That was... a lot. In a contest that lasted nearly four hours to finish regulation, Michigan emerged from Lincoln with a narrow 32-29 victory. It was not the prettiest or the smoothest, but it's a win all the same. And it came against a desperate Nebraska program in need of a win and in front of 90,000 angry fans in Memorial Stadium. Cade McNamara said after the game that he believes that many of the past Jim Harbaugh Michigan teams may not have won that game. He might be right. 

The first half was a one-sided effort. After a creative Nebraska drive ended on a Michigan defensive stand at the four yard line, the Huskers sputtered on offense for the remainder of the first half. Meanwhile Michigan cobbled together a couple long scoring drives, and took a free three points after a spectacular Daxton Hill interception. A bizarre sequence saw Michigan twice fail to score a TD at the goal line due to video reviews and forced the Wolverines to settle for a field goal, but the Maize & Blue led 13-0 after two quarters. They had out-gained their opposition by nearly 100 yards and were the clearly the better team. Then the third stanza started. 

The Nebraska Cornhuskers need to beat somebody they normally don't to get to bowl eligibility after blowing two winnable games against Illinois and Michigan State. They needed to topple either Michigan, Iowa, or Wisconsin, three teams who they have struggled against in recent years, to get to six wins- the mark required to perhaps salvage the Scott Frost era. The Husker coaching staff believed that this night, in front of a raucous crowd, could deliver them the marquee win they needed. They came out of halftime with the game plan to try and win the game. 

Haskins had Michigan up early [Patrick Barron]

The third quarter was an offensive coaching clinic put on by Frost's staff. They relentlessly targeted Michigan's youth and inexperience across the defense, getting RJ Moten and Junior Colson (and Josh Ross) to bite hard on a play action TD pass to Austin Allen that went for 46. Then they confused Nikhai Hill-Green on a beautifully drawn up wheel route to Rahmir Johnson that went for 41 and a TD. The Huskers capped it off with another genius screen pass to Levi Falck that resulted in a TD after being handed a short field. Martinez scrambled for the two point conversion and at the end of the third quarter, it was 22-19 Nebraska. 

While the defense was getting clocked in the head repeatedly, Michigan's offense had mixed success in the third quarter. There was a strong TD drive that hinged on a Daylen Baldwin 35 yard reception and was then capped off by a Hassan Haskins TD scamper. But bookending that drive was a 3 & out and a disastrous 3 play sequence that ended in Cade McNamara's first INT as a Michigan QB, which gave Nebraska the aforementioned short field. 

After falling down 22-19, Michigan had a tremendous gut check drive. A key 3rd down conversion to Erick All got it moving and then Blake Corum finished it off with a 29 yard electric TD run to put the winged helmets back on top. Nebraska came back with their own drive. It appeared to be finished early when a seeming interception passed through the arms of Gemon Green and instead was caught by Oliver Martin for 30. Nebraska's up-tempo play, and willingness to hurry up the snap after making a substitution, giving Michigan little time to get set before the play, paid dividends on an Adrian Martinez read option keeper TD that beat Aidan Hutchinson and gave the Huskers the lead back with 7:08 to play. 

Blake Corum broke a long run in a big moment [Barron]

Michigan quickly charged down the field on the back of an incredible Haskins 50 yard run that included a mind-bending hurdle, but the drive stalled out inside the 10 after the boisterous Memorial Stadium crowd caused another Michigan false start penalty. Jake Moody split the uprights to even the game at 29. 

The Huskers got the ball back with 3 minutes to go and quickly faced 3rd & 1. They called a Martinez keeper that got enough for the first down, but then Brad Hawkins made the play of the game and ripped the ball free, recovering it himself all in one motion. It was Nebraska's second turnover, and a backbreaking mistake in a big moment that has become all too familiar for Husker fans this season.

Michigan burned all three Nebraska timeouts, but a pair of questionable playcalls on 2nd and 3rd downs lined Jake Moody up for a 39 yarder— by no means a sure thing for a college kicker— with 1:24 to go. Moody, who has proven time and time again to have ice in his veins this season, banged the kick through the uprights. 

Nebraska got the football back with 84 seconds to play. A quick 25 yard strike to Samori Toure got the Huskers to midfield in the blink of an eye, but then they ran into resistance. A pair of incompletions set up 3rd & 10. Frost and his staff dialed up a screen pass that Gemon Green played perfectly, stopping Rahmir Johnson dead in his tracks for no gain. Nebraska proceeded to strangely hurry up as if they had no time left, despite there being a full 54 seconds remaining in the contest. The rushed 4th & 10 play landed incomplete as Daxton Hill ran step for step with Toure, and Michigan had survived. Two Cade McNamara kneel downs sealed it. 

[AFTER THE JUMP: Some concluding thoughts]

It was a team effort tonight [Barron]

In totality, Michigan narrowly outgained Nebraska 459-431. Penalties were similar, six aside, costing Michigan 55 yards and Nebraska 47 yards. Nebraska's 2 turnovers to Michigan's 1 looms very large in the story of the game, though. This was a tight contest, but Michigan was just a little bit better, especially when it mattered. 

Cade McNamara didn't have his greatest performance, but he also played in by far the most hostile environment he's ever played in. The interception was costly, but a few throws were right on the money too. There will be much debate in Michigan-land over this bye week about who should start at QB in the coming weeks.

Hassan Haskins was excellent at RB, grinding out key yards on the ground after contact, in addition to his gigantic 50 yard run. That hurdle will live on in GIF's for weeks to come. Blake Corum was not as notable, but his 29 yard TD run came at a big moment. Daylen Baldwin had the most receiving yards for Michigan, but also a couple drops. Mike Sainristil made a sprawling catch on a deep bomb, and Erick All springing open over the middle was key to several massive third down conversions. The offensive line struggled against a talented Huskers' defensive front, especially at guard, where Trevor Keegan, Chuck Filiaga, Zak Zinter, and Karsen Barnhart all saw time. Several false starts came at inopportune times too, but that is understandable given the noise being created by the opposing crowd. 

Headin' home happy [Barron] 

For the defense, it was a tale of two halves. The defensive line was consistently excellent, getting pressure and stuffing all runs between the tackles. But the LB's and secondary were significantly worse in the second half than in the first. Some of that may have been great playcalling from Nebraska, as well as strong play from Adrian Martinez. Martinez finished 18/28 through the air with 3 TD's, in addition to 38 yards on 8 carries and another TD there, plus the two point conversion. He tested Michigan's edges and QB contain in the second half, and made some great throws. The turnovers will haunt him, especially the fumble. 

The fumble in particular had to have been sweet for Brad Hawkins. The 5th year safety still has yet to collect an interception in his career, but that individual play—single-handedly altering the game— makes up for any and all INT's he may have missed in his time in Ann Arbor. A signature moment for a senior leader. 

The last individual deserving of recognition on Michigan is Jake Moody. The veteran kicker was money tonight, going 4/4 on his FG's and 2/2 on his XP's. The 39 yarder to win it for Michigan was as high-pressure of a kick as it gets, and he made it look easy. Moody is now perfect on XP's for the year and 8/9 on FG's, and a huge part of the Wolverines' success. 

Michigan now heads into the bye week, still undefeated. It has not been perfect football, and there are elements to improve, but it's hard to argue with the results. The Wolverines are 6-0 for the first time since 2016, and for just the second time in the past ten seasons. For a program that fell short of bowl eligibility a year ago, they have already attained the necessary record to qualify for such a game, only halfway through the season. 

The Wolverines return to action on Oct. 23 against Northwestern at home, which should be the easiest game remaining on the schedule by a wide margin. The time of that game is not yet known.