Jim Harbaugh's Michigan Wolverines Dominate Unranked Maryland Terrapins

The No. 14 Michigan Wolverines picked up a 38-7 road victory over the Maryland Terrapins in Big Ten action Saturday at Maryland Stadium in College Park. 

Head coach Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines have bounced back to win two straight games, including an impressive blowout of the eighth-ranked Notre Dame Fighting Irish last week, since a Week 8 loss to the Penn State Nittany Lions that once again brought Harbaugh's future with the program into question.

UM remains an extreme College Football Playoff long shot with its 7-2 record, but it can still make a major impact on the CFP race with a rivalry clash against the No. 3 Ohio State Buckeyes looming at the end of November in both teams' regular-season finale.

Maryland dropped to 3-6 with its fourth consecutive loss.

Notable Game Stats

QB Shea Patterson (UM): 13-of-22 passing, 151 yards, 1 TD, 0 INT

QB Josh Jackson (UMD): 9-of-20 passing, 97 yards, 0 TD, 1 INT

RB Hassan Haskins (UM): 60 rushing yards, 1 TD

RB Zach Charbonnet (UM): 28 rushing yards, 2 TD

RB Javon Leake (UMD): 97-yard KO return TD

WR Giles Jackson (UM): 97-yard KO return TD

TE Nick Eubanks (UM): 12 receiving yards, 1 TD

LB Josh Uche (UM): 3 tackles, 2 sacks

DB Josh Metellus (UM): 9 tackles, 1 INT

Michigan Trending in Right Direction After Total Team Effort

Michigan was always expected to win Saturday's game—it entered the contest as a 21.5-point favorite (via Caesars Sportsbook)—but Harbaugh should still walk away happy with the well-rounded effort.

Special teams kicked the game off with a bang as Jackson returned the opening kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown to help give UM a 7-0 lead after just 11 seconds, and it never looked back.

The Wolverines also executed a fake punt to perfection on fourth down late in the second quarter to kick-start a drive that ended with Charbonnet's second rushing score of the day.

It wasn't a perfect game from the special teams, however, as Maryland scored on a kickoff return of its own in the third quarter, though the result was no longer in question by that point.

Michigan's defense delivered one of its most efficient outings. It held Maryland to 233 total yards while forcing one turnover and recording four sacks. The secondary completely shut down the Terrapins' aerial attack, which made even the 21-0 halftime lead seem insurmountable.

It marked a second consecutive strong performance by the unit after giving up just 14 points to the Irish last week. The team needs that form to hold for another month until the meeting with Ohio State.

Meanwhile, there was definitely room for improvement for an offense that struggled to sustain long drives against an overmatched Maryland defense. But even that group can be touted for taking advantage of the scoring opportunities it did create.

Its six trips into the red zone resulted in four touchdowns, a field goal and a missed field goal, which came in the final seconds of the first half, so there wasn't time to complete that drive.

All told, beating Maryland won't sway anybody's opinion on whether Harbaugh can eventually lead Michigan to a national championship. It's a game the Wolverines should win comfortably, and they did exactly that.

The head coach still deserves some praise for a strong all-around performance, though.

What's Next?

Michigan has a bye next week before returning to action Nov. 16 to face the in-state rival Michigan State Spartans at Michigan Stadium.

Maryland faces a bigger challenge next Saturday when it travels to Ohio Stadium to take on undefeated and third-ranked Ohio State.