Michigan football: Three things we learned against Maryland

Angelique Chengelis of The Detroit News shares three takeaways from Michigan’s 45-20 win over Maryland.

▶ Michigan ups the pressure.

After a lull against Northwestern when Michigan did not record a sack, the Wolverines were back at it against Maryland with three sacks of Malik Washington, who had only been sacked three times all season. They’ve now had 12 in the last four games and rank fourth in the Big Ten and 28th in the nation

Defensive lineman Tre Williams, who had one of the two sacks – Derrick Moore had one to bring his team-best total to 9.5, and Jaishawn Barham had his fourth of the season – said teams are not used to seeing a line that is so aggressive.

“We send waves at people,” Williams said. “It’s not just a couple guys. We send waves and waves and waves and waves at people, and that gets really overwhelming at times for teams.”

Michigan’s defense is now preparing to face Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who is completing 79.4% of his passes for 2,832 yards and has 27 touchdowns. He has taken six sacks this season.

▶ Marsh a freshman phenom.

All the talk heading into the season was about freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, and he still certainly has plenty of focus on him, but receiver Andrew Marsh continues to stand out.

Against Maryland, Marsh also was a difference-maker in the return game. The freshman had a 39-yard kick return that set up a touchdown in the third quarter, but he has added punt returns to his repertoire. Returning punts has been an issue for Michigan this season, and Marsh had taken over the job from Semaj Morgan last week against Northwestern, and Morgan did not make the trip to Maryland. Marsh returned one for 14 yards before halftime.

Marsh finished with 147 all-purpose yards, including 76 receiving yards and 48 kickoff yards. Still, where he’s making his mark as one of the most influential freshmen. He leads the team in receiving with 42 catches for 641 yards and three touchdowns and averages 15.3 a catch, as does Donaven McCulley.

▶ Not missing a beat in run game.

Not surprisingly, Michigan is a run-first team, but the important point is the Wolverines have been able to sustain their production with three backs – Justice Haynes, Jordan Marshall and Bryson Kuzdzal.

Haynes is injured and won’t play the rest of the regular season and who knows if he’ll be back for any postseason play if there is a Michigan playoff future. Marshall has taken over as Michigan’s leading rusher but didn’t play at Maryland because of a shoulder injury, although he was in uniform. Kuzdzal, a former walk-on, rushed for 100 yards and three touchdowns against the Terps.

Michigan has rushed for more than 215 yards in each of the last four games, including 228 against Maryland. The Wolverines are averaging 243.3 yards a game in those four games and rank 12^th nationally (223.0).

While Kuzdzal is a capable back and fast – he said he was timed at 4.4 in the 40-yard dash in high school, the Wolverines need Marshall healthy for the upcoming game against Ohio State, which is No. 2 in rush defense (81.4).

achengelis@detroitnews.com