Much of the talk heading into the showdown between Michigan football and Nebraska is centered on the two five-star quarterbacks, Bryce Underwood and Dylan Raiola.
Underwood was the No. 1 overall prospect and quarterback in 2025. Raiola was the No. 2 quarterback in 2024. It's the highest-rated QB matchup in the Big Ten since Justin Fields and Shea Patterson back in 2019.
Michigan lost that game. If it doesn't plan on losing this one, it's going to need more than a great game from Underwood, although that will certainly help. Expect Bryce to use his arm and his legs. Acting head coach Biff Poggi even said that Underwood has the "green light."
That could be the biggest X-factor in the game on Saturday. But another X-factor, at least for the Michigan football defense, is Jaishawn Barham, specifically, Barham playing at EDGE.
The ultimate X-factor for Michigan vs. Nebraska
Even though he plays linebacker, Barham is a versatile guy. He's 6-foot-3, 243 pounds. He was stellar last season as a linebacker, although he got plenty of chances to blitz and pressure the quarterback.
The 6-foot-3, 243-pound linebacker even played EDGE last week for the Wolverines, which has been talked about since the offseason. The senior delivered two sacks and looked like Michigan's best pass rusher, at least so far this season.
Derrick Moore and TJ Guy have struggled out of the gate. They just haven't produced like they did last season. Michigan needed more juice, which is where Barham comes in.
Last week, he had two sacks and looked unblockable coming off the edge. He had a brutal sack on the opening play of the game against Central Michigan. It set the tone. That's the kind of play(s) Barham needs to make against Nebraska.
The. Huskers offensive line is solid. But they haven't faced a pass rusher like Moore or Barham. TJ Guy needs snaps too, but if Barham moves to EDGE, that allows Cole Sullivan and Jimmy Rolder to be on the field more, too.
Beating Nebraska, outside of running for a bunch of yards to keep the ball away from Dylan Raiola, will require hitting Raiola a lot. Michigan needs to sack him a few times and hit him quite a few more.
That's how you stop an elite passing attack. It's what Michigan needs to do to win this game, and if Barham is at EDGE, his pass-rush ability could be the difference between winning and losing.