COLLEGE PARK, Md. – Here are the Michigan State football players who helped or hurt their stock in the Spartans’ 27-24 win Saturday at Maryland.

Winners

■ WR Nick Marsh – The freshman’s fourth-quarter performance made MSU’s offense look like an entirely different beast for defenses to handle. Marsh ran through and away from defenders for a 57-yard catch to start the final period, then delivered a 77-yard, game-tying touchdown on the exact same route as the first. But he wasn’t finished, adding two more chain-moving catches in the final minute to set up the game-winning field goal, finishing with four of his eight grabs and 151 of his 194 yards receiving in the fourth. Marsh got separation all day on short and intermediate routes as well, but the downfield element he added to the passing game was most beneficial for …

■ QB Aidan Chiles – After languishing through a lackluster MSU debut against Florida Atlantic, Chiles (like the offense) looked like an entirely different beast. His connection with Marsh was clear, as the sophomore delivered a perfect strike as he absorbed a huge hit on the first long throw in the fourth quarter. On the second, with pressure again closing, Chiles launched a missile 51 yards through the air to hit Marsh in-stride over the top of two defenders. Chiles’ second TD, a 34-yard deep post pass to Jaron Glover, showed more pocket presence. Even though he threw three interceptions and now has five on the season, Chiles’ 363-yard, 24-for-39 day is exactly the type of performance the Spartans hope to get more frequently.

■ Brian Lindgren – So much of what Chiles did came off the rhythm MSU’s new offensive coordinator established in the first half, something Lindgren had mentioned in the week between games as an area he needed to do a better job on. The play-calling early was very intentional, starting with a swing pass to Montorie Foster Jr. on the first play and then throws to Glover and Marsh on the next two plays as part of an eight-play, 84-yard drive on the Spartans’ first possession. Foster’s 9-yard touchdown on the slant finished that one, and Lindgren gave Chiles plenty of chances to use all three of his top receivers and tight end Jack Velling in a variety of routes both underneath and down the field.

Losers

■ Offensive line – Coming off a first game in which they gave up a ton of pressures off the edge, the Spartans entered the Maryland game without starting right guard Kristian “Big Dooley” Phillips, who is expected to be out the rest of the season. That injury caused a ripple effect on the interior of the line, which struggled to prevent backfield penetration in the run game from every angle all afternoon. Coach Jonathan Smith said it is imperative that MSU must run the ball better moving forward after finishing with 130 yards on 30 attempts.

■ Secondary – The injuries continue to mount in the defensive backfield. Already without Dillon Tatum and Khalil Majeed entering Saturday, the Spartans watched both cornerbacks Chance Rucker and Ed Woods leave the game with injuries. One of their replacements, LSU transfer Jeremiah Hughes, also suffered an apparent upper-body injury midway through the fourth quarter but returned to the field. Prairie View A&M visiting next week gives defensive coordinator Joe Rossi an opportunity to give younger defensive backs playing time, because MSU will need the depth when it heads to Boston College and then hosts Ohio State in the following two weeks.

■ WR/KR Aziah Johnson – With Alante Brown out after suffering an upper-body injury that likely will keep him out until at least November, MSU moved Johnson into the kickoff return role. However, the redshirt freshman twice ignored his teammates’ urging to accept a fair catch and took kickoffs out of the end zone, each return going 16 yards and pinning the Spartans’ offense 9 yards back from where they would have started had Johnson taken the touchback. Kay’Ron Lynch-Adams replaced Johnson after the second one as the deep back, with Nate Carter sliding into Lynch-Adams’ spot as the upback. Johnson did play nine snaps on offense at receiver, and he could see more time if Glover’s injury is significant.

Contact Chris Solari: csolari@freepress.com. Follow him @chrissolari.

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The then-No. 3 Texas Longhorns went into Ann Arbor and dominated the defending national champion Michigan Wolverines, putting them and the country on notice that they are legitimate contenders for the title.

While there is still a lot to coach and a lot of work to do, Texas played up to its level of talent on both sides of the ball as they prepare for the grind of SEC play. From quarterback Quinn Ewers already appearing to be in midseason form to red-zone efficiency and everything in between, the Longhorns dominated the Wolverines on their home turf.

Quinn Ewers: 24-36, 246 yards, three TDs (all three came in the first three quarters)

One of the biggest stories on Saturday was the performance of Texas’ senior quarterback in one of the toughest environments in the country. While the final stat line was shy of 2023’s Week Two statement game, Ewers’ offensive performance in Ann Arbor was everything Texas needed him to be to come away with the victory. It has been a feature of the head coach Steve Sarkisian offense to pass the ball on first downs, and Ewers often rewards his coach for his faith in him.

Saturday was no different.

Texas went to the air 12 times on first down, with Ewers completing six of those attempts for 72 yards and resetting the chains three times — an average of six yards per attempt through the air. The air game was more efficient than the ground game for Texas against Michigan, which we knew would likely be the case, but the Longhorns managed to out-gain the Wolverines on the ground and through the air Saturday. Perhaps most impressively, however, was Ewers’ efficiency when Texas had to convert on third downs.

