After Taulia Tagovailoa was intercepted late in the fourth quarter, down by five, Maryland’s hopes for an upset win over Michigan dwindled down.
Still, a Maryland defensive stop would’ve given its offense a chance for a go-ahead score.
Instead, Blake Corum took a handoff and immediately bounced to the outside. Corum outran Maryland’s defense on his way to the endzone, scoring a 47-yard touchdown to put the nail in the coffin.
Maryland football had its toughest test of the season, hitting the road for a battle against No. 4 Michigan. The Terps fought hard but came up short, leaving Ann Arbor with their first loss of the season, 34-27.
“We don’t believe in moral victories, close is not good enough, but I’m proud of the way our team fought,” coach Mike Locksley said.
On the opening kickoff from Michigan, the ball bounced off the helmet of Tai Felton. The Wolverines pounced on the ball at the 10, and they took advantage on the next play. J.J. McCarthy found a wide open Luke Schoonmaker in the endzone, and in only eight seconds, Michigan held a 7-0 lead.
Maryland moved the ball to the Michigan 35-yard line on its first drive of the game, but was left with a decision on fourth-and-four. Coach Mike Locksley initially brought out his offense, but after a timeout called by Michigan, sent out his field goal unit instead.
Chad Ryland comfortably nailed the 53-yard field goal to give the Terps their first points of the day. Ryland’s make was the third longest field goal in Maryland history.
Michigan responded with a long field goal of its own, as Jake Moody connected on a 52-yard kick.
Maryland’s offense looked calm and collected its next time on the field, as the Terps marched down the field with ease. The Terps capped off a 13-play, 75-yard drive with an Antwain Littleton II two-yard touchdown run, tying the game, 10-10.
The Wolverines moved the ball into Maryland’s territory on their next drive, but C.J. Stokes fumbled a handoff before falling to the ground. Ahmad McCullough quickly pounced on the football, giving possession to Maryland’s offense.
Despite the horrid start for the Terps, the first quarter ended in a 10-10 tie. Maryland was not penalized at all in the quarter, a stark difference from its 15-penalty performance against SMU.
The Terps converted on the turnover as Ryland nailed a 52-yard field goal, his second field goal of beyond 50-yards in the first half. Ryland gave Maryland its first lead of the game, 13-10.
“It’s as much me as it is Colton [Spangler] holding, Ethan [Gough] snapping, and the big guys up front too,” Ryland said.
Early in the second quarter, Tagovailoa made his first mistake of the game. Tagovailoa fired a pass intended for Jacob Copeland low and a little behind him, allowing DJ Turner to make a diving interception. The ball looked to slip out of Turner’s arms and hit the ground, but no official review was made.
The Wolverines were unable to take advantage of the interception as Moody missed a 43-yard field goal wide left, keeping Maryland up three with 2:34 left in the half.
Michigan received the ball back with 1:36 to work with, and made a splash on fourth down. With less than 30 seconds left in the half, Corum took a handoff a long way, going untouched on his way for a 33-yard touchdown.
Corum’s score was a massive change in momentum as it gave the Wolverines the lead at halftime, 17-13.
On the Terps’ first drive of the second half, Tagovailoa took a massive hit on an incomplete pass. Tagovailoa remained down on the ground before walking off the field on his own, but went immediately into the medical tent. Tagovailoa was only in the tent for a few moments, and returned to the field on the next drive.
Later in the quarter, Rakim Jarrett remained down after falling to the ground hard on a jump ball. Jarrett stayed down longer than Tagovailoa, but slowly got up and jogged off the field under his own power. Jarrett did not return.
After a scoreless third quarter, Michigan scored within the first minute of the fourth. McCarthy found an open Roman Wilson on a crosser for a 20-yard touchdown, putting the Wolverines up 24-13.
“We always say rush and coverage marry each other so we try to give different looks and bring different packages on the field,” defensive back Jakorian Bennett said.
Maryland responded with a big 10-play, 75-yard drive that resulted in a touchdown.
The Terps converted on a fourth-and-one around midfield midway through the drive, and on the next play, a sensational Tagovailoa completion to Corey Dyches brought Maryland inside the Michigan 10. Tagovailoa rolled to his left, turned his body around and found Dyches behind multiple Michigan defenders around the 35, and Dyches ran until being tackled at the six.
Two plays later, Tagovailoa found a wide open Felton in the endzone for six. Maryland’s two-point conversion attempt was no good, keeping the Terps down by five, 24-19.
Michigan took nearly three minutes off the clock on the next drive, capping it off with a 38-yard field goal. The Wolverines extended their lead to 27-19 with 6:28 left in the fourth.
Tagovailoa threw a costly interception on the second play of Maryland’s drive as R.J. Moten tipped the ball to himself and came down with the football in his hands, putting the Terps in a tough spot for a comeback. The interception was Tagovailoa’s second of the contest, and set up the Wolverines with a chance to close it out.
Corum scored the dagger with a 47-yard touchdown rush to give Michigan a two-touchdown lead with less than four minutes left. Corum finished with 243 yards, eight more than his season total entering the day.
Billy Edwards Jr. took over for Tagovailoa and marched the ball 75 yards in less than three minutes. Edwards Jr. found CJ Dippre for a touchdown, and the Terps converted on the two-point attempt.
The onside kick was recovered by Michigan, sealing the win for the Wolverines.
“Obviously we’re not into moral victories, or a ‘we almost had them kind of thing,’ but [this] definitely gives us confidence going into the rest of our season,” Spencer Anderson said.
