It was not easy for the Michigan Wolverines, but the winningest program in college football history has a nice round, and unprecedented, number on its record.
No. 3 Michigan defeated Maryland, 31-24, on Saturday to record their 1,000th victory, the first football program to ever reach that mark.
Their first victory came way back in 1879, a 1-0 win over Racine, as points were only awarded on kicks. Eleven of those 1,000 wins have been national championships, eight of them Rose Bowl victories, and 44 of them conference titles.
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The Wolverines took a commanding 23-3 early in the second quarter, but back-to-back touchdowns by the Terps made it a six-point game in the third. Both teams exchanged touchdowns late in the third, as Michigan led 29-24 going into the fourth.
However, Billy Edwards Jr.’s one-yard rush was the last time Maryland would score. In fact, Michigan’s offense didn’t score for the rest of the day, either.
Michigan punter Tommy Doman pinned Maryland at their 1-yard line, and two plays later, Taulia Tagovailoa took an intentional grounding penalty in his own end zone, which resulted in a safety. Michigan was able to run the remainder of the 3:36 left on the clock to improve to 11-0 on the season.
It was a rough outing for J.J. McCarthy, who only threw for 141 yards on 12-for-23 passing. Blake Corum rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns on 28 carries.
This was the second consecutive week without head coach Jim Harbaugh, who is not allowed to be on the sidelines for the remainder of the season stemming from an investigation into an alleged sign-stealing scandal within the program.
Harbaugh agreed to accept the punishment, and in turn, the Big Ten agreed to close their investigation. Sherrone Moore is now 2-0 as acting head coach.
However, linebackers coach Chris Partridge was dismissed on Thursday. Partridge’s departure marks the second staffer to leave a position in the football program over the past few weeks. Former recruiting analyst Connor Stalions stepped down earlier this month after his name was linked to the alleged sign-stealing operation.
The Wolverines entered the day as 18-point favorites, so perhaps they were looking ahead to next week, as they will face No. 2 Ohio State in Ann Arbor in hopes of their third-straight win against the Buckeyes.
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