ITA Master Class 

Kate Fahey, the 18th-ranked 
singles player in the country, 

made it to the semifinals 

of the Oracle ITA Masters 
 

Tournament this weekend.

» Page 3B

Ties that bind

Scott Frost and Jim 
Harbaugh both came back 
home to coach their alma 
maters, and they faced off in 
Ann Arbor on Saturday.
» Page 2B

Wolverines pummel Cornhuskers, 56-10

Josh Metellus knew it was 

over after the first series.

Already up a touchdown, 

the junior safety noticed 
something askew: Nebraska 
had lost its intensity. He 
could see it in the way the 
Cornhuskers’ receivers ran 
their routes and how he got 
blocked.

“After the first series when 

they went back out there, 
you knew they wanted to 
give up,” Metellus said. “You 
could just see it in their eyes. 
It’s something you feel, it’s 
not anything I can put into 
words.”

Metellus was proven right 

as No. 19 Michigan (1-0 Big 

Ten, 3-1 overall) drubbed 
Nebraska (0-1, 0-3), 56-10, to 
cruise through its Big Ten 
opener. The only sliver of hope 
the Cornhuskers had Saturday 
dwindled within seconds.

After a 32-yard pass on 

the game’s second play, 
quarterback Adrian Martinez 
looked to have a receiver open 
on a slant. But the paw of fifth-
year senior defensive tackle 
Lawrence Marshall deflected 
the pass into Metellus’ arms 
for his second interception in 
as many weeks.

“(Marshall) tipping that 

ball just made a bad play into a 
good play,” Metellus said.

On the ensuing drive, 

redshirt junior running back 
Karan Higdon scampered 46 
yards to set up Michigan’s 

first touchdown — a punch-in 
score for Ben Mason. It was 
one of three touchdowns for 
the sophomore fullback, who 
also lined up as tailback in the 
absence of junior Chris Evans.

It was at that point — just 

one score in — that Metellus 
noticed the game had 
changed.

“We knew they didn’t want 

to play,” Metellus said. “You 
could just tell the intensity 
was kind of flat. It just gives 
you that extra fuel like, ‘You 
just made somebody not want 
to play anymore.’ ”

Nebraska looked like they 

didn’t indeed. After a quick 
three-and-out, Higdon found 
an enormous hole to score 
untouched from 44 yards 
and extend the Wolverines’ 

lead to 14-0. Returning from 
injury, Higdon finished with 
136 yards on 12 attempts — all 
in the first half. His success 
made for another light day 
for junior quarterback Shea 
Patterson, who was again 
highly-accurate with 120 
yards on 15-of-22 passing.

“Karan, I mean, he was 

ready to go,” said coach Jim 
Harbaugh. “He was ready to 
play, you could see it from 
really before the game. It was 
great to have him back.”

Nebraska was out-played on 

offense, too.

Michigan’s defensive 

line was so dominant that 
Martinez seldom had a 
chance to make a play. The 
Wolverines collected four 
sacks and 14 tackles-for-loss, 

adding up to 65 yards lost 
on those plays. Michigan 
domineered the Cornhuskers 
physically and schematically.

“The discipline (by the 

defense) in the run game was 
evident today,” Harbaugh 
said. “They didn’t run by 
the quarterback, they didn’t 
let the quarterback get out 
scrambling and the rush lanes 
were really condensed. And 
they were on the quarterback 
fast. It was good to see all 
those guys play well up front.”

Zach Gentry put the game 

further out of reach during 
the second quarter. After a 
five-yard touchdown catch, 
the redshirt junior tight end 
put his palms up in subdued 
celebration and stared blankly 
into the crowd. He was 

seemingly asking the question 
on everyone’s mind: “It’s this 
easy?”

It was easy because the 

Cornhuskers have a litany of 
issues. That much is wildly 
apparent a month into the 
Scott Frost era. But the 
Wolverines dominated from 
start to finish nonetheless, 
and that has them feeling 
confident after three straight 
wins.

“It’s starting to feel like 

(2016),” said junior guard 
Ben Bredeson. “There’s a big 
maturity jump and people are 
starting to feel it. … We want 
to be that intimidating team 
that we were in ’16. When we 
rolled down the tunnel, people 
would fear us. So we’re getting 
back to that stature.”

MARK CALCAGNO

Daily Sports Editor

The Michigan Daily | michigandaily.com | September 24, 2018
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