UM opens as 18-point favorite vs. Nebraska
September 17th, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
Seems like a ton of points unless Martinez doesn’t play.
I’m assuming Higdon will be fine and close to 100%, Evans is the real question mark.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:56 PM ^
If Martinez plays I'd be very comfortable hypothetically taking Nebraska and the points at that spread
September 17th, 2018 at 3:59 PM ^
Martinez would be playing only his second game(first on the road) with a banged up knee. He is turnover prone too.
People act like he is a world beater.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:35 PM ^
Maybe not a world beater just yet, but he's a lot better than their other option and we have struggled against elusive QB's that can break contain. Michigan should comfortably win either way, but 18 points is a lot.
September 17th, 2018 at 9:18 PM ^
Maybe not a world beater yet, but until we see Don Brown adjust to mobile QBs, one can guarantee AM will gash us a few times.
Oh, speaking of true freshmen in road games.....we just faced one and he didn't look phased at all.
September 18th, 2018 at 11:30 AM ^
Young, inexperienced, turnover prone sure. But this is Michigan, give him a pair of shorts this winter and I bet he would make 12 heavily contested 3 pointers in our faces. Hopefully Glasgow is ready to defend the edge and in space.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:19 PM ^
FWIW, reports out of Nebraska said Martinez practiced today but his status is uncertain. Frost said he may not know until game day which, even if you did, why say anything? Why let your opponent know what they have to prepare for?
September 17th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^
Practicing is a good sign.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:54 PM ^
Frost mentioned in the Troy postgame interview that Martinez looked good before the game but that he didn't want to rush him back as he will be the future there. He made it seem like he could play this upcoming week. Not sure if the Michigan D is the first thing you want your young QB to face after coming off an injury though.
I figured this would be an eight point spread. Man, I was way off.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:22 PM ^
He said today Martinez is questionable for Saturday. He has an ice pack on his knee this past Saturday which tells he isn’t quite healed.
He could play, but will he have same mobility? I think that is the question Nebraska has to answer this week.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:23 PM ^
That reads to me like Martinez is out and Frost is trying some gamesmanship.
September 17th, 2018 at 9:22 PM ^
Probably just a bruise. He was running around during warm-ups on Saturday, albeit with a brace on.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:31 PM ^
oh boy. yeah this is not happening. gonna be 10 pt spread.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:32 PM ^
I wouldn't touch this bet with a 10 meter cattle prod...
September 17th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
I wouldn't touch this bet with a 3 rod span of galvanized steel chain
September 17th, 2018 at 5:03 PM ^
But if Scott Frost had a 10 meter cattle prod, would you touch that?
I'll hang up and listen.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:33 PM ^
I'm concerned if we have to face Martinez for half a game without Khaleke Hudson. If Martinez can't go, not so much.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
Who else can play the viper besides Glasgow? I know Barrett is practicing at the position but is there anyone else who can come in to give Glasgow a break in the first half?
September 17th, 2018 at 4:47 PM ^
Presumably one of the safeties? There was mention last year of Hawkins repping at Viper and maybe JKP as well (where has he been all year?).
Otherwise they would have to go with Uche or Furbush in a traditional 4-3 look with 3 actual LBs instead.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:39 PM ^
Pretty sure J'Marick Woods was playing Viper at least part time.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:33 PM ^
Are there odds on who will "out-hit" the other though?
September 17th, 2018 at 3:55 PM ^
Scott Frost's mom sets this line
Edit: Yeah. Like MGrowOld said one post down.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:34 PM ^
Wow. That's sure gonna make Scot Frost's mom mad.
FWIW if I was a degenerate gambler I'd take Nebraska right now +18, wait for the line to drop to about +12 or so and then bet Michigan and hope for a middle where you can win both bets but cant lose both bets (a gambler's dream).
September 17th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
A 6-point movement in a line would be pretty odd, unless there were a bunch of new injuries...
September 17th, 2018 at 3:43 PM ^
It moved a little just thinking about this.
September 17th, 2018 at 10:44 PM ^
Correct, that’s gonna get bet down real fast. An absurd line
September 17th, 2018 at 3:37 PM ^
Seems a bit much assuming Nebraska can bring on any QB with 2 legs and a throwing arm not in a shoulder-to-wrist hard cast.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
Do you think we will learn more before the 1st snap?
September 17th, 2018 at 3:39 PM ^
I'm not a gambler, but I see Michigan winning by at least 3 touchdowns against Nebraska. Some have been critical of the team's performance versus SMU, however I think it's difficult getting up for consecutive cupcakes. When a team is expected to win by a large margin, there can be some letdown with intensity and focus. That should be no problem this week since this is the first conference game, and Nebraska, along with their head coach, has some antagonistic history with the Maize and Blue program.
There were a lot of positives to glean from last Saturday's victory, while the negatives I simply chalk up to boredom with the opponent. It's business time now, though. We'll soon know if the ND game was an aberration, or a continuing trend.
Go Blue!
