It was the most exciting week of college football yet, and while Michigan football’s 32-29 win over Nebraska in Lincoln might be (is) overshadowed by unranked Texas A&M taking down Alabama concurrent to the Wolverines’ win, college football media is still abuzz about the maize and blue.
Some power rankings on certain sites have Michigan football as high as No. 5 nationally, others are saying they’re done with Jim Harbaugh hot seat talk. Others are still reticent to give praise because, you know, it’s just Nebraska and it’s 3-4.
Still, there’s a lot of praise to go around, and the Wolverines are on the receiving end of it once again this week now that they’re 6-0. Here are some of our favorite reactions.
Michigan handed Nebraska another heartbreaking one-possession game and Scott Frost has to be questioning whether someone put a curse on him. The Wolverines remain undefeated and it’s time to give Jim Harbaugh his props. He humbled himself after taking a pay cut last offseason and his offense is the best it’s been in years. He’s also got a likely top-five pick in defensive end, Aidan Hutchinson, causing havoc off the edge. He may be the best Michigan defensive lineman in years, and they’ve had some good ones.
The Wolverines faced their first deficit of the entire season, not just once but twice against Nebraska. But each time, they found a way to respond. When Brad Hawkins stripped Adrian Martinez late in the game and recovered his own forced fumble, Michigan was set up in field goal range. Jake Moody hit his fourth field goal of the night to allow the Wolverines to stay undefeated 32-29. Though it wasn’t a perfect game, it showed the type of resilience that was perhaps missing from this program over the past several years. Hassan Haskinsfinished with 123 yards rushing, and despite playing without his top receivers, quarterback Cade McNamara made the plays he needed to with the game on the line. — Andrea Adelson
Sporting News
Friend of the site, Bill Bender, still has Michigan football on the outside looking in when it comes to the College Football Playoff, slotting the Wolverines at No. 7. He notes the issues the Wolverines had in the game and says that Jim Harbaugh’s proverbial hot seat has all but vanished.
The Wolverines escaped Nebraska with a 32-29 victory for their second road victory in as many weeks. It wasn’t perfect by any means. The Huskers scored 22 third-quarter points, and Michigan trailed for the first time this season. Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum combined for 212 rushing yards and three TDs, but the question on reps between Cade McNamara and J.J. McCarthy could become more prominent in the second half of the season. All that said, the heat is off sixth-year coach Jim Harbaugh, and Big Ten East tests against Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State await.
Nebraska has been playing better in recent weeks, and there was a great deal of chatter heading into Saturday night’s game in Lincoln about the Huskers potentially being the team to bring the Wolverines back to reality. They came close to doing just that, until Michigan defensive back Brad Hawkins stripped the ball away from Huskers quarterback Adrian Martinez with under two minutes to play. That fumble set up the game-winning field goal, helping the Wolverines overcome their first experience trailing all season and quarterback Cade McNamara’s first interception of the year. Ultimately, a road win in conference play is a road win in conference play, and it’s good to get one even when things don’t go smoothly from start to finish.
The Wolverines went into Lincoln and got a win in a hostile environment. That’s the good news. The bad news is that they struggled to slow down Adrian Martinez and needed a late Martinez fumble to set themselves up for the game-winning field goal.
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