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Michigan is traveling to Lincoln on Saturday for the first time since 2012 to face off against the Nebraska Cornhuskers — it’s only the third time ever the maize and blue have played in Lincoln. Michigan will try to get its first win at Memorial Stadium, it is 0-1-1 when playing there.
The Wolverines are undefeated and it’s the first time since 2016 that they can say they have started out the season 5-0. Outside of one-half of football against Rutgers, the maize and blue have been pretty dominant against every team in every game so far on the year.
Not the same can be said about the Cornhuskers, but they are a much-improved team since Week 0 when they lost to Illinois.
Nebraska is sitting at 3-3 on the year, and it is just 10 points from being 5-1. The Cornhuskers have lost tough last-minute games against Oklahoma and Michigan State in back-to-back weeks. What once seemed like a laughable program after the loss to the Fighting Illini now seems like a tough out, especially at night time in Lincoln.
The last time Michigan and Nebraska played each other was back in 2018 when the Wolverines absolutely destroyed the Cornhuskers, 56-10. It was a game where Michigan rushed for 206 yards as a team and the defense was stifling against an erratic Nebraska offense.
That game weighs heavily on coach Scott Frost and his players that played in that 2018 game in Ann Arbor. Frost believes this year’s Michigan team has a ton of similarities to that 2018 squad he faced.
“I thought they had a phenomenal team and that they were going to win the league after they went out there,” said Frost. “They kicked our butt and we were out-manned in probably nearly every position. We didn’t have much of a chance in that. They have another good team that’s very similar to that one. We get an opportunity to test ourselves against a really good team.”
Defensive end Ben Stille, who is one of the top defensive players that Nebraska has, talked about how that game affected him, and just how dominant the Wolverines were in 2018.
“I think that was the most physically defeated I have ever felt after a football game in my entire career here,” said Stille. “They were really big upfront they ran a lot of gap scheme they came downhill and physically I was not personally ready to be in that position yet.”
Quarterback Adrian Martinez also chimed in about that 2018 loss, but he believes that his team is in a much better position overall than they were then. Martinez believes his team is much more confident now than they were then, and that could bode well for the Cornhuskers.
“I remember us getting smacked,” said Martinez. “It was a rough game for myself and a rough game for the team. I know I only played a half of football. Different teams. We are in a much different spot as a program and as a unit on both sides of the ball here. We were physically outmatched. Our program and our team is in a different spot. Physically better. I feel very confident in the guys we have just top down.”
Scott Frost knows that this is a huge opportunity in front of his squad on Saturday. A win against a top-10 team in the nation on the big stage could really gain some respect to the Nebraska program. He believes that his team can do something special this year and it all starts against Michigan.
“We have talked about it,” said Frost. “Right now it feels like we are down to three two-game seasons. We have two more games here before the bye week. We have to do the best we can and then we will recover and then we have two and then we have another bye week. Rest and recover and then we have two. We still have the opportunity to do something really special this year against some really good opponents. We have to go compete. The guys do not have to be told about the opportunity that is there for them.”
Michigan ranks No. 15 in total defense and sixth in scoring defense only allowing 285.8 yards-per-game and allowing 12.8 points-per-game. Scott Frost talked a little bit about the Wolverine defense and how much havoc they cause.
“Those guys cause havoc,” said Frost. “They’re hard to block. You go to try and block them outside and then they beat you to the inside. They’re tough to protect against. One of their linebackers is really good too(Josh Ross). They’re good across the board but their edge guys are the guys that really create problems and plays for them.”
One thing that can help Nebraska on Saturday is its crowd. The Cornhuskers just had a night game last week against Northwestern and Frost is really hoping that the fans bring it again on Saturday night. He fully expects this to be a great atmosphere for the home team, but not so much for the away team.
“I thought Saturday, other than the Akron game that we did not play, was probably the best atmosphere I have seen,” said Frost. “I appreciate the fans for that. I think this one could be good or even better. We need noise. We need help. I hope the fans are as excited as we are.”
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