inside the Top 15 and still have truthers inserting their name into the College Football Playoff conversations.

Michigan is going to have to win games with their defense and “just enough” offense this season. That’s not an easy thing to do, but if anyone will be able to accomplish it, it’s the Wolverines.