On the money down, Ewers finished the day 6-of-9 for 81 yards, moving the chains five times and scorning two touchdowns, including a 33-yard strike to Isaiah Bond on the opening drive of the game. That drive should have ended with a third-down touchdown and what would have been Texas’s second explosive play of the drive if not for a questionable holding call on Cameron Williams. Despite the referees interfering with that drive, Texas finished with seven explosive passes, one of which went for a touchdown, accounting for 156 of Ewers’ 246 yards.

Red-zone conversions: 4-4, three touchdowns

After a year of abysmal red-zone performance in touchdown rate, Texas has seemingly turned the corner to red-zone success and found its footing in that critical space. Texas turned in back-to-back perfect games in the red zone for the first time since Weeks Two and Three of last year, after going 4-of-4 against Alabama and 3-of-3 against Wyoming. The difference is that in 2023, Texas left more points on the field — converting three of those seven via field goal. The 2024 Longhorns have shown greater consistency from a year ago, with 10 of their 11 trips to the red zone ending in a touchdown; Texas didn’t reach 10 red-zone touchdowns last year until the fifth game against Kansas.

Texas wasn’t perfect from inside the 25 against the Wolverines, with their fourth drive of the first half ending with a Bert Auburn field goal. Texas quickly responded by punching it in from the 5-yard line on their next drive to take a 24-3 lead. Sark and the Texas offense showed it can punch it in using all parts of the offense, with tight end Gunnar Helm scoring the game’s first touchdown from 21 yards out, running back Jerrick Gibson carrying the ball from seven yards out, and running back Jaydon Blue snagging a designed swing pass from Ewers to cap off a long drive.

Texas: Plus-three turnover margin (two INTs, fumble recovery)

When safety Andrew Mukuba intercepted Michigan quarterback Davis Warren in the second quarter, Wolverines fans experienced something they had experienced just once since last September — their quarterback giving up the ball via interception.

The Wolverines lost the turnover battle just twice last year, in Weeks Two and Three as they tried to figure out the quarterback situation before settling in. They responded with five straight weeks without a turnover and seven without an interception. From that point on, Michigan was either even or positive in the turnover battle and went without a multi-turnover game through their national title win. They threw just one interception in the final 12 games of their national championship season.

The pair of interceptions by Mukuba and sophomore Derrick Williams, plus the Jahdae Barron-recovered fumble, put Texas plus-three in the turnover margin for the day. That number is the second-best performance under fourth-year defensive coordinator Pete Kwiatkowski, tied with last year’s opener against Rice. Texas currently sits tied at No. 8 in turnover margin, after finishing last year No. 30 and No. 55 two years ago.

Now, Texas has cleared one of the major hurdles in its march back to the College Football Playoff, cementing itself as a legitimate contender for the title. Now, Texas returns home for another non-conference tuneup against the UTSA Roadrunners, with just two more games before officially starting conference play.

In 2023 Michigan had the best defense in the nation ranking No. 1 in fewest points per game (10.4) and yards allowed (252). Now a year later with plenty of new starters and a new defensive coordinator in Don “Wink” Martindale, No. 10 Michigan gave up lots of yards and points to No. 3 Texas in a 31-12 defeat.

Texas had 389 yards of total offense for the game and was particularly effective in the first half, scoring 24 of their 31 points before halftime.

Michigan’s defense ranks No. 109 in returning production (47%). Some of the inexperience showed against a Texas team that ranks No. 30 in offensive returning production (74%).

Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers put on a clinic. It didn’t seem to matter if Michigan was playing man or zone coverage, or if they pressured or just simulated pressure — Ewers was consistently a step ahead and showed why he’s considered one of the best quarterbacks in the nation. Ewers was 24-of-36 for 246 yards with three touchdowns.

Part of Ewers’ success can be tied to what he expected Martindale to dial up in the game. Ewers expected pressure.

“We knew their defensive coordinator likes to blitz and likes to kind of win games with his calls,” Ewers said.

Martindale, whose last two previous positions were as defensive coordinator of the New York Giants (2022-23) and the Baltimore Ravens (2018-21), has had some of the highest blitz-rate totals in recent NFL history. The Ravens were No. 1 in blitz rate in three of Martindale’s four seasons as Baltimore’s DC.

Martindale said this offseason that he’s more aggressive, “sometimes to a fault”, than Michigan’s prior two defensive coordinators, Mike Macdonald and Jesse Minter, who both were on Baltimore’s staff with Martindale at one point.

Michigan totaled one sack, nine QB hurries, and three QB hits.

“For us to do what we did and kind of fight fire with fire, it felt good,” Ewers said.

While Ewers pointed to the blitz of Michigan as what he prepared for, Martindale’s aggressive tendencies were by no means why the Longhorns had sustained success on offense in the first half. Michigan head coach Sherrone Moore felt missed tackles and missed assignments were at the forefront of the defensive struggles.

“It’s tackling,” Moore said. “We’ve got to make sure we wrap up because they had 135 yards after contact.”

While it wasn’t a good day for the Michigan defense against Texas, they can still hold their head high on how they finished the game, allowing just one touchdown in the second half.

“That gives you some sign that there’s resolve there,” Moore said. “But now we’ve got to put the things in place so in the first half it doesn’t go the way it did.”

Michigan’s defense will look to get back on track next week against Arkansas State, a noon kickoff at Michigan Stadium.