Huge coaching mistake leads to successful Nebraska Hail Mary against Michigan

Michigan should have had a 17-10 lead at the half against Nebraska, if only the coaches were paying attention.

Acting head coach Biff Poggi made an all-time mistake right before the first half ended. Michigan had Nebraska stopped, in its own territory, right before the half, leading 17-10.

Instead of taking a timeout, forcing Nebraska to punt, and taking the chance at a Hail Mary pass, Michigan football decided to let the clock run down. Players even started walking off the field, assuming the half was over.

Matt Rhule had other ideas, though.

Rhule saw what Michigan was doing, called a timeout, and allowed his five-star quarterback to take a Hail Mary shot to the end zone, which was caught by Jacory Barney for a game-tying touchdown.

Now, the score is 17-17. Nebraska has all the momentum, and Michigan's chance to make it a two-score game at the start of the third quarter was wiped away completely.

The game isn't over. There are two quarters to play. But it feels over. That's the kind of thing that's hard to recover from. If the Wolveriners do win, that will say a lot about their resolve, but man, what a mistake it was by the acting head coach.

If Poggi was managing the clock correctly, Nebraska would never have gotten the chance to throw the Hail Mary or tie the game. The offense has 17 points but most of it has come on two plays.

There's a lot of game to go, but the coaching staff didn't go Michigan football any favors.