Michigan’s 2023 football opponent preview: Maryland

In the Michigan Wolverines’ penultimate regular season game this year, they hit the road to take on Maryland.

The Terrapins gave the Wolverines all they could handle last year in a 34-27 loss at the Big House. Quarterback Taulia Tagovailoa helped Maryland grab an early lead, but then Blake Corum took over and rushed for 243 yards to help the Wolverines escape the upset.

Here’s how Maryland stacks up this season.

Week 11 - Maryland Terrapins

• 2022 Record: 8-5 overall, 4-5 in Big Ten
• Head Coach: Mike Locksley, sixth season
• Key Losses: S Nick Cross, TE Chigoziem Okonkwo, WR Jacob Copeland, WR Rakim Jarrett
• Key Additions: WR Tyrese Chambers, WR Kaden Prather

The Terrapins’ strength is their offense and they return quarterback Tagovailoa and bring in some transfer portal receivers to help him out. Mike Locksley and company added Kaden Prather from West Virginia and Tyrese Chambers from FIU, who should help the Terrapins stay potent offensively.

The Terrapins were shut down by Wisconsin and Penn State in back-to-back weeks last year, but scored 27 of more points in every other game. They even put up 30 points in a loss to Ohio State. Meanwhile, the defense struggled and needed the offense to outscore teams.

The defense could be better as they have some new guys come in, but depth could be a problem.

Ja’Quan Sheppard is in from Cincinnati to held solidify the secondary, along with Avantae Williams from Miami. They should help make that part of their defense a strength, but the defensive line needs some work. The pass rush only produced 24 sacks in 13 games last year and generally gave opposing quarterbacks a ton of time to throw the ball.

The Terrapins did bring in edge rusher Donnell Brown, and tackle Jordan Phillips from Tennessee, to shore up the line, but time will tell if that will be enough help to improve the defense enough to lock down the likes of Penn State, Ohio State and Michigan.

They will get tested early and often in the Big Ten schedule as the Big Ten East is tough once again this year. By the time they play Michigan in the second to last week they will have already played at Michigan State and Ohio State and hosted Penn State.

The Terrapins will either be fighting for the top of the Big Ten East when they play the Wolverines or looking to secure their bowl chances.