The Michigan Wolverines had their second road test of the season on Saturday, and they came away with a big 30-27 win and are now 3-1 overall and 1-0 in the Big Ten. There were ups and downs in this game, but in the end, a win is a win.
Here are three winners and three losers from Michigan’s win on Saturday.
Michigan’s linebackers had a huge impact in this game. Cole Sullivan came up huge with an interception and made six total tackles, while Ernest Hausmann (nine tackles) and Jimmy Rolder (five tackles) each sacked Dylan Raiola. The coaching staff talked about the depth and experience at the position this season, and that showed up big in this game.
Two-minute game management — Loser
The Wolverines had a huge play by Justice Haynes to put them up by a touchdown with less than two minutes left to play in the first half. The defense wasn’t able to get the Cornhuskers off the field, and Michigan could have opted to burn some timeouts to keep more time on the clock. Instead, Bigg Poggi let Matt Rhule set up a last-second Hail Mary attempt, which resulted in a touchdown at the end of the half to tie the score, 17-17. There’s room for improvement in a scenario like this moving forward.
Michigan’s defense got to Raiola again, and again, and again. That part of the defensive game plan was firing on all cylinders for the Wolverines, as they had seven total sacks in the game. The pass rush was dominant from start to finish in this one and played a major impact in Michigan leaving Nebraska with a win.
Max Bredeson is a huge part of Michigan’s offense when it comes to blocking, but the Wolverines need the tight ends to help get their passing game going. Hogan Hansen was out due to injury, and Bryce Underwood didn’t find Marlin Klein (two catches, 21 yards) until early in the second half. Zach Marshall had just one catch for six yards. The Wolverines haven’t gotten enough out of the tight ends this season, so it’d be nice to see more positive plays from the position in the future.
Michigan had a ton of success on the ground, ending with 286 rushing yards. Bryce Underwood got into the end zone on a 37-yard touchdown, while Haynes tacked on another 75-yard touchdown and Jordan Marshall scored on a 54-yard run. Utilizing Underwood’s legs has definitely opened things up for the running backs, and that led to a big day on the ground on Saturday.
Short-yardage play calling — Loser
If you read the Roundtable this week, you know I owned up to the fact I was wrong about Underwood and that the coaches don’t need to coddle him. I also said Michigan should use its entire playbook with the young quarterback — that includes giving the ball to your running backs in short yardage situations.
It didn’t feel like Michigan dialed up the right plays on third down in this one, as it finished just 4-of-12 on third down. It’s likely a combination of the play itself and the lack of execution at times, but this is still an area where they can definitely improve moving forward.
We know the team wins and loses together, but who would you say won the day, and who could use some improvement heading into next week? Let us know in the comments!