FootballSaturday, September 21, 2018
6B

Breakdown: Michigan vs. Nebraska

By MAX MARCOVITCH 

Daily Sports Editor

Michigan opens up Big Ten 
play with a matchup against 
Nebraska that seemed far more 
intriguing a few weeks ago. The 
Cornhuskers (0-2) came from 
14 points down in their season 
opener 
against 
Colorado 
to 
take a 28-20 lead, then handed 
the game right back after true 
freshman quarterback Adrian 
Martinez left the game with a leg 
injury.
The 
next 
week, 
without 
Martinez, Nebraska fell to Troy 
— an embarassing loss on its face, 
but a slightly less embarassing 
defeat 
given 
the 
Trojans’ 
understated quality.
Still, the Wolverines (2-1) 
come into this game an 18-point 
favorite for a reason. Nebraska is 
on its first six-game losing streak 
since 1957, as the Scott Frost 
era has begun with a turbulent 
start. For the Cornhuskers, this 
game is a chance to right the 
ship (coaches have referenced 
“Rocky” in the run-up to this 
one). For Michigan, it’s the 
opening of a Big Ten season filled 
with pressure to perform. The 
Daily breaks down Saturday’s 
matchup:

Michigan’s pass offense vs. 
Nebraska’s defense

If Nebraska is going to win, 
it seems like two things need to 
go right. One of those requires 
the Cornhuskers’ defensive line 
taking advantage of Michigan’s 
inconsistent 
pass 
protection. 
Nebraska has 10 sacks in two 
games this season, the second-
highest per-game total of any 
team in the country. Though 
the Cornhuskers have plenty of 
questions, their front seven will 
pose a test for a unit that hasn’t 
been tested since the debacle at 
Notre Dame. If Nebraska can 
get 
junior 
quarterback 
Shea 
Patterson and co. into obvious 
passing downs, there’s reason to 
believe they’ll have some success.
Of course, that’s easier said 
than done.
Patterson has opened the 
season as well as any Michigan 
quarterback in quite some time, 
completing over 70 percent of 
his passes for 589 yards and six 
touchdowns. Patterson said this 
week he has “never been this 
comfortable in a system.” All of 

a sudden, external pleas have 
come to unleash the offense — to 
open up Patterson’s skillset and 
allow more than the present 22 
pass attempts per game.
Nebraska 
isn’t 
SMU 
or 
Western Michigan; this is a 
legitimate test to see whether 
strides have been made in the 
passing game since Sep. 1, 
or whether the recent run of 
success has been a mirage.

Advantage: Michigan

Michigan’s run offense vs. 
Nebraska’s defense

Michigan could have Brett 
Favre in his prime at quarterback 
and it wouldn’t run a full-on air 
raid attack. While the passing 
game has been the talk of the 
town, the Wolverines — who run 

the same percentage of running 
plays as they do passing plays — 
will continue to rely on balance.
This week, that comes with 
the caveat of health. Junior 
running backs Karan Higdon 
and 
Chris 
Evans 
are 
both 
recovering from injuries. Both 
have practiced this week. When 
asked 
whether 
they 
would 
play Saturday, Jay Harbaugh 
responded 
“that’s 
what 
we 
expect.” Against a formidable 
Big Ten foe, at a position of 
relatively scant depth, that’s 
an important development, if it 
holds true.
Nebraska 
has 
allowed 
a 
respectable 278 yards on the 
ground in two weeks. But Troy 
and Colorado didn’t possess the 
duo that Higdon and Evans can 
become when healthy.

Advantage: Michigan

Nebraska’s pass offense vs. 
Michigan’s defense

It 
looks 
like 
Nebraska 
quarterback Adrian Martinez 
will play, as he was upgraded 
from 
“questionable” 
to 
“probable” on Thursday. 
It may seem inconsequential to 
some whether the true freshman 
Martinez starts or if the nod goes 
to walk-on sophomore Andrew 
Bunch. 
But in an offense that relies 
heavily on its quarterback’s 
skillset, Martinez has the tools 
to be special. In his start this 
year against Colorado, he posted 
187 yards and a touchdown 
on 15-of-20 pass attempts, in 
addition to 15 carries for 117 
yards and two touchdowns on 

the ground. He was the offense. 
And when he left the game with 
a leg injury, the Cornhuskers 
held a 28-27 lead. He left, they 
lost, then lost against the next 
week to Troy with Martinez 
watching on.
Martinez will give Michigan 
a test in discipline similar to 
the one it faced against Brandon 
Wimbush 
in 
the 
opener. 
Wimbush kept the Wolverines’ 
defense honest with the threat 
of quarterback runs and ability 
to escape the pocket. On the run, 
Wimbush was able to effectively 

EVAN AARON/Daily
Junior running back Chris Evans and junior running back Karan Higdon are both expected to play in Michigan’s matchup with Nebraska after sustaining injuries last week.

For in-game updates
Follow @MikeDPersak, @ethanewolfe, 
@Max_Marcovitch and 
@MWCalcagno on Twitter during
Saturday’s game.

