Analyst predictions for Michigan vs. Nebraska
The Michigan Wolverines are just hours away from taking the field in Lincoln for a primetime showdown with the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Michigan currently sits as 2.5 point favorite according to FanDuel. At the start of the season, many believed last week’s game at Wisconsin would be the game that would determine how good Michigan is. After a 1-3 start for the Badgers and Nebraska playing much better football as of late, it seems like tonight’s game will be the bigger test. Let’s take a look at what the experts predictions for the game are:
It might be time to embrace the possibility that Nebraska is the second-best team in the Big Ten West. That seemed impossible after their Week 0 meltdown in the loss to Illinois, but the Cornhuskers gave both Oklahoma and Michigan State a serious run for their money on the road and won their other three games (Fordham, Buffalo and Northwestern) by a combined score of 136-17.
Of particular note in advance of this showdown with Michigan, Nebraska has allowed just three rushing touchdowns all season and has limited its two most recent Big Ten foes to 56 carries for 108 yards. Meanwhile, Michigan’s once-dominant rushing attack has tapered off considerably as of late, held below 3.0 yards per carry by both Rutgers and Wisconsin.
If that mutual recent trend continues, there could be a major upset brewing in Lincoln.
Michigan has held all five of its opponents to 17 points or fewer, but we’re also talking about five offenses that rank outside of the top 60 in the country in total yards per game. With Adrian Martinez playing as well as he has been over the past five weeks, this is going to be the stiffest resistance Michigan’s defense has faced thus far.
Head coach Scott Frost will finally get a big W with the Huskers.
Michigan is back on the road after taking down Wisconsin 38-17 last week in Madison, Wis. A staunch Wolverines run game ranks seventh in the nation, churning out 255.0 yards per game. A balanced defense has held foes to just 12.8 points per contest.
Nebraska is coming off a big win of its own. The Cornhuskers throttled the Northwestern Wildcats 56-7 and snapped a two-game losing skid in the process. The ‘Huskers had 657 total yards in the victory, and their 503.7 total yards per game ranks second in the conference.
Cade McNamara has stabilized the quarterback spot, and with the Cornhuskers still looking for a bit of an identity – even with the dual threat of Adrian Martinez– this feels like another game for Michigan to get ready for their big three on the schedule (Michigan State, Penn State, Ohio State).”