Michigan football vs. Nebraska Cornhuskers

Preview

Michigan football handled business in the first road game of the season against Wisconsin. Will it be able to do the same, this time at night against Nebraska?

The big and obvious danger lies in the Huskers’ 11th-ranked offense, led by quarterback Adrian Martinez, who leads the team in rushing along with being a competent passer. He carries the ball an average of 13.3 times a game for an average of 68.67 yards, while also attempting 25 passes for 243.8 yards per game through the air. He’s completing 66.7% of his passes, to boot, so he’s the biggest danger, overall. His main target downfield is Samori Toure, who’s averaging 21 yards per catch and has three touchdowns on the year. In terms of yards per game, Toure is the 40th-leading receiver in the country, but he’s 10th overall when you consider his average per catch. The big thing for Michigan will be to keep Martinez from scrambling and finding Toure downfield. Behind him, Zavier Betts and Omar Manning are solid, combining for over 360 yards this season. Both average 14 yards per catch.

On the ground, besides Martinez, Rahmir Johnson is the primary ball-carrier and he averages nine carries a game for 4.2 yards per carry. Also, former USC tailback Markese Stepp gets some play and he averages seven carries per game for 4.42 yards per carry.

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The big exploit for Michigan is the Huskers’ offensive line, which is among the worst in the country. They are 121st nationally in sacks allowed (out of 130 teams) and 114th in tackles for loss allowed. PFF has Nebraska graded 120th in pass blocking but 53rd in run blocking. Still, in total offense, they’re ranked 11th, but do have the 50th scoring offense, averaging 32.3 points per game. However, those numbers have been bolstered due to the three wins, all lopsided, against Fordham, Buffalo, and Northwestern — when the Huskers averaged 45.3 points. Against Illinois, Oklahoma, and Michigan State, Nebraska managed just 19.3 points per game.

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Defensively, PFF grades Nebraska 46th overall (Michigan is sixth, by comparison). It averages 1.6 sacks per game but 11th in tackles for loss with 6.67 per game (Michigan is 77th). It is 44th in run defense (122.17 yards allowed per game) and 43rd in pass defense (196.2 yards allowed on average). Michigan will need to strike a balance to keep the Huskers off-kilter, but, of course, Wisconsin has the top run defense and has faced tougher pass defenses in Western Michigan, Washington and Rutgers. They are 39th in passes defended (3.83 per game) and have five interceptions, led by Deontai Williams (2). Outside linebackers Garrett Nelson (2.5), JoJo Domann (2), and Pheldarius Payne (2) lead the team in sacks, while Nelson (8) and Domann (7) lead the team in tackles for loss. Linebackers Luke Reimer (51) and Nick Henrich (43) lead the team in tackles, overall.

The other big exploit for Nebraska is special teams, where it is atrocious. It is 115th in field goal kicking, having hit 50% of 10 attempts. It is 119th in kick returns and 125th in punt returns, and the coverage units on both, along with kicks and punts, are not good. If Michigan is going to win, it will need to take advantage of an awful phase of the game for the Huskers.

NEXT PAGE: Our picks and predictions for the game.

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Predictions

WolverinesWire’s Isaiah Hole and Trent Knoop share what they expect to happen in the game along with two general predictions and a final score prediction.

Trent Knoop

My biggest key to this game is how the Michigan defense handles the read-option attack that Nebraska presents.

This is going to be an offense that this Wolverines’ defense has yet to see. Rutgers has a limited style of offense like the Cornhuskers, but it isn’t nearly as powerful. Adrian Martinez will keep the maize and blue on their toes on Saturday. Not only can he throw the ball, but he is pretty electrifying while running the ball.

We will need to see big things from Aidan Hutchinson, David Ojabo, and Josh Ross defending this read-option. The Wolverines need to contain the edge in order to make Martinez air the ball out, and I think if they can do just that, then Michigan will win the game.

I think that Cade McNamara will pick right up where he left off against Wisconsin, and he will have a pretty good, mistake-free, night against the Nebraska defense.

Isaiah Hole

Despite their records, I still think that Wisconsin is a better team than Nebraska, but the two teams are an inverse of one another. The Badgers had the misfortune of playing three ranked teams, while Nebraska has played two. It had no business losing to Michigan State after disallowing a first down in the second half to the Spartans. But, the Huskers make mistakes — it’s what they do.

Still, this will be yet another tough environment, on the road, in a place zero Wolverines have played before. It’ll be a challenge and with the maize and blue having never trailed in 2021, I could see them facing real adversity in this one.

For me, this game comes down to two things: the defense against Nebraska’s offense and special teams. I think the Huskers are quite good offensively, but simultaneously, I’m not sure how good. They’ve been pedestrian against defenses with a pulse, but this is still the most high-powered offense that Michigan has faced. The big key is to exploit the offensive line and not overpursue. Tackling is beyond paramount, especially when it comes to Adrian Martinez. On special teams, create long fields, have good returns, hit field goals, cause turnovers. That’s the goal. On offense, Michigan has faced tougher defenses and excelled, so I anticipate that the Wolverines will fare OK on that front.

Still, you never know what will happen in a big road environment. I think Michigan will strike a run-pass balance and that the defense will come up with big stops at crucial times — particularly forcing Martinez into costly mistakes. I’m sticking with the same two predictions as last week, even though I was off on McNamara’s passing yards.

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