September 17th, 2018 at 3:44 PM ^
That ND game is still weird to me. Yeah the Oline looked like shit, but some of the play calling was really suspect. I'm not sure if Shea was real comfortable with changing plays at the line, or if they even gave him the option. After watching the Amazon series, it was obvious they wanted the QB's to stick with certain calls. JMO, hell I don't know anything.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
Seems really high to me. Nebraska is #2 in the country in sacks, I'd expect Martinez to play, which given how Michigan's defense looked without Hudson makes me very nervous for the first half of that game. Throw in Evans likely being out (it looked like a hamstring not a cramp) and I could see a close game through the 3rd quarter without too much trouble. Nebraska might be 0-2 but they could just as easily be 2-0, they aren't that bad.
September 17th, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^
Maybe they bring another LB in an play more of a traditional 4 - 3
September 17th, 2018 at 4:03 PM ^
They lost to one okay PAC-12 team and a middling mid-major t at home. Troy got blasted by Boise 56-20.
Nebraska's defense will be the biggest concern with their pass rush, but that secondary isn't good.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
Troy had a 17-0 lead on Nebraska in the first half. Rationalizing a close loss to an average at best Sun Belt team shows how far Nebraska has fallen.
Also, I'll take a healthy Patterson, DPJ and Nico with our banged up RB's against their defense any day.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:24 PM ^
Why do you assume Don Brown won’t adjust for Hudson?
September 17th, 2018 at 4:51 PM ^
Because Jordan Glasgow isn't Hudson athletically and there is nothing you can scheme to make that not true.
Elite defenses are filled with elite athletes.
September 17th, 2018 at 6:25 PM ^
Again, what makes you think that they can or adjust for a half?
September 17th, 2018 at 3:45 PM ^
remember when we were going to beat somnambulant SMU by about 100? yeah. we win even if martinez makes it out there, but by 18?
September 17th, 2018 at 4:37 PM ^
+1 for vocab
September 17th, 2018 at 4:49 PM ^
Because UM is going to approach Nebraska the same way they approached SMU.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:08 PM ^
you're darn right we will, sal.
they're both in the central time zone. what more proof do you need?
actually, that SMU freshman QB was an eye opener. kid could run and was big. martinez is more of a jitterbug, but he'll have more of an O-line, too.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
you obviously havent seen Nebraskas oline. lets just say it might be worse than smu's
September 17th, 2018 at 5:14 PM ^
SMU isn't too far behind Troy in some of the advanced stats rankings... and Troy didn't have much trouble beating Nebraska at home.
Nebraska going on the road regardless of the QB does not seem like it will end well for them.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:12 PM ^
Too much negativity here. I guess we know our own weaknesses too well, but Nebraska has many more of them and is playing their first road game.
Line is about right -- S&P difference plus home-field puts it at about 17, the Action Network's ratings, about 23. I wouldn't be surprised if the line goes up, especially if Martinez is out.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:16 PM ^
Seems high to me. I would have guessed Michigan by 10-12 points. Maybe Vegas feels Martinez either won't play or, if he does, won't be 100 percent?
I think it will feel a lot like last year's Purdue game where it stays close for 2.5 quarters and Michigan is finally able to put some distance between the two. But I don't know that the distance will get to 18 points.
September 17th, 2018 at 4:22 PM ^
Frost is making wholesale changes to the team - he's been given a long leash and he's going for a complete overhaul/rebuild.
At last count, added 51 new players to the roster. 140 currently on the roster, largest in the B1G I believe, 35% who are new since December, including lots of walkons:
38 freshmen and 3 redshirt freshmen, 3 sophomores, 6 juniors, and a senior. And I expect some more transfers.
Not to mention 2 QBs transferring. And a flashy new QB who hadn't played in 2 years. And a completely new offense, 100% coaching staff turnover, and a new AD.
The Huskers have 16 scholarship seniors and 21 total seniors and plan to sign another full recruiting 2019 class and more walk-ons. By next year Frost likely will have added 90 new players.
I can't recall, but did Hoke or Harbaugh put the Wolverines through that level of transformation?
It would certainly be a longshot to upset Michigan this week, but I think anybody who bets the spread on any game either way on the Huskers this year is making a bad bet - everything's too unpredictable and in flux.
September 17th, 2018 at 5:11 PM ^
a husker lurker, probably even better than a husqvarna.
welcome. serious question: do you think martinez will play, and how do you think the game changes in either scenario?
September 17th, 2018 at 5:25 PM ^
No idea if he plays - but if he does it should make the game a lot more entertaining than watching a 3rd string walk-on. He practiced today but didnt run much I've heard.
September 18th, 2018 at 6:12 AM ^
I can't recall, but did Hoke or Harbaugh put the Wolverines through that level of transformation?
No, but Rich Rodriguez did and you saw the result. 3-9 in season one. He did improve and it's an enduring academic question whether he would've succeeded had he been given more time.
Frost does have the advantage of being an alum and understanding the culture. RR never "got us."
My question is does your fanbase have the patience for an overhaul?
September 17th, 2018 at 4:44 PM ^
Reading through this post bothers me as it seems we are afraid of Nebraska with Martinez. I think we cover -18 with Martinez.