Tough start

The No. 4 Michigan hockey
team lost to Vermont in
the season opener, then
rebounded with an exhibition
win over Waterloo.

» Page 4B

Here’s the season

After dominating Maryland
on Saturday, the toughest
part of Michigan’s schedule
lies ahead.

» Page 2B

SPORTSMONDAY

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | October 8, 2018

WAITING FOR

WISCONSIN

Design by Jack Silberman
Emma Richter / Daily

No. 15 Michigan topples Terrapins for fifth win in a row

The way Shea Patterson
contorted his body to set up
his throw could be considered
inadvisable. But it was good
enough to find the end zone.
From the Maryland 22-yard
line, with 16 seconds left in
the first half, Patterson passed
across his body to hit a crossing
Ronnie Bell right on the
numbers, and the freshman
wide receiver stumbled his way
in for the touchdown.
“How about my guy Ronnie
Bell making the tough catch
across the middle,” said coach
Jim Harbaugh. “It takes guys
years, sometimes decades or
decades to have that kind of
fearless and ability to catch a ball
over the middle, and not only
catch it but finish it.”
The score set the No. 15
Michigan football team up
with a two-possession lead into
halftime and the beginning of a
runaway against the Terrapins.

The Wolverines (3-0 Big Ten,
5-1 overall) would outgain
Maryland, 465 to 220 yards, on
Saturday afternoon en route to a
42-21 victory.
The contest against the
Terrapins (1-1, 3-2) was
originally in doubt with overcast
skies delaying the game 70
minutes. A sopping field beget
a ground-and-pound strategy
from Michigan out of the gate.
Senior running back Karan
Higdon finished the day with
25 carries — 19 in the first half
— for 103 yards. Sophomore
fullback Ben Mason had five
carries — three to convert short-
yardage first downs — and the
Wolverines’ first score of the
day.
But Mason’s day was
summarized by his highlight
reel play. After receiving a pass
in the flat, Mason turned upfield
and hurdled a defender for a
15-yard reception.
“I saw it on his high school
tape and I didn’t think I’d see it
again,” said sophomore center
Cesar Ruiz. “I saw it out of the

corner of my eye today. I had
to look at the video screen and
make sure.”
Maryland, on the other
hand, couldn’t pull any stunts
— it hardly had time to develop
any semblance of an offensive
strategy. Michigan’s defense
allowed just 42 yards in the
first half, with the Terrapins’
only points coming on a 98-yard
kickoff return. For the game,
quarterbacks Kasim Hill and
Tyrrell Pigrome combined to
complete seven of 13 attempts
for 73 yards and a pick.
“It was really an epic
defensive performance,”
Harbaugh said. “We got a little
thin toward the end of the game,
but it was a great job, great
performance. This Maryland
team has a very potent running
game. … We’d seen it on tape, a
lot of misdirection, a lot of eye
distraction and ability to open
up seams, lots of longs runs —
we didn’t give those up today.”
Despite a depleted defensive
line — Rashan Gary and
Aubrey Solomon were sidelined

with injuries, and Michael
Dwumfour exited in the second
quarter with a non-contact
injury — the Wolverines’
front seven wreaked havoc all
afternoon. Dwumfour recorded
a sack before his early departure,
and junior VIPER Khaleke
Hudson had his first sack of the
year. And in garbage time, fifth-
year senior cornerback Brandon
Watson returned an interception
to the house.
The absent interior was
certainly missed on Maryland’s
final drive, though. Pigrome
took off for a 41-yard run as
well as a five-yard rushing
touchdown up the middle.
“There has been a couple
bang-ups on the d-line,” Hudson
said. “But we just trust in the
backups to come in and do what
they gotta do and work hard and
get the job done. The linebackers
are doing what we’ve gotta do
and the safeties counter off of
that.”
And despite those few lapses,
Patterson quietly kept the
offense humming on Saturday,

his theatrics not limited to Bell’s
touchdown. With 2:15 left in the
third quarter, Patterson spun
away from two-man pressure
— what Harbaugh called a
“whirly bird” — to find Donovan
Peoples-Jones open down the
right sideline with running
room for a 34-yard touchdown.
The junior quarterback
finished the day 19-for-27 for
three touchdowns and 282
yards, surpassing his season-
high in passing yards on the
throw to Peoples-Jones. Junior
tight end Zach Gentry also
had a career day as Patterson’s
go-to, grabbing highs of seven
receptions for 112 yards.
“It was players making plays
today,” Harbaugh said. “That’s
really what I saw, starting with
Shea. Guys just making plays.
Gentry making plays, finding
seams, making the catches. … It
was really the theme through
this game: players making
plays.”
Saturday’s game hardly made
any declarative statements about
Michigan’s potential headed into

the second half of the season.
But strides in the offensive line
portended confidence with an
impending three-game slate
against No. 18 Wisconsin, No.
20 Michigan State and No. 11
Penn State. Patterson stayed
upright the whole contest, and
the ground game managed 171
yards, 4.3 per carry.
“Offensive line is playing
well,” Harbaugh said.
“(Offensive line coach) Ed
Warinner is doing a heck of a job
with those guys. I think they’re
all playing their best football,
starting from Jon Runyan, Ben
Bredeson, Cesar Ruiz, Mike
Onwenu, and Juwann (Bushell-
Beatty). (They) are all playing
their best football and playing
well together.”
The Wolverines could very
well hit the reset button in the
week against stiffer competition.
After all, Ben Mason hurdles
and Shea Patterson “whirly
birds” are far from a given. But
you would be hard-pressed to
question a setback based on
Saturday’s blowout.

ETHAN WOLFE
Daily Sports Writer

MICHIGAN 42
MARYLAND 21