WolvinLA2

November 4th, 2013 at 5:55 PM ^

I'll give you Akron, but both Penn State and UConn have very good defensive lines, both of which were discussed before our match ups with them.  Our problem with UConn was simply giving them the ball all the time (we moved it well when we kept it for ourselves) and our issue with PSU wasn't that we couldn't score, just that we couldn't run.  

Nebraska has let a lot of teams run all over them.  Not that I think we'll do that, just that we should be able to run it just enough to where they can't cheat on us like other teams have.  

Creedence Tapes

November 5th, 2013 at 12:39 AM ^

Nebraska is # 70 in total defense. UConn is #69, Penn State #57, Notre Dame 36, Central Michigan #92, Akron #72, Minnestota #53, Northwestern #80, Indiana #117, MSU # 1, Iowa # 13, Ohio # 38.

Of all of the remaining games, Iowa on the road scares me the most. We're going to beat Ohio at home, they've not faced a tough opponent all year. 

MikeCohodes

November 4th, 2013 at 4:19 PM ^

I'm glad I doublechecked before posting, I had just created an identical thread, but opened a 2nd window and saw it up.

Anyways - this bodes well for us, I feel way more confident about Saturday now. Nebraska's defense is swiss cheese, and now their offense is something we can more easily stop.

Soulfire21

November 4th, 2013 at 4:27 PM ^

That's a huge disappointment for Martinez's senior season, but this helps Michigan significantly.  I will be curious how much Michigan's -6.5 line moves this week.

Should be a repeat of 2011s 45-17 (or better) win with this news.  I say should, because, well -- we've all been watching this season.

DonAZ

November 4th, 2013 at 4:26 PM ^

This actually puts some pressure on Michigan.  Nebraska is not known for defense this year, so Michigan's offense should have some freedom to produce.  And without Martinez on the field then Michigan's defense should be able to contain and stop the Nebraska offense.

Michigan should be able to take care of business this Saturday.   Let's see if they do.

Hannibal.

November 4th, 2013 at 4:35 PM ^

I feel confident that this will be our last win of the season.  I'll lay the 7 points.  Nebraska's defense is the only unit that looks as poorly coached to me as our offense, and we have seen that our offense is capable of getting big plays and scoring points against bad defenses at home.  Their offense is pretty inconsistent and I think that they lost a starting guard against NW as well.  A loss to anyone wouldn't shock me at this point, but a repeat of the 2011 game wouldn't surprise me either.  I have been looking to this game since the beginning of the season as being very favorable, matchup-wise, for us.  I can say that the Nebraska fans that I know all expect us to win.  If you get into a conversation with a Nebraska fan about our football teams it is like a game of one-upsmanship to see who can be more gloomy and doomy. 

WolvinLA2

November 4th, 2013 at 5:59 PM ^

I know everyone was thrown for a loop against MSU, but the reality is they're a really good team right now, and the rest of our schedule save OSU is not.  I feel confident against Nebraska, Iowa and NW.  We might not win all three, but I would be less surprised with 3-0 over that span than anything else.  

WolvinLA2

November 4th, 2013 at 6:13 PM ^

Well I will not concede that Penn State is better than us.  We just screwed up more than they did that day (including missing 3 game winning FGs).  They earned the victory, but I don't think they beat us more than we beat them.  

And who said anything about the SEC?  I'm just saying we're better than Nebraska, Iowa and Northwestern.  

SituationSoap

November 5th, 2013 at 8:56 AM ^

PSU isn't better than us; we played them at night, in their house, in a game they were pumped up for and only lost in quadruple overtime after rolling snake eyes three straight times on game winning field goals. That's not something that happens when a team is clearly better than you.

 

MSU is clearly better than us. In fairness, MSU is probably one of the ten best football teams in the country right now. They've got a shot at being in the NCG conversation if they can knock off the Buckeyes in the BTCG (that's assuming that at least some of the teams currently undefeated lose a game, which may not be likely). 

 

MSU would be the second best team in the SEC West right now. They're probably the best team (or close to it) in the SEC East. It's not like their #1 defense (adjusted for strength of schedule) is some kind of accident. It's legit.

saveferris

November 5th, 2013 at 11:04 AM ^

MSU isn't going to knock off the Buckeyes in the BTCG.  The Buckeyes don't have near the problems we have on the offensive line.  MSU is not going to be in Ohio's backfield all day throwing Braxton Miller to the ground.  Conversely, while the Buckeye defense isn't world-beating, it's good enough to keep MSU in check.  Buckeyes win this game comfortably.

snarling wolverine

November 4th, 2013 at 4:39 PM ^

This is terrible for him but it's not necessarily a crippling blow for Nebraska.  His replacements have actually looked decent at times, especially Kellogg.  They'd probably still be better with Martinez but this isn't like going from Denard to Bellomy.

 

 

LSAClassOf2000

November 4th, 2013 at 4:38 PM ^

From the tone of the article and the list of injuries, it sounds like he might be out for a bit too. He does compete and that's a shame for him as well as Nebraska's offense. There was some speculation in a few other places actually that he may not be able to start for the remainder, but I admit that I don't know enough about the situation. That being said, that's a plus for us, I would say - I could be wrong, but it doesn't seem like there is a lot of experience behind Martinez.

saveferris

November 5th, 2013 at 11:07 AM ^

If we win out, it means we've knocked the Buckeyes out of the BCS title game picture and they are probably going to earn the B1G's slot in the Rose Bowl and then NOBODY else in the conference is getting into another BCS bowl game.

Nobody, not the pollsters, not the computers, respects the Big 10 right now.

EGD

November 4th, 2013 at 4:49 PM ^

I realize Nebraska isn't the juggernaut they once were, but I'm never going to see "Nebraska" on the schedule and think it's just another game.  This news is too bad for Martinez but I can't say I'm disappointed that he'll be on the sidelines--this is a big break for us, at a time when we can really use one.

BraveWolverine730

November 4th, 2013 at 4:52 PM ^

Considering Nebraska seems about as good as Minnesota, we should be able to handle Nebraska at home. Beyond that I have no clue if we'll win the road games and it'll take a 1969ish upset for us to beat Ohio State at home.