The Wolverines roared into Lincoln and egregiously welcomed Matt Rhule into the Big Ten for their 17th straight win in the conference they currently stand on top of.
Michigan football jumped on Nebraska from the word go with a touchdown pass that has since gone viral by Roman Wilson. J.J. McCarthy threw a scary pass to the endzone that was hauled in by Wilson off of the back of the Nebraska defender. It’s a highlight reel catch that will be on the radar of the Sportscenter top 10 list.
Not much later, after a tipped interception by Kenneth Grant, Kalel Mullings got involved in the party with a breakaway run to the house. Braiden McGregor batted the ball up in the air to set up Grant and he also recorded his first sack of the season in the third quarter. McCarthy poured in two more scores to cushion the lead to 28 at the half.
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It was a Blake Corum drive to get things going in the second half. That was the last time we saw McCarthy for the day. Jack Tuttle got a series as the primary backup and led a scoring drive into the fourth quarter. Jayden Denegal and Davis Warren wrapped up the win, with Denegal throwing his first-ever touchdown pass to spring game star Peyton O’Leary.
Michigan football scored in some fashion on seven of nine drives. The Wolverines churned out 250 yards on the ground against Nebraska’s vaunted run defense. Donovan Edwards had his best outing of 2023, albeit he didn’t crack the 50-yard barrier. 10 different receivers caught a pass, while there were nine ball carriers to handle the pigskin.
Here are the three takeaways from the commanding win.
1. Michigan looked like the No. 1 team in the country in all three phases
Besides about one play on Saturday, Michigan football kept Nebraska in the doghouse. Both the offensive and defensive lines controlled the line of scrimmage throughout. It was definitely the offensive line’s most presiding performance of the season. The backs didn’t break a long one, but they were consistent and kept all their quarterbacks clean.
The offense was spearheaded by the big three of J.J. McCarthy, Blake Corum, and Roman Wilson. They all had their own respective ways of scoring touchdowns on Saturday by using their legs. Jack Tuttle looked like the real deal as the first off the bench for McCarthy. No Alex Orji though, after the fall camp hype of him returning kicks or getting him involved in some capacity.
Defensively, they shut out the Cornhuskers for almost 56 minutes of action. Josaiah Stewart had a couple of sacks. They gave up a few big slant routes that went for chunks, as Heinrich Haarberg passed for the most yards against the defense in five victories. Take away the Josh Fleeks spurt to the house and the rush defense only allows a minuscule 32 yards.
2. Michigan football has outscored Nebraska 78-10 since the narrow escape in 2021
It took a full 60 minutes to outlast the Cornhuskers in 2021, but it’s been a piece of cake since then. In 2022 J.J. McCarthy was not as efficient as he was on Saturday. Blake Corum had around 100 more yards or so on the ground and Ronnie Bell had similar numbers to those of Roman Wilson.
Ernest Hausmann was on the losing sidelines as the leading tackler for Nebraska a year ago but got to feel the emotions of a win over his former school.
Nebraska’s offense was suffocated with little effort from their quarterback play. Heinrich Haarberg fared better this year but had nothing to show for it again.
Jim Harbaugh has been the mainstay for the maize and blue, while Nebraska is dying for someone to get them back to relevancy. Alum Scott Frost couldn’t do it and one has to wonder if their program is cursed and stuck in the 90’s. It would be a miracle if Matt Rhule could get them to a bowl game, but that should be considered a success in year one.
3. Michigan football finally obliterated the spread
For all the gambling diehards and those who want to see more blowouts than close wins, they got exactly what they have been waiting for.
Michigan football was picked by 17 and doubled it and then some. Last week the Wolverines matched a 24-point spread, while in the first three weeks, they did not cover over lesser opponents.
The Wolverines seem to be clicking at a good time with the second month of the season right around the corner. There’s no word yet on the line for next Saturday night at Minnesota, but it will most certainly be double digits.
The result of Saturday’s win brings their record to 1-3-1 against the spread or 2-3 if you count last week as a win instead of a tie.
On the national scene, there’s not much to complain about with Georgia barely surviving Auburn and Michigan’s case to overtake them.
It, in all likelihood, won’t happen, but the defending champs appeared to be beatable. That’s something we haven’t seen from them since the Peach Bowl. The maize and blue can at least pick up some first-place votes from voters around the country and gain some confidence.