Nebraska Snowflakes: The Coaching

Harbaugh tried to Scott Frost away the game at the end....Your freshman QB in cold with the game on the line....what.....Cade missed some throws but he never did anything stupid and I'm not even sure that the int was his fault as he was expecting the receiver to cut inside the safety...Let him have another chance to dump it underneath to All or something to win the game....on the flip side, one thing that impressed me this year compared to the last two is that the coaching staff seems to have guys ready to play...I didn't think we matched most teams effort the past two years and that hasn't been the case this year....Also great to see the receivers continue to improve too as their footwork and route running looks much better than week 1, credit to the staff in that department too...

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Damn good, all around, every single player (except our defense for about three drives in a row in the second half, though props to Nebraska for some creative play calling). Just ... a complete game, offense, defense, coaching. It all worked.

And Mr. Hawkins, absolute game ball to you. What a monster play.

I liked the play calling except for the use of JJ as a runner. Gonna get him killed.

No need to be negative after that game. Nebraska did to Michigan what they did to OU and MSU and Illinois. The offense sputtered at times but made huge scoring drives when it mattered the most. Cade wasn't great but made some key pass plays along the way. At the end of the day Michigan put up 465 yards and 32 points on the road against a tough Nebraska defense. That's an overall success, even if there are CLEARLY things that need to be worked on. 

The defense was a sieve in the 2nd half but managed to make some game-sealing plays in the end. Their 1st half was heroic though. Especially the 4th down stop to keep it 0-0 in the 1st quarter. That helped overcome the slow start on offense. 

Wins on the road in back-to-back weeks against Wisconsin and Nebraska is to be celebrated all day every day. Winning the way they did tonight is even better - Nebraska throwing haymakers to take the lead, butts clenched, and all Michigan did was respond each and every time to tie or take the lead. 

Survive and advance! I certainly did NOT have Michigan at 6-0 by this point in the season. Winning on the road like this gives them confidence for the tougher road opponents to come. 

Wasn’t always petty but a win is all that matters. 

Didn't necessarily have a problem with the 2pt conversion decision.  DID have a problem with throwing the fade.  Defense seemed to somehow repeatedly not be expecting Martinez to pull the ball despite that being the basis for their entire offensive scheme...  May have been poor execution but seemed too consistent.  Didn't adjust for it at all.  Seems like the team's only glaring problem remains the non-Dax secondary.  Loooot of space out there in that zone.  But great win overall.  Very hard to win on the road at night as Bama just illustrated.  Credit to the coaches and leaders for keeping the team in the game.  Following two tough road game wins is a great time for a bye.

Let's also factor in that Nebraska was in a "nothing left to lose" situation. They were going to go balls-to-the-walls to beat Michigan because Frost desperately needs a signature win and oh hey here's a top 10 Michigan team at home at night. Considering how close they played against MSU and OU, that was a tough spot to be put in. Nebraska really truly felt like they were about to get over the hump, and for a moment in the 2nd half it felt like this was the game it would happen, because  of fucking course Michigan would be that team on the receiving end (even their special teams was outplaying Michigan, ffs). But a funny thing happened - this team didn't let the moment overwhelm them. Huge credit to the players and coaches. It was gut check time and they passed with flying colors!

Fuck Scott Frost

My kids first UM game live. You are all fucking welcome. 

FrostPalm

That crowd was indeed angry and out for blood.  That Nebraska football team wanted that win more than anything and it appeared they were in good position until we took it away from them.  I told my wife that this was the type of game we usually ended up losing in the Harbaugh era...and then seconds later Cade almost repeated my exact words in his post-game interview.

This season feels so much different.  All I can say is F yeah and Go Blue!

Maybe it's just me, but does anyone else feel like Harbaugh looked and acted a lot more energetic tonight than he has in the past few years? He argued more than a few calls in a very energetic, yet appropriate way.

I also like the fact he dropped the '60s style Woody Hayes glasses for more modern frames. Sucks that his lenses look pretty thick, that means he's not a great candidate for contacts or Lasik.

Yeah, the glasses are a small thing, but perceptually small things can make big differences.

 We’ve won more games than Alabama has so far this season. I’ll take it.

I thought 8-4 this season IF they had lost.  IF they can beat MSU, I think we run the tables to OSU.  

I haven't seen Jim run off the field that pumped since he backslapped Jim Schwartz. Great to see!

On paper, this isn't a special win. I think before the season the majority even of the somewhat skeptical posters would have put this game in the likely W column. Even now, Michigan was a top ten team, Nebraska unranked and 3 losses already. People would have considered Nebraska winning an upset.

In reality though you can tell that this is a confidence building win for the team. It is perhaps somewhat sad, but it feels like Michigan - even the players - had lost faith in their ability to pull out wins from behind on the road when the crowd seems louder than ever and the odds suddenly seem stacked against you. The perception has been that Michigan will cave when they get punched in the mouth. If this kind of win helps the team believe in themselves, helps them develop a stoutness in their mentality, then it's worth a ton.

I think Macdonald had his hands full in the second half. Nebraska got much more creative. They utilized the option and took advantage of the inexperience at linebacker. Martinez scrambled for yardage too, and that's really hard to stop. I can't criticize Gattis either. Every time I thought Nebraska was going to pull away, the offense responded. 

I am pretty sure Harbaugh made Scottie cry at the end of that game today, for that I give thanks. Proud of that team today, the way the offense answered every time was awesome. I couldn't believe it, we all know how a game like that turns out over the past 15 years. Would be nice if the team could knock the fucking bpone right out of my senses, if they keep this shit up.

