Mike Sainristil made a one-handed catch in the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown, Hassan Haskins scored two TDs of his own, and No. 8 Michigan did its part to raise the stakes of next weekend’s showdown with Ohio State, routing Maryland 59-18 on Saturday.
The Wolverines (10-1, 7-1, No. 6 CFP) host the Buckeyes next week, and the winner will go to the Big Ten title game. Michigan hasn’t won the conference since 2004 and hasn’t beaten Ohio State since 2011.
If the Wolverines were looking ahead to that matchup, it didn’t affect their play much this weekend. Maryland (5-6, 2-6) didn’t reach the end zone until Michigan was up 31-3 in the third quarter.
Donovan Edwards had 10 catches for 170 yards and a touchdown for the Wolverines.
Cade McNamara opened the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Luke Schoonmaker. Then Haskins made it 14-0 with a 1-yard scoring run later in the first quarter.
Sainristil reached out with one arm to pull in J.J. McCarthy’s pass in the back corner of the end zone, then secured the ball for a 13-yard TD that made it 21-3.
Haskins scored on another 1-yard run in the third, and when Maryland finally scored a touchdown on a 7-yard pass from Taulia Tagovailoa to Carlos Carriere, Michigan pulled off a trick play on the ensuing kickoff. Michael Barrett caught the kick near his own 20 and tossed the ball backward across the field to A.J. Henning, who ran all the way down the sideline for a TD to make it 38-10.
Tagovailoa ran for a 17-yard touchdown, but Michigan answered with a 77-yard scoring pass from McNamara to Edwards. Then DJ Turner intercepted a pass and ran it back 42 yards for a TD to make it 52-18 — and give the Wolverines touchdowns on offense, defense and special teams in a span of 4:04.
McCarthy closed out the scoring with a 5-yard TD run in the fourth.
THE TAKEAWAY
Michigan: So, here the Wolverines are again. They’ve won 10 games in a season when not much was expected of them, and now they’ll try to break through against Ohio State. The Buckeyes hardly ever lose when they’re on their game — and recently, they always seem to be on their game against Michigan.
Maryland: The Terps have had several chances to show they could match up with the top teams in the Big Ten, and they clearly weren’t ready to do that. Maryland will now face Rutgers in its regular-season finale next weekend, with the winner becoming bowl eligible.
POLL IMPLICATIONS
No. 7 Michigan State handed Michigan its lone loss this season, but now the Spartans have two defeats after losing to Ohio State in blowout fashion on Saturday, so the Wolverines will likely move up.
UP NEXT
Michigan: Hosts Ohio State on Saturday.
Maryland: At Rutgers on Saturday.
