Huskers Look to Bounce Back Vs No. 19 Michigan

Coming off a humbling loss at home to Troy last weekend, the Nebraska Cornhuskers look to finally break into the win column when they visit Big Ten rival Michigan on Saturday afternoon in Ann Arbor. Despite holding the visiting Trojans to eight first downs, Nebraska fell to 0-2 on the campaign with a 24-19 loss to the Sun Belt foe, marking the first time since 1957 that the Huskers have lost their first two games of a season. Michigan wasn’t impressive last week either, beating SMU 45-20 but failing to cover as a 35-point favorite. Still, the 2-1 Wolverines maintained their No. 19 ranking in the latest Associated Press college football poll. 

Nebraska vs Michigan Game Center

FROST, HUSKERS MOTIVATED TO REBOUND

We’re just a couple of games into the Scott Frost era in Lincoln, but it’s already clear that the new coach has a bigger rebuilding project on his hands than many might have thought. Frost, who led Central Florida to an undefeated season last year before signing a seven-year, $35-million deal to return to his alma mater, is off to an 0-2 start as Cornhuskers coach. What’s worse, both of those losses came as a home favorite, including last week’s 24-19 defeat to Troy that may just qualify as rock-bottom for the Nebraska program.

Frost reportedly apologized to his team after the loss for not having them better prepared, but also challenged them to turn things around. “When things get tough like this, you have two choices: You fight back and you work even harder, or you give up,” Frost told reporters. “If anybody doesn’t want to stay on board with this ride with us, let me know now and get off. Because I know where this is going. We just haven’t had the results early.”

WITH GROUND GAME STILL STRUGGLING, MICHIGAN MAY TURN TO THE AIR

Establishing a ground attack was one of Michigan’s biggest struggles last year (48th in the nation in rushing yards per game), and those struggles have continued so far in 2018. The Wolverines are 60th in rushing yards per contest through three games, and those numbers would look far worse if it wasn’t for their 308 yards on the ground in Week 2 against overmatched Western Michigan. Last week against winless SMU, the Wolverines had to run six plays from inside the Mustangs’ 10-yard line before finally breaking through for their first score of the game, and they averaged just 2.8 yards per rush in the Sportsbook half.

With the run game continuing to sputter, calls have gotten louder and louder for coach Jim Harbaugh to finally loosen the reins on star transfer QB Shea Patterson. The junior has handled limited responsibilities very well so far for Michigan, completing 70.8 percent of his passes and averaging more than nine yards per attempt. With Nebraska’s defense excelling at shutting down the run (18th in the country) but struggling against the pass (80th), don’t be surprised to see Michigan go to the air more than usual in this one.

I’M TAKING THE POINTS WITH NEBRASKA

Betting on the Cornhuskers hasn’t been good for the wallet of late, with Nebraska covering just one of its last six outings. But this is a proud program with a rich tradition, and I’m expecting them to play with a lot of passion in this spot. One of the best times to bet on a team is when everyone else has written them off, and Frost’s post-game speech should inspire his troops to bring their best effort to Ann Arbor.

While Nebraska’s stock may be at an all-time low, Michigan seems like an extremely overvalued commodity. The Wolverines don’t have the running game that can protect a lead, they’ve committed the 13th-most penalties in the nation, and they’ve shown a tendency to let down after comfortable victories (2-8 ATS in their last 10 games following a win by 20 points or more). Michigan’s players saw Nebraska lose last weekend at home to Troy, and I can see the Wolverines taking their visitors a bit too lightly this week. Nebraska may not have enough to pull off the outright upset, but I think they keep it closer than people expect.