DAWG Preview #4 Michigan at Maryland - Possible Trap Game?

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Michigan leaves the comfort of home for the second straight week as they head to College Park Md for a showdown with the Maryland Terrapins. Michigan heads to Maryland stadium for the fifth time having won the previous four trips. This will be the 12th meeting between the Terrapins and the Wolverines, the Wolverines holding a 10-1 record. Michigan heads into the game as a 19.5-point favorite according to BETMGM with an over-under of 49.5 total points.

Broadcast information:

Kickoff: Saturday, November 18, 2023, at Noon EST

Television Coverage: FOX Gus Johnson (play-by Play), Joel Klatt (color), Jenny Taft (Sideline)

Radio Coverage: Michigan WWJ-AM 950, Maryland Team 980AM

Weather

College Park will be cloudy with sunny breaks at times. The forecast calls for 70 with a 30% chance of precipitation, winds of 7mph from the south, and wind gusts of 11mph.

What's at stake?

Michigan(10-0) comes into the game ranked third in the College Football Playoff ranking behind Ohio State, and Georgia. Michigan's goals are all still right in front of them and they still control their own destiny as they head to College Park. Maryland sets up as a perfect trap game for Michigan, if the Wolverines are looking ahead to next week's big matchup, Maryland might be able to pull the upset.

Maryland 6-4 is 4th in the Big 10 east, sitting behind Penn State, Michigan, and Ohio State. This is senior day for the Terrapins with it being their last home game of the season. Maryland started off 5-0 but after suffering a loss to Ohio State have since gone 1-4. A win here will help improve what bowl game the Terrapins are heading to and would destroy Michigan’s hopes of heading to a third straight CFP appearance.

Key players Michigan:

JJ McCarthy, Roman Wilson, Cornelius Johnson, Semaj Morgan

Key players Maryland:

Taulia Tagovailoa, Jeshaun Jones, Tai Felton, Roman Hemby

Key matchups:

Maryland Edge Rush vs Michigan Pass Protect

It was clear early in last week’s game that Michigan QB JJ McCarthy was just not going to have time to throw the ball downfield. Michigan Interim head coach and offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore will look to establish the passing game early and will try to get JJ in a rhythm considering this will be Michigan's last dress rehearsal before bringing in the Buckeyes. Michigan will try and work out any of the problems that faced them last week in pass protection and see if the corrections they made in practice worked. Maryland will try to duplicate what Penn State did last week, hoping any of the corrections Michigan attempted to make didn’t work.

Michigan vs Outside Noise

Michigan players have been able to handle all the noise that’s surrounding the program up to this point. It’s been a very quiet week for the players considering what the previous 3 weeks have given us. Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh has accepted the Big 10 three-game suspension, so look for the noise to start dialing up, or down at this point. With all of the outside noise and with OSU just around the corner will this be the game where Michigan finally loses focus, giving Maryland the ability to pull off the upset win?

Prediction:

Michigan heads into a trap game this week but unfortunately for Maryland head coach Jim Harbaugh will make sure they are not looking ahead. A team that comes into a game with nothing to lose can be one of the most dangerous teams to face and that’s the Terrapins this week. Maryland might have nothing to lose but Michigan has everything so look for the Wolverines to play like it. Michigan will win the game and cover the 19.5.

Michigan 38-Maryland 17