Previewing Michigan Football vs Nebraska

Michigan Football is looking to go 10-0 for the first time since 2006 when they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers on Saturday. The Wolverines lead the series 6-4-1, a lead that is expected to increase as the Cornhuskers have only won two conference matchups this season, both being in Memorial Stadium.

J.J. McCarthy had his worst completion percentage of the season last week against Rutgers, completing only 48.1 percent of his passes. He still threw for 151 yards and two touchdowns, however, he has fallen from first to eighth in the nation in completion percentage, now only completing 70.9 percent of his passes.

While some of these incompletions were due to the passes being off-target, some of the receivers just seemed unable to come down with the ball. Ronnie Bell and Luke Schoonmaker each only had two receptions last week, and neither scored a touchdown. Cornelius Johnson had three receptions, one being for six yards and a touchdown. The leading receiver for the Wolverines against the Scarlet Knights ended up being running back Donovan Edwards who had 52 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown.

Edwards also had 109 rushing yards on 15 attempts, helping Michigan football to be effective in both areas of the offense.

Likely Heisman candidate Blake Corum also had an impressive game against Rutgers with 109 yards of his own and two touchdowns. If both of these running backs show up just as effectively against Nebraska, the Wolverines will not have to worry about the passing game.

Alongside an extremely efficient run offense, Michigan Football has been named the number one rush defense in college football. The Wolverines’ defense has only given up 216 rush yards in the past five games combined. They have also only allowed four rushing touchdowns all season.

If Michigan looks decent in the first half, they are doubtful to have any problems holding back the Cornhuskers after halftime. The Wolverines have only allowed three total points in the second half over their past four games, however, they have scored 100 points in this time.

Linebacker Michael Barrett had his first two interceptions of his five-year Michigan football career against the Scarlet Knights. Barrett also has 37 tackles on the season, 17 more than he had in 14 games last season.

Mike Morris is another extremely important part of the Wolverines’ defense that is likely to show up strong on Saturday. Despite only having 19 tackles this season, Morris leads the team with 7.5 sacks.

Kicker Jake Moody had a rough game against the Scarlet Knights, making a season-low of 33.3 percent of his field goals. While it was slightly windy, Moody made up for these missed field goals by making all seven of his extra points. Michigan should not be worried about Moody going forward, as he still leads all kickers in the nation in points with 99.

Getting to Know Nebraska

Nebraska received the unfortunate news on Thursday that their starting quarterback, Casey Thompson would not be available on Saturday. While he has been their go-to guy this season, he has struggled in passing the ball. Thompson is tied with Purdue quarterback Aidan O’Connell for the most interceptions in the conference with 10, and only has 12 touchdown passes.

Thompson’s likely replacement for Saturday is Chubba Purdy who has only played in five games this season. Out of his 36 pass attempts, three have been interceptions and zero have been touchdown passes. He also has a less-than-ideal completion percentage of 44.4 percent.

The Cornhuskers have shared that they plan to turn to the run game, which is led by running back Anthony Grant. He averages 95.3 yards per game and has scored six touchdowns this season. Grant will need to have his most impressive run game of the season if Nebraska plans to rely on the run game, which will be a difficult feat against the No. 1 rush defense in the country.

Purdy’s accuracy might not be what the Cornhuskers need, but wide receiver Trey Palmer could help with this. Palmer has 53 receptions this season, which is tied with Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison Jr. for the second-most in the conference. They only sit behind Purdue wide receiver Charlie Jones who has 83 receptions on the season. If Purdy is able to connect to Palmer, Nebraska might have some life in their pass game against the Wolverines.

The Cornhuskers’ defense has been far from efficient, allowing the most yards of any defense in the Big Ten with 3969 yards, and allowing the most average yards per game in the conference with 441 yards. Nebraska’s rush defense has also struggled tremendously this season, allowing a conference-high 18 rushing touchdowns. This is particularly detrimental as Michigan leads the Big Ten with 29 rushing touchdowns this season.

Linebacker Luke Reimer leads the Cornhuskers’ defense with 67 tackles while also having one interception so far this season. Nebraska’s defense only has 15 sacks this season, led by edge rusher Garrett Nelson who takes credit for 4.5 of these sacks.

Kicker Timmy Bleekrode is likely to be the Cornhuskers’ best chance in getting points on the board against the Wolverines. Bleekrode has a 77.8 field goal percentage this season, his furthest being from 46 yards away.

The odds are not looking good for Nebraska on Saturday, however, Michigan cannot count them out. The Wolverines play two ranked teams in Illinois and Ohio State to close out the season, so this matchup against the Cornhuskers is not one that they can let slip.