ANN ARBOR, Mich. — After losing to Indiana on Oct. 29, the Maryland football coaches called for the defense to regroup. Defensive coordinator Andy Buh said his players overcompensated for mistakes against the Hoosiers, who racked up 650 total yards on offense, and played out of their scheme.
But he felt if the Terps could settle in and focus on their fundamentals and technique in practices leading up to Saturday’s game against Michigan, the Terps could put on an improved display.
Instead, the Wolverines recorded 660 yards on offense and scored eight touchdowns en route to a 59-3 victory over their former defensive coordinator’s team.
“It’s disheartening that we did not compete more,” coach DJ Durkin said. “We’re a better team than [how] we played. That’s taking nothing away from them. I think they’re an outstanding football team, but I don’t think our guys competed the right way. I really don’t.
“So that’s hard for me to say that or acknowledge it. It really is, to be truthful with you.”
Part of the Terps’ focus in preparing for the Wolverines centered on their wildcat option with defensive hybrid and Heisman Trophy candidate Jabrill Peppers, who Maryland lauded for his versatility and burst throughout the week.
After Indiana gashed the Terps with their debut wildcat look, Durkin and his staff felt their experience and expectations would help in the Big House. Perhaps it did, as Peppers recorded two carries for 19 yards in limited offensive attempts. Still, Maryland failed to Michigan’s typical scheme throughout the afternoon.
Wolverines quarterback Wilton Speight completed 79 percent of his passes for a career-best 362 yards. He average 18.4 yards per completion, and both of his touchdowns were longer than 30 yards.
“He was obviously a really good quarterback,” linebacker Shane Cockerille said. “A big guy. Made a few plays. I think he broke a few records, so credit’s all to them. Credit’s all to Michigan team as a whole, played together, played physical. They just came out and they deserve it.”
Michigan earned 293 more yards than Maryland’s offense on the same number of plays (66). Running back De’Veon Smith aided the charge with 114 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while three receivers recorded at least 70 yards.
The thrashing left Cockerille running his hands through his hair, hunched over after the game as he tried to explain his unit’s performance.
Similar to Indiana and the Terps’ loss to Penn State on Oct. 8, Cockerille felt the players didn’t trust one another. They allowed the Wolverines to march 91 yards on 10 plays in the opening five minutes and 10 seconds and struggled to gain traction against the early force.
“Sometimes there might be somebody that lacks confidence,” Cockerille said. “But the defense that we play, it requires everybody to be fundamentally sound and knowing what they’re doing and playing for each other. At times, I feel like sometimes we left little opportunities out there.”
The performance led Durkin to call his team “fragile.” Each time the Terps’ offense failed to convert or Michigan’s attack slashed up field, the first-year leader felt his team wilted in the same stadium he spent last year as one of the country’s fieriest coordinators en route to earning the top job in College Park.
But after a week of preaching for that spark and accountability to resurface after the drubbing in Indiana, he watched the Terps again allow an opponent to surpass 600 yards.
“They were that good,” wide receiver D.J. Moore said. “But we didn’t play at the level we wanted to this game, so they came out with the win.”
