By the Numbers: Week 10 @ Maryland | By Fans...For Fans Since 1999 | UMGOBLUE.COM Michigan Wolverine Football & Basketball

LAST WEEK RECAP

The running game clicked on offense, and the defense swarmed as Michigan dominated Notre Dame 45-14. The win will be remembered as Jim Harbaugh’s second over a top 10 team, but SP+ had Notre Dame ranked 19th going in.

NEXT UP: @ Maryland: 56th, 2.3

PREGAME SP+: Michigan by 16.3, Michigan Win Probability 83%
Michigan’s defensive unit ranking continues to climb, currently up to #2 in SP+ rankings. The offense, after an early season drop to #72, has clawed back to 41st against some solid defensive teams. The special teams unit continues to drop, now down another fourteen spots to #80.

Michigan Offense (41st) vs. Maryland Defense (64th)
My calls for patience regarding this offense are starting to look better. If the Wolverines can put together another dominating offensive performance on the road versus an average defense, then I will officially feel vindicated. In the preseason preview I mentioned that SP+ ranked Maryland defense exactly in the middle (65th). As the calendar turns to November the Terps defense is 64th, and gave up 42 points per game in their last three contests (@ Purdue, vs. Indiana, @ Minnesota). I wonder if offensive coordinator Josh Gattis and Jim Harbaugh remember the Terrapins’ head coach making snide comments (“Josh who?”) at Big Ten Media Day regarding his former assistant at Alabama.

Michigan Defense (2nd) vs. Maryland Offense (58th)
In 2018, most of us (Michigan fans) were taken by surprise when Ohio State sprung an offensive assault on Don Brown’s defense. The defense’s performance in late season games may have been sending us warning signs. After a tremendous week 8 performance last year in East Lansing, Michigan’s YTD success rate against was 33%. At that point, the defense allowed an average of 3.9 yards per play (YPP), and IsoPPP (Points gained per successful play) was 0.84. I compared those averages to what we saw in those metrics from games #9-12 in 2018 below. Going into Game #9 of the 2019 season, on the road versus an average opponent, the Michigan defense MUST maintain their high level of play and attention to detail. The last thing the Wolverines need is another downward trend through November.

Michigan 2018 Defense Avg. through 8 Games
- Efficiency: 33% Success Rate
- Explosiveness: YPP 3.9 IsoPP 0.84
Game 9 vs. Penn State
- Efficiency: 28% Success Rate
- Explosiveness: YPP 4.0 IsoPP 0.95
Game 10 @ Rutgers
- Efficiency: 25% Success Rate
- Explosiveness: YPP 4.8 IsoPP 1.24
Game 11 vs. Indiana
- Efficiency: 35% Success Rate
- Explosiveness: YPP 5.1 IsoPP 1.01
Game 12 @ Ohio State
- Efficiency: 51% Success rate
- Explosiveness: YPP 8.8 IsoPP 1.24

PREDICTION: Michigan’s dominance over Notre Dame made most of us feel better, and I am relieved for that. I started to wonder where my own optimism was coming from after the heartbreak in Happy Valley. Now, going into this road tilt in College Park, I think the pendulum may have swung the other way. The fan base is back to expecting a total blowout, and I am more conservative. Until I see at least one complete performance away from the Big House, it will be tough for me to predict one. I expect this game to feel similar to the Illinois game, with a handful of problems smearing our memory of a multi-score victory.
Michigan 30 Maryland 13 (PRESEASON Michigan 35 Maryland 7)

MICHIGAN RESUME UPDATE (10/27/2019), 6-2

SP+ Overall: 11th (↑3), 21.1
- SP+ Offense:41st (↑11), 32.6
- SP+ Defense: 2nd (↑2), 11.4
- SP+ Sp. Teams 80th (↓14) -0.1
AP Poll: 14th (↑5), 744
Coaches’ Poll: 15th (↑5), 652
CFP Rank: N/A