Game Day Guide: Nebraska vs. Michigan
Nebraska opens Big Ten play against No. 21 Michigan at 2:30 p.m. CT in Memorial Stadium. Here's what you need to know.
Three Saturdays, three wins and now the calendar flips to the next challenge.
Nebraska opens Big Ten play against No. 21 Michigan at 2:30 p.m. CT in Memorial Stadium. It’s a stage big enough for nostalgia and proof. The 1995 national champions are in town. A ranked opponent is on the other sideline.
The standard doesn’t change but the stakes sure do.
Nebraska vs. Michigan
When: Saturday, Sept. 20 | 2:30 p.m. CT
Where: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln
TV: CBS (Brad Nessler, Gary Danielson, Jenny Dell)
Radio: Huskers Radio Network (Kyle Crooks, Damon Benning, Jessica Coody)
Streaming audio: Huskers.com / Official Huskers App
Records: Nebraska 3–0 (0–0 B1G); Michigan 2–1 (0–0 B1G)
Rankings: Nebraska RV/RV; Michigan AP-21/Coaches-20
Series: Michigan leads 8-4-1 (2-1-1 in Lincoln). Last meeting: Michigan 45–7 (2023).
A quick scene-setter: Nebraska just outscored Akron and Houston Christian by a combined 127–7, the first time since 2000 the Huskers have stacked 50-point wins back-to-back. The offense crossed 500 yards in consecutive games for the first time since 2021. The defense has yet to allow a pass play of 20+ yards, the only FBS unit that can say that this fall.
September’s been good so far, but Michigan is a different challenge.
Rhule on the moment (and the margin)
On honoring a standard that outlasts eras:
“What the '95 team was able to do, to win it the previous year and then come back and do it again—when you know everyone's aiming for you, everyone's gunning for you—to me, speaks to the beauty of the University of Nebraska.”
On where the work shows up and what still needs fixing:
“They weren’t giddy yesterday, they weren’t happy about some of the things… Obviously our kickoffs, we can’t keep kicking the ball out of bounds… Our goal to goal offense inside the ten… inside the five we’re six of our last nine. Three of them we haven’t scored… so we have to improve that.”
On Michigan’s identity:
“They’re based on the same core philosophies of they’re going to control the line of scrimmage and they’ve done that so far this year.”
Storylines to remember
Big Ten opener energy (minus the blur)
Nebraska is 6-8 in conference openers since joining the Big Ten and hasn’t won one since 2019 at Illinois. This is just the third time in nine seasons the conference opener is in Lincoln (the Huskers are 4-1 in Big Ten openers at home, for what it’s worth). If you’ve been waiting for a first real tell on how improved this team is, this is it.
Five-star collision course
Dylan Raiola’s efficiency has been the quiet backbone of September: 76% completions (72-for-94), eight touchdowns, no turnovers, full freedom to change protections and plays. He’s operating like a point guard who already sees the trap coming. On the other side is Bryce Underwood, a freshman with a first-step and an arm that forced the national pundits to go thesaurus-hunting last week.
The edge in experience is Raiola’s. The volatility-to-pop is Underwood’s. Should be fun.
Contain the quarterback run or pay for it
When Cincinnati’s Brendan Sorsby got loose in the opener, he put 96 rushing yards on the books. That’s the cautionary tale. Underwood is bigger, faster and surrounded by a top-15 rushing offense (242.7 ypg). Nebraska’s edge players can’t run past the spot, linebackers have to tackle on contact and safeties must take clean angles.
One missed fit turns a five-yard scrape into something much, much bigger.
“He’s a good player, very mobile, has a very strong arm,” safety Marques Buford said abut Underwood. “But it’s just all about us… if we play to our standard… it should be a good day for us.”
Wink versus the whiteboard
Michigan defensive coordinator Wink Martindale lives to show one thing pre-snap and another after. Nebraska’s counter is a quarterback who doesn’t just prep. He over-preps.
Rhule said if Raiola isn’t in class, he’s studying. After the Houston Christian game, Raiola texted a photo of a whiteboard mapped with notes.
Saturday is a test of how quickly Raiola can get the offense into the right call when everything shifts in front of him.
Special teams: leverage or liability?
Michigan’s return game is strong enough to alter field position by itself. Nebraska has been excellent at limiting explosive passes but kickoff miscues have lingered. Rhule didn’t hide it.
“We can’t keep kicking the ball out of bounds,” he said.
Expect eyes on placement, hang time and coverage lanes. Also watch for the likely first home appearance of freshman punter Archie Wilson.1
The trench math both ways
Michigan’s defense is allowing just 89 rushing yards per game. Nebraska’s answer can’t be stubbornness. It’s multiplicity: fast RPO decisions, quick game to the perimeter, inside zone married to constraint and a screen or two to punish overcommit.
On the other side, Nebraska’s front has been solid but this is the first offensive line that will lean on them for four quarters. The goal will be to win downs early and force Underwood to be perfect.
The Blackshirts’ no-fly zone
Nebraska leads the nation in passing yards allowed (66.0 ypg) and is the only FBS defense not to surrender a 20-yard completion this season. The completion rate allowed (50%) sits top-10 nationally. The context matters — the opponents aren’t Michigan — but things like leverage, eyes and communication travel week-to-week.
Keep those going and you make Underwood’s job a lot harder.
Momentum versus meaning
Michigan already owns a loss (to Oklahoma). Another one in September would demand a near-perfect run to reach the expanded playoff. That reality influences risk tolerance, like trick plays, QB run volume and fourth-down aggression. Don’t be surprised if the Wolverines press that gas.
Nebraska’s recent arc — five wins in six games dating back to last season — has been about control. Don’t give away possessions. Don’t give away short fields. Make a team earn it in 10–12 plays. That’s going to be tested on Saturday.
What the numbers say
Explosive prevention: Nebraska is the only FBS team yet to allow a 20-yard completion. If that holds, Michigan’s young QB has to stack 8–12 clean snaps per drive.
Top-10 balance: Nebraska sits top-10 nationally in scoring offense (49.0), total offense (545.0), and passing offense (366.3). The pass game is spreading touches — 17 different receivers through three weeks — which makes tendency-hunting hard.
900-win club: Two programs in the same rare fraternity — Michigan (1,014) and Nebraska (927). That makes things all the more interesting.
Health, availability, odds and ends
>> Rhule expects veteran defenders Malcolm Hartzog Jr. and Javin Wright to be available. He said both will play.
>> Nebraska has opened league play against Michigan once before in the Big Ten era (2018, in Ann Arbor). This is the fifth straight meeting where Michigan comes in ranked.
>> Also: keep an eye on red-zone efficiency. Rhule wants 70% touchdowns inside the 10, but he’s even more focused on finishing when inside the 5. Out of nine trips inside the 5, Nebraska has scored on six. Rhule called out the three that didn’t result in touchdowns.
If Nebraska keeps explosives capped, finishes drives and doesn’t blink on special teams, this becomes the kind of fourth-quarter game Memorial Stadium can influence. If Michigan’s run game sets the cadence and Underwood’s legs create extra downs, the margin for error shrinks. Either way, after three weeks of sharpening, here’s the proof-of-concept shot.
“We very much never want to make one game bigger than the other in terms of the football part of it,” Rhule said. “But… I don't want to minimize the excitement of having a ranked team come here for the first game. I'm excited about it.
“This is why you came to Nebraska."
Are his parents still in town?