Tag: Nebraska

Preview: Michigan vs. Nebraska

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE
Michigan is #15 in rushing (242.7 yards/game) and yards per carry (6.12). The revelation last week was QB Bryce Underwood’s legs when he ran 9 times for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. Running back Justice Haynes has 100+ yards in all three games this season and averages 7.92 yards per attempt so far. Backup RB Jordan Marshall (10 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD last week) had his best game and showed off some nice speed, though one long touchdown run was called back because of a hold. On the offensive line, Michigan will likely be without LG Giovanni El-Hadi but should get RG Brady Norton back from injury. Nebraska is #75 in rushing defense (136 yards allowed/game) and #84 in yards allowed per carry (4.04). Against the lone Power 4 team they played so far, they gave up 30 carries for 202 yards (6.7 yards/carry) to Cincinnati, including 13 carries for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns to QB Brendan Sorsby. Underwood is obviously a better athlete than Sorsby, so has Nebraska figured anything out? Will Michigan let Underwood run that much? It remains to be seen. Nebraska runs a 3-3-5 defense, so the base includes a good number of defensive backs, but their top five tacklers are all defensive backs. Senior safety DeShon Singleton (6’3″, 210) and redshirt freshman Rex Guthrie (6’1″, 200) lead the team with 12 tackles each. Former top-100 recruit Elijah Jeudy (6’3″, 300) starts at nose tackle after coming over from Alabama, and Missouri transfer Williams Nwaneri (6’7″, 265) is another former highly recruited player who starts on the defensive line. Michigan should be too big for Nebraska to handle up front, but the 3-3-5 can be tough against gap runs, because sometimes all those linebackers can get run-throughs when linemen pull.
Advantage: Michigan

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Michigan’s 10 Longest Plays vs. Nebraska

Michigan has now played Nebraska eleven times throughout history and has a 7-4 record against the Cornhuskers. They first played in 1962, but then did not play again until the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1985 season. Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. Jim Harbaugh went 4-0 against the ‘Huskers.

1. Justice Haynes 75-yard TD run (2025)
2. Steve Breaston 69-yard kickoff return (2005)
3. Donovan Peoples-Jones 60-yard punt return TD (2018)
4. Dylan McCaffrey 56-yard TD pass to Ronnie Bell (2018)
5. Jordan Marshall 54-yard TD run (2025)
6. Hassan Haskins 50-yard run (2021)
7. Cade McNamara 48-yard pass to Mike Sainristil (2021)
8. Denard Robinson 46-yard pass to Roy Roundtree (2011)
9. Karan Higdon 46-yard TD run (2018)
10. Karan Higdon 44-yard TD run (2018)

Hit the jump for videos of Haynes, Peoples-Jones, McCaffrey-to-Bell, Marshall, and Haskins.

Michigan 45, Nebraska 7

That was domination. More so than any other game this season, that felt like Michigan truly dominated the team across from them. Despite winning by 24+ points against every other team on the schedule, it seemed like Michigan had gone through some rough stretches, including being down early against Rutgers and struggling for a while with Bowling Green. But right from the start, it seemed like Michigan just had way too much for Nebraska to handle. The #2 rushing defense in the country gave up 249 yards rushing to the Wolverines at 4.9 yards per carry. Punter Tommy Doman was only needed once – other than holding on kicks – and boomed his 1 punt for 65 yards. The only thing preventing Michigan from having a 45-0 shutout was a late 74-yard run by Joshua Fleeks, who sliced through a bunch of backups. Credit to him and Nebraska for not giving up, but it was indeed a garbage time score.

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Preview: Michigan at Nebraska

RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE
Mighty Michigan is #50 in rushing offense (167.75 yards/game) but tied at #32 in yards per carry (4.97). The numbers aren’t atrocious, but they’re not where we expected them to be, either. With three starters returning up front and a couple solid transfers incoming, we wanted to see more. There has been some shuffling with La’Darius Henderson, Karsen Barnhart, and Myles Hinton going in and out of the lineup at tackle. Blake Corum has 351 yards and 8 touchdowns on 6.05 yards/carry so far, but backup Donovan Edwards is off to a slow start with just 3.3 yards/carry and no touchdowns so far this year. Meanwhile, Nebraska has the #2 rushing defense (46.3 yards allowed/game) and is allowing 1.83 yards/carry, which is also #2. They have adopted a 3-3-5 defense under new head coach Matt Rhule, and that 3-3-5 gave Michigan some issues last year when TCU ran it. Junior safety Isaac Gifford (6’1″, 205 lbs.) leads the team with 23 tackles, followed by senior safety Omar Brown (6’1″, 200) with 22 and junior linebacker John Bullock (6’0″, 220) with 22 also. Those rushing defense numbers are even more impressive when considering that the Cornhuskers are pretty average in tackles for loss (#55 overall), led by junior nose tackle Nash Hutmacher (6’4″, 330) with 3.5 TFLs so far. The Huskers have been consistent this year, not allowing any team to average more than 2.19 yards/carry in any game this year. I think Michigan is going to have some tough sledding on the ground.
Advantage: Nebraska

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Ernest Hausmann, Wolverine

Former Nebraska linebacker Ernest Hausmann has committed to Michigan as a transfer. Transfer offers are a little bit iffy to track, but he was offered by Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, and Virginia out of high school.

Hausmann is a 6’2″, 220 lb. player who made 54 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, and 1 sack while starting seven games as a true freshman for the Cornhuskers in 2022. Despite being offered by the Wolverines out of school, chose his “home state” team for a year instead; Hausmann was actually born in Uganda but was adopted and moved to be with his adoptive family when he was five years old.

High school rankings from 2022:

ESPN: 3-star, 78 grade, #24 ILB
On3: 4-star, 91 grade, #27 LB, #294 overall
Rivals: 3-star, 5.6 grade, #45 OLB
247 Sports: 3-star, 88 grade, #65 LB

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