Michigan stifles Nebraska to win sixth-straight Big Ten opener

LINCOLN, Neb. — The Wolverines invaded Memorial Stadium Saturday with a true freshman quarterback, and without their head coach, but still exposed the Huskers on both sides of the ball.

With Sherrone Moore out serving a two-game suspension, Interim Coach Biff Poggi led Michigan to a thrilling 30-27 road win over Nebraska in front of a sold out crowd inside the Sea of Red. Poggi is proud of the team for starting out Big Ten play on a high note too. After all, it was the Wolverines’ fifth-straight victory over the Huskers, and also their sixth-straight in conference openers.

Michigan (3-1) set the tone from the start with a physical style of football. The Wolverines wanted to prove they belong with Bryce Underwood behind center. Poggi’s squad dominated in the trenches, made the necessary plays in the clutch, and once the smoke cleared, they were the ones who celebrated as time expired. Michigan was resilient, and responded well to adversity in a hostile environment.

“There was this narrative going around that we can’t win on the road, and that was a statement,” Poggi said. “A narrative of it’s a hard place to play, we’re not finishing those types of games, and I think a lot of that was a statement today.”

The No. 21 Wolverines drew first blood after they halted the Huskers’ initial drive with a fourth down stop, and responded with a 10-play drive that ended with a 46-yard field goal from Dominic Zvada. Within a blink of an eye, Michigan jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and silenced 87,278 fans after a failed field goal attempt by Nebraska, followed by a 37-yard touchdown run by Underwood.

The Wolverines were in control at the end of the first quarter, but the Huskers responded and scored 10 unanswered points to tie the game up. Quarterback Dylan Raiola had the crowd back into it, and put the pressure on the maize and blue. However, Michigan didn’t panic. Running back Justice Haynes exploded with a 75-yard touchdown run to put the Wolverines back on top.

Everything appeared to be under control for Poggi right before the end of the first half, when the Huskers pulled off the unthinkable. Raiola threw a Hail Mary towards the endzone as time expired, and wideout Jacory Barney hauled in the 52-yard touchdown pass between multiple Wolverine defenders. The explosive play shifted all of the momentum to Nebraska’s side with the game tied at 17 at halftime, and that frustrated Poggi.

“Sometimes those things happen, but what’s most important is how do you respond from them,” he said. “At halftime I called them up, and I told them I know it’s 17-17, but physically we’re beating the snot out of them, we’re turning this into a heavyweight fight, and it’s going to be to our advantage in the second half, and I think it was.”

Poggi made the halftime adjustments, and the Wolverines came out inspired for the second half. Michigan scored 10 unanswered points in the third quarter, including a 54-yard touchdown run by Jordan Marshall, and was in control up 27-17 on Nebraska. The Huskers were shutout in the third quarter. As the second half progressed, the Wolverines started to take over the game up front on both sides of the ball.

Michigan’s defense remained stingy against the run, and got constant pressure on Raiola. The Wolverines’ offensive line mauled the Blackshirts at the point of attack, and the offense put together a couple of long successful drives. Michigan even jumped out to a 30-20 lead in the fourth quarter after a 16-play drive, that took nearly nine minutes off the clock, and ended with Zvada’s third field goal on the afternoon.

Although the Huskers scored one last touchdown to pull within three in the final minutes of the contest, they couldn’t recover an onside kick to get the ball back. Underwood led the offense back out on the field in the victory formation, and it was a sight to see for Poggi because he knew the Wolverines delivered in the clutch in a hard-fought game, despite several mistakes.

“We’re on the road, we have a very young team believe it or not, so we’re going to get some of that,” the 66-year old said. “It is another huge learning experience from this game for our team, which they will take, and they will learn from, just like they did at Oklahoma.”

Michigan led Nebraska (3-1) in total offense, yards per play, and third down efficiency. Not to mention the Wolverines rushed for a jaw-dropping, 286 yards. It didn’t even matter that the Huskers ran 16 additional plays, led in time of possession and the Wolverines had seven fewer first downs.

Underwood put together a solid performance in his first Big Ten road game. He completed 12 of his 22 passes for 105 yards, and finished with 61 on the ground and a rushing score. Hayes generated a game-high, 149 rushing yards and a touchdown. The running back even averaged 8.8 yards per rush. Marshall added 80 yards on the ground and a touchdown. Wideout Donaven McCulley produced a team-high, 39 receiving yards. The offense racked up 391 yards, and averaged seven per play.

Michigan’s defense was tenacious, sacked Raiola seven times, and picked off a pass. Linebacker Ernest Hausmann tallied nine tackles, including one for loss and a sack. Defensive back Jayden Sanders added eight stops, and Cole Sullivan recorded the only interception for the defense. Zvada was clutch, and nailed all three of his field goal attempts, including a 56-yarder. Poggi understands how hard it is to win on the road in the Big Ten, and believes the Wolverines are starting to crack the surface of their potential.

It’s still a long season ahead, but the way Michigan continues to battle, gives Poggi high hopes for the remaining eight games on the schedule. Which is why he gives all of the credit to Moore for providing him with a great game plan over the past two weeks.

“I feel blessed, I feel so happy for Sherrone Moore because the building really rallied around him the last two weeks.”