The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2016
ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Wilton Speight passed for a career-high 362 yards and No. 3 Michigan remained unbeaten with a 59-3 rout of Maryland on Saturday at Michigan Stadium.
Speight completed 19 of 24 passes and also recorded his first career rushing touchdown, 10-yard scamper that gave Michigan a 14-0 lead with 2:56 left in the first quarter.
Michigan (9-0, 6-0 in the Big Ten) scored on its first five possessions of the game and had 402 yards of total offense in the first half.
Michigan opened the scoring on the first drive of the game, taking a 7-0 lead on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Speight to Amara Darboh with 9:50 left in the first quarter.
Following Speight's 10-yard touchdown run, Michigan took a 21-0 lead with 9:15 remaining in the first half on a 3-yard touchdown run by senior De'Veon Smith.
Michigan went ahead 28-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Khalid Hill with 3:52 left in the first half, a play that was set up by a 56-yard screen pass from Speight to freshman Chris Evans to the Maryland 1-yard-line.
Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh thought Evans broke the plane of the goal line before being pushed out of bounds, so much so that he threw his hat up in the air in disgust after officials confirmed their on-field call following a review.
Michigan made it five straight touchdowns in the first half, taking a 35-0 lead on a 33-yard touchdown pass from Speight to senior wideout Jehu Chesson with 42 seconds remaining until halftime.
Smith finished with 114 yards rushing and three touchdowns on 19 carries for Michigan.
Maryland fell to 5-4 overall and 2-4 in Big 10 play.
NOTES: Quarterback Wilton Speight threw for 292 yards in the first half, the most passing yards ever by a Michigan quarterback in the first half of a game… Speight's passer rating in the first half was 311.45. ... Michigan's 402 yards of offense in the first half eclipsed the season average of 401.5 yards the Maryland defense was giving up per game entering Saturday. ... With a reception in the third quarter, Michigan tight end Jake Butt became Michigan's all-time career leader in receiving yards for a tight end. ... This was the first game against Michigan as Maryland head coach for D.J. Durkin, who spent last season as Michigan's defensive coordinator on Harbaugh's staff before taking the Maryland job during the offseason. ... Michigan played its second-to-last home game of the season. The Wolverines will play at Iowa next week and then have the home finale on Nov. 19 against Indiana before ending the regular season at Ohio State on Nov. 26. ... Maryland began a stretch of playing three consecutive games against teams ranked in the top-10 entering Saturday. ... The Terrapins will host No. 6 Ohio State next week before visiting No. 10 Nebraska on Nov. 19.