Michigan QB J.J. McCarthy looks to keep learning following victory over Maryland

ANN ARBOR, Michigan — Michigan came away with a 34-27 win against Maryland, but it was a learning experience for quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who was playing in his first Big Ten opener as the team's starter.

McCarthy won the quarterback battle after the second game of the season over last year's starter, Cade McNamara, and helped lead Michigan to its fourth win of the season against the Terps. It didn't come without some mistakes and challenges, though, that McCarthy says he knows he needs to improve.

«I'd probably say that it definitely wasn't my best performance and I want some things back that went out there,» McCarthy said after the game. «But, I was happy with the way we were able to move the ball the times where we needed to respond. That was a good team out there, Maryland's got a great offense, they got a great defense and I was just happy with the way we responded when some adversity creeped in.»

Adversity hit a few times in the game as McCarthy had two fumbles, both recovered by his teammates, and the Wolverines found themselves in a back-and-forth game with Maryland.

He finished the game completing 18 of 26 passes for 220 yards and two touchdowns. He didn't have any interceptions, but he admitted the timing was off with his receivers throughout the game.

«With the timing, I don't think that's an issue (for the receivers) at all. I take full responsibility for all those throws that I missed on,» McCarthy said. «My arm was feeling like 110% today (after dealing with soreness in the offseason) and it's been awhile since it's felt like that. Just being able to go through the practices this week and be able to adjust and dial back a little more is going to be huge.»

Michigan finished with 446 yards of offense, and