Emily Giambalvo covers Maryland's athletics for the Washington Post. She divides the Terrapins for The Detroit News and answers five questions before Saturday's game between Michigan and Maryland at Michigan Stadium. You can follow her on Twitter at @ EmilyGiam.

►Question: Maryland has a solid defense ranked 20th at the national level and ranks first in the Big Ten rankings. How are the Terps against Shea Patterson and the Michigan offense?

►Giambalvo: I think this is the part of the game where Maryland could be the closest to giving Michigan a tough time. The defense made significant improvements to its team last year, which awarded more points per game than any other Big Ten program. Maryland has been successful this year with the pressure and dismissal of the quarterbacks, so the Terps could affect Shea Patterson. The team is proud of this third defense, and Maryland forced a pair of late turnovers against Minnesota, both in the 10-yard line and finishing fourth. The Maryland defense had some problems with the penalties in their last game, so with an opponent like Michigan, she can not afford to repeat that.

Although Maryland's defense has been strong, I think the Michigan group's talent will win over the Terps. But if Maryland plays its best defense game, it could be a problem for Michigan and Patterson.

More: Choice of Wojo pigs: wolverines and spartans need more power in their attack

►Question: The Maryland offensive is highlighted by its current game. The Terps are 11th overall, but Michigan's strength is their defense and the Wolverines are particularly stingy against running and ranked third in the country. How do you see it playing?

►Giambalvo: The Maryland run has been excellent and Matt Canada uses tons of different attacking players, which partly explains why it's hard to stop the Terps. Thirteen different players have covered the ball in four games and Canada loves to sweep. That said, I think Michigan will be able to contain Maryland without much problem. The Terps may have some big runs, but Michigan will stop them. Maryland has not yet used its offensive lineup at full strength this season due to injuries, and it looks like the five-veteran group can all play this weekend. I still do not think it will be enough, but it will certainly help them improve their chances. Canada and the players said they felt their attack was an attack in which the teams had to decide if they wanted to stop the race or the pass, but I think Michigan will be able to do both.

►Question: The Terps have just moved on. They are considered big outsiders coming from Michigan Stadium, but also said goodbye last Saturday. Is there an area of ​​this team that could cause Wolverines trouble?

More: Michigan winovich works to be a "shark in a guppies game"

►Giambalvo: I think it goes without saying that Michigan is the most talented and the best team. So I do not think of a way for Maryland to drive methodically on the ground a few meters at a time. However, Maryland has excelled this year with explosive plays. Eight different players have played 25 yards or more in four games, which could allow Maryland to gain ground against the Michigan defense. In addition, this week, I thought back to Canada's assist with wide receiver Jeshaun Jones, who threw a touchdown pass in Maryland's first game against Texas. With the extra week of preparation for a match against a high-level opponent, I wonder if there might be more interesting games like this one on Saturday.

►Question: This season must be difficult to cover given the death of offensive lineman Jordan McNair and the situation of suspended coach D.J. Durkin. How did all this affect the team?

►Giambalvo: It's hard to know for sure how this affects players. When asked anything about the subject, players simply explain how close their team is. The death of a teammate and a friend has undoubtedly had an emotional impact on the players. The other interesting element is the length of the uncertainty. Jordan McNair died in June and D.J. Durkin was discharged in August. We are now in October and these players still do not know who will be their coach. Despite your best efforts, I do not think a player can ignore the allegations made about the program and the national conversations about who should be held accountable.

More: Detroit News Forecast: Michigan vs. Maryland

Another key element of this situation is the way Matt Canada vehemently asserted that he was still the offensive coordinator, not the head coach. The defense was handled by the assistants on that side of the ball and Canada remained out of the way. While it makes sense that Canada does not want to override Durkin in case Durkin returns, it is also questionable whether having a head coach in good standing could hurt the team.

►Question: How did Matt Canada manage its acting role? If Durkin is not successful, will Canada take over?

►Giambalvo: From the outside, Matt Canada has done a lot of good things in what remains an extremely chaotic situation. The players on the current team and those he has already coached in other schools seem to think that Canada is a nice guy who knows how to get along with the players. With the media, he is very professional and has never lost his temper. If Durkin is not retained, Canada's chances of becoming the permanent head coach will likely depend on the team's performance. The Terps seem to have a way to elect their eligibility, which, in my opinion, would make it a successful year, especially if they can win the game. The Maryland has not finished with a record of victories since 2014 nor more than seven victories since 2010, so the standard to be achieved at College Park is quite different from that of Ann Arbor. With the allegations of cultural problems in the program, the fact that Maryland hired Canada less than a year ago seems to help it.

Players to watch

►Ty Johnson, Sr., RB: Maryland averages 258.5 yards per game (11th nationally) and the senior running back is a top reason why Anthony McFarland, a freshman at Redshirt. Both won more than 100 yards in Minnesota's Terps victory. Johnson was 123 yards rushing against the Gophers and now has 2429 career yards, moving him from 10th to 6th on Maryland's state-of-the-art roster. He needs 59 yards to overtake Lance Ball (2004-07) and finish fifth. Johnson also ranks fifth in career all-purpose yards and needs 168 yards to become the fourth Terrapin in history to record 4,000 all-purpose yards. He leads the Big Ten and ranks sixth in the country averaging 7.5 yards per race. His best performance this season was a 81-yard touchdown against Minnesota, the fourth-longest race in Maryland's history. His previous career was a 76 yard mark against Purdue in 2016.

►Tre Watson, Sr., LB: The linebacker leads the Big Ten in tackles per game with an average of 9.8. and also in solo tackles averaging 6.3. Watson was a graduate player from Illinois and was the Big Ten week's defensive player after his performance against Minnesota. He had 11 tackles, including one bag, and also had a 36-yard interception for a touchdown. Watson, who is 6 feet 2 inches and 235 pounds, leads the Terps with 39 tackles and has two interceptions. He tied his record of 15 tackles in Maryland's defeat against Temple in the home opener.

►Wade Lees, Jr., P: Lees is a 30-year-old Australian kicker. Yes, you read correctly. He has just finished one of his best games in Maryland, scoring five times for a career-high 48.6-yard average against Minnesota, and the Ray Guy Award's Punter of the Week award. The four kicks that have run 50 yards or more this season, half of that he's had the first 25 games of his career. He joined the Terps at the end of 2015 and has been leaving since his arrival. He played 72 times in the first year and 64 in the second year, totaling 39.8 yards and 39.2 yards respectively.

Facts and figures

►On the positive side: The Terrapins lead the Big Ten and rank 10th nationally with a margin of more than 1.25 in four games. They have only three turnovers this season and only 17 times in the last 16 games dating back to early 2017. Redshirt rookie Kasim Hill has launched a single interception in 97 career attempts.

►Stop them in the red zone: Maryland leads the standings in the percentage of defensive conversions in third place, limiting its opponents' success rate to 29% in four games. This is a huge improvement over last season, when Terps ranked last in the conference with 49%. They rank 14th nationally and have forced 29 balls through four games.

►Success of the red zone: Maryland has made nine trips to the red zone this season and scored each time. The Terps, with Penn State, are the only two Big Ten teams that were perfect in their twenties. Maryland scored touchdowns on seven trips and scored goals, the other two. Against Minnesota, the Terps scored 42 points without ever leaving in the red zone.

[email protected]

Twitter: @chengelis