Michigan Monday - Nebraska

Michigan Monday vs. Nebraska is up. I didn't bother putting up a link the last couple weeks. However, with the bye week and the paucity of real content, it seemed worthwhile today. Here are some quotes.

Overview:

Impressive is the fact that they lost the momentum in a hostile road environment and were able to get it back twice on the way to a 32-29 win over a Nebraska team that has now lost four games this season by a combined 21 points.

This was a perfect opportunity for the Wolverines to revert back to what they’ve been in the past, but they didn’t. They stood firm, directed their own narrative, and walked out of Lincoln with a 6-0 record and more confidence than they’ve had at this point in the season since 2016. That also happens to be the last time they began a season 6-0.

Offense:

For just the sixth time since Jim Harbaugh took over the Michigan job in 2015, the Wolverines rushed and passed for over 200 yards against a Big Ten opponent. 

We are starting to see some necessary balance coming to the Michigan offense. Balance doesn’t mean 50/50 in the stats, but rather the ability to throw the ball well when the run is being taken away, or vice versa with the run when the pass is taken away. Basically, can you succeed with either the run or the pass if one is hard to come by?

(Running game.) They did enough and they did it effectively enough to win on the road. Haskins led the team with 123 yards rushing on 21 carries. This game was made for him. There were no easy runs. Everything was difficult, which is how he seems to like it. He’s arguably the hardest runner in the Big Ten and he doesn’t quit. He’s relentless. I’m assuming when he’s not in class or at practice he’s calling people to let them know their car warranty is expiring.

(Passing game.) It was not a great performance and some of his throws were pretty far off from their respective targets. McNamara targeted receiver Daylen Baldwin 14 times, for instance, and only completed six passes to him. McNamara took some shots, but he’s definitely got some work to do with his downfield accuracy.

Slot receiver Mike Sainristil made an incredible diving catch on a deep pass down the middle, but had McNamara hit him in stride, the drive would have ended in a touchdown instead of a field goal.

Defense:

I wanted to see what the Michigan defense did against a quarterback who could run and throw, and it turns out they did okay. Martinez made them pay on some throws, but that wasn’t because of any running that he did. He only ran the ball seven times for 41 yards. Scott Frost could have used three times that number of attempts and things would have been better.

Michigan’s defense is rounding into form but I still think depth is a concern. Defensive tackles Mazi Smith and Chris Hinton were very effective early in the game. Nebraska rushed for just 29 yards on 17 carries in the first half. In the second half, however, the Huskers went for 101 yards on 15 carries. Was this just an adjustment by Frost, or did the constant pounding up the middle finally wear a bit on the Wolverines?

The outside rushers Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo were again very good. Hutchinson went TFL-less for the first time this season, but still recorded six tackles beyond the line of scrimmage. Ojabo only had one tackle — which was a sack — but you can see him more and more involved in creating chaos for the defense. He’s a guy who can go up against a tackle on one play and then the next sprint out wide and tackle a screener.

Safety Daxton Hill had an incredible interception in coverage when he batted a pass in the air and caught it after falling to the ground. He’s a natural and may be the first sure thing Michigan has had in the secondary since Marlin Jackson.

Special Teams:

Place-kicker Jake Moody hit all four of his field goals in this one, ranging from 21 to 39 yards. He was never put to the test in terms of distance, but his last two field goals tied the game at 29-29 with 3:00 remaining and then won it 32-29 with 1:24 remaining.

Michigan’s special teams continues to be very good with periods of greatness.

Conclusion:

It means that Michigan is finding winning ways to win games, if that makes sense. Or maybe I should say they’re finding ways to keep from losing games.

Coming into this season, the Wolverines were 18-22 under Jim Harbaugh when their offense averaged under 5.7 yards per play in a game. This year, however, they’re 4-0 when averaging under 5.7 yards per play.

Nebraska did them a favor by exposing some of their blind spots with the misdirection and deception. I’m going to assume Mike Macdonald was aware of the possible issues, but now it’s on tape for the players to see and learn from it.

The Michigan defense has continued to find answers this season, but pretty soon the questions are going to start changing.

How well the Wolverines respond will determine how successful this year ends up being.