Things couldn't have gotten off to a worse start for the Terps Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor, as Tai Felton fumbled the opening kickoff which was recovered by Michigan who scored a touchdown one play later to take a 7-0 lead just three seconds into the game.
The Terps fought back, with Chad Ryland connecting from 53 yards out on the ensuing drive to make it 7-3 with 12:31 remaining in the opening quarter.
The Wolverines would tack on a field goal of their own before Terps redshirt freshman running back Antwain Littleton II plunged into the end zone from two-yards out as Maryland tied the game at 10 apiece with 3:09 left in the first quarter.
Chad Ryland connected a second time from 50-plus yards, this time hitting a 52-yard field goal exactly a minute into the second quarter to give the Terps a 13-10 lead that they would hold until the final minute of the opening half when Blake Corum scored from 33 yards out on 4th-and-1 as Maryland's defense had a breakdown in coverage.
Corum finished with a game-high 243 yards rushing with two touchdowns on the ground.
While the Terps might have folded in the second half on the road against a ranked team in recent years, Taulia Tagovailoa and the Terps' offense responded after Michigan took a 24-13 lead in the opening minute of the 4th quarter.
Tagovailoa completed an extremely difficult pass rolling out to his left and throwing against his body, hitting tight end Corey Dyches in strides for a 44-yard gain. He then hit Tai Felton in the left side of the end zone to make it a one-score game once again with 9:56 remaining in regulation. Maryland failed on the two-point conversion, making it 24-19.
It was a rough day for Tagovailoa, who finished the afternoon 20-of-30 for 207 yards, a touchdown and a couple of interceptions. He was knocked out of the game for a play in the first quarter and was limping at times in the second half.
Backup quarterback Billy Edwards finished the game for Maryland, leading the Terps on a 75-yard scoring drive in the final minutes of the game, capped off by an 18-yard touchdown reception by tight end CJ Dippre to make it a final score of 34-27.
Despite some key mistakes throughout the game, the Terps have plenty to build upon heading into the rest of conference play. One area where the Terps saw tremendous improvement versus Michigan was in the penalty department. Maryland entered the game ranked 130 out of 131 FBS teams in penalties per game. Against the Wolverines, Maryland committed just one penalty, which came with 2:10 remaining in the 4th quarter.
The Terps return home to The Shell next Saturday where they will host East division foe Michigan State.