I need to watch the game again, but my feeling is that the offensive gameplan/playcalling might've been one of the better efforts of the Gattisbaugh era. I think you can quibble (and who doesn't quibble from time to time?) with Cade's accuracy in executing some throws and the WRs not hauling some of them in, but...if Cade plays his "A" game tonight, UM might've still dropped fiddy on the Huskers. That's minus some WRs and OL.

I also thought the NEB secondary made some PLAYS especially early in the game with ripping through and deflecting passes that would've otherwise been chunk plays. Our DBs don't make those same plays (unless it's Daxton).

The defense, on the other hand, showed there is a cost to playing downhill. It was interesting (in a bad way) to see the ballyhooed bend-but-don't-break approach become a boom-or-bust outfit before our very eyes. I think that's more a function of an offensive very specific to NEB. Will there even be anything close to that the rest of the way? Or does Macdonald just do a Dom Perignon enema to cleanse the bad feels and move on? If Macdonald's stuff will work against PSU and OSU, then I don't really give a shit that we looked bad for a half against NEB in a game we won anyway.

Lastly, I don't think the officiating was biased against UM because we benefitted from some calls, and they generally got them right...UFR. BUT, from the opening bell when the ref's mic wasn't working to the middle of the game, the officiating crew seemed to be a step behind, a bit lost, and making weird calls on the field. The game sputtered along. I think this hurt UM in the 1st half from gaining momentum when we were clearly starting to take control. Higher variance is always bad for the better team, and UM was definitely better.

First time all year we've trailed - and passed the test. We came back and won the game.

Very good drive at end of first half.

Two absolutely clutch drives in the second half when the chips were down and Nebraska had all the momentum. 

Two road wins in a row in difficult environments. This is exactly what people said JH hasn't been able to do. 

Winning attitude and smart, clean play. Very few penalties, very few turnovers. Awesome special teams. Big display of heart. Have to give coaches and JH credit.

This is not a great team - but it sure is a fun team with a ton of heart. Well done, players and coaches. 

Go Blue! 6-0!

Decent game by the offensive brain trust, but Cade needs to hit the throws that are absolutely there. And I actually think they've overcorrected and need to run more? Never seemed to give Corum enough touches to get into rhythm. 

On defense - I don't know man. Worked great in the first half but the secondary and linebackers kind of got exposed in the second. Nebraska is a team that's going to get its yards, but a couple of those 3rd and 4th quarter drives just seemed way to easy. 

The biggest thing that I took away from tonight’s game is that for the first time in a long time, Michigan were gamers. Props to Cade for having the fortitude and candor to admit that past teams had self-defeating confidence deficits that caused them to lose winnable games. Past teams would go in the tank the minute things didn’t go their way.  The team has not done that this year and has continued to fight.

I like Cade’s leadership and judgement in critical situations even if he does not have all of the physical skills. He seems to embody and inspire the feisty confidence in the rest of his teammates. The coaches recognize that.

I still don’t love all of the concepts that this offense runs on and believe that they are the limiting factor on our upside, but I like the execution this year. We don’t make it look smooth and easy like Ohio State but the guys believe in it and have executed well so we will just have to accept it and ride it for as far as it can take us.

Lastly, I never had a sense of dread during this game and generally don’t when we are playing with effort and not leaving anything on the table. If we play well and get beaten by a better team I can live with that. I had that sense tonight. In previous years I can’t say that was the usually the case.  The dread comes from recognizing what could have been.

By and large, the coaches seem to have a plan on both sides of the ball, and that plan seems geared to put our strengths against the opposition's weakness.  Pregame analysis pointed out that Nebraska was weakest in the secondary and lo! our offensive game plan was keyed towards putting those DBs in tough spots.  The blog (and everybody else) pointed up that Martinez was dangerous, but they were prone to self destructing; if they reined that in (and they really mostly did!) this would be a nail-biter.  Neither the INT or fumble were gifts; the defense went and took them, and the team was mostly prepared for a tough road environment (the one false start excepted).

This is not the most talented Harbaugh team - that 2016 team looked like it could really be special - but they have played remarkably mistake-free football this year.  They're almost always on the same page, don't draw flags, don't turn the ball over - this is the best evidence yet that the coaching turnover has borne fruit.

Yeah, there are areas for improvement, and yes they don't execute perfectly all the time, and yes they don't have the superior-talent-at-all-spots to fall back on when they don't.  This may not be the team that climbs that end-of-season mountain at long last.  But ...

This. Is. A. Well. Coached. Team.  Period, end, full stop.  And that plus their talent are fun to watch.

Once again, credit where it is due. Gritty performance all the way around in a big game, at night, on the road.

Not perfect so plenty to work on but a ton to celebrate. Congrats to a job well done and a well earned bye.

IMHO the best performance of the season. Play calling was excellent. Cade was unable to execute many of those calls, ie: passing.

Harbaugh did what he needed even with the missed 2 pt conversion, again players need to execute better. Defense withstood the NE onslaught. This game could have been a shootout and it came close.

6-0.
 

I’m a preseason nonbeliever in Harbaugh slowly coming around. 
 

Still can’t believe Vegas gave everyone an opportunity to take over 7.5 wins. Christmas is going to be lit over here and for that, I love this coaching staff. 

Seems to me that a 6-0 team that puts together repeated answering scoring drives when behind on the road against a surprisingly good team, and makes crucial stops in crunch time, has good coaching.