Game Day Guide: What you need to know for Nebraska-Michigan

Another game day is here and this one won't be an easy matchup for the Huskers. What do you need to know ahead of Nebraska-Michigan?

Courtesy of Nebraska Athletics

Good morning. It’s game day. If you’re planning to be at the game in Lincoln, bring sunscreen. It’s summer again.

As for the game itself, let’s talk, shall we?

Nebraska (2-2, 0-1 B1G) is set to face Michigan (4-0, 1-0 B1G), and there are a few unknowns for the Huskers heading into the matchup with the Wolverines. 

First, who will start at quarterback for Nebraska? Coach Matt Rhule said on Thursday that Jeff Sims isn’t 100% yet — the full quote is below — and that Heinrich Haarberg has looked good in practice. Does that mean Haarberg is the guy for the third week in a row? We’ll likely start to hear rumblings of what will happen in the morning, but official word will come on the big screen pre-game.

Second, what about the injuries on defense? Linebacker Luke Reimer — who exited the matchup against Louisiana Tech with an undisclosed injury — is set to play on Saturday. Rhule confirmed as much on Thursday. As for defensive lineman Cameron Lenhardt, we likely won’t know until the availability report drops later today. He’s missed two games with an ankle injury. 

With that said, Lenhardt did surprise defensive coordinator Tony White at practice this week.

"I thought he was going to be limping around in a jersey but he was out there running around,” White said on Tuesday. “I screamed at him . . . because he did something inside and he was supposed to go outside. I was like, 'Dang, you're out here? Cool. Let's go.'"

Injuries aside, Nebraska will have its hands full against Michigan on Saturday. The Wolverines — who are ranked second in both the AP and the coaches polls — impresses on both sides of the ball. Michigan currently leads the nation in scoring defense, allowing just 5.8 points per game, and is third in total defense, allowing just 231 yards per game. On offense, Michigan is completing better than 77% of its attempts.

As for Nebraska, fans know at this point that the defense will hang tough. It’s the offense that brings the most questions. What is Michigan expecting? Coach Jim Harbaugh weighed in earlier this week.

“It will be a game of blocking, tackling, focusing on fundamentals, reads,” Harbaugh said. “Getting off blocks, defeating blocks, playing assignment, being in the right alignment, being in the right technique.

“A lot of focus on real football.”

Settle in (and don’t forget your sunscreen). No one wants to get burned by this one.

(Also, subscribers — Keep an eye out for a game day chat. I plan to create the chat around 12:30 p.m. CT, and will share updates from game day there and will take your questions throughout the day.)

Nebraska versus Michigan: Everything you need to know for game day

TV Channel: FOX (Jason Benetti, Brock Huard, Allison Williams)

Date: Saturday, Sept. 30

Time: 2:30 p.m. CT

(Note: FOX has said that it WILL switch to Nebraska-Michigan at kickoff even if Colorado-USC — which is scheduled for 11 a.m. CT — goes long.)

Live Stream: FoxSports.com (with TV provider)

Radio: Nebraska fans can listen to the game on the Huskers Radio Network. Internet radio, as well as a Spanish broadcast, will be available at Huskers.com.

Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska

Weather: Intervals of clouds and sunshine with near record high temperatures. High near 95 degrees. Winds S at 15 to 25 mph.

Line: Michigan -17

Over/Under: 39

Notable quotes

Coach Matt Rhule on Nebraska’s quarterback situation:

“Both guys have practiced all week. I wouldn’t say Jeff (Sims) is 100%. You know, Heinrich (Haarberg) looks good. How much can he completely open up to all those things? I don’t know what they will know until game time, but there’s been no restrictions on him. They’re both trying to get ready for practice tomorrow and we’ll be ready to probably use either one of them or both of them as needed.” 

Defensive coordinator Tony White on Nebraska’s physical practices:

"The crazy thing is that's what we do, period, regardless of opponent. We want to set a standard of how we play, how physical we are regardless of who shows up. I think if we hold ourselves to that standard the game will take care of itself. Right now we're concentrating on us right now."

Other games we’re watching today

(All games in CT)

Erin

Morning - No. 6 Penn State at Northwestern, 11 a.m., Big Ten Network

The one week I want to pick a Colorado matchup and Brandon takes the pick . . . Well, let’s go Big Ten then. Apparently Penn State coach James Franklin shows his team footage of upsets in college football, so let’s just say the Nittany Lions aren’t leaving it to chance with the Wildcats. Think Franklin showed Northwestern’s upset of Minnesota this week? Had to, right? Anyway, those upsets are also what apparently keeps Franklin up at night but he shouldn’t worry much this week. Penn State should stay undefeated. (Apologies if I jinxed anything.)

Afternoon - No. 1 Georgia at Auburn, 2:30 p.m., CBS

This is just a good ol’ fashioned football rivalry, which I like. While Georgia has dominated this rivalry in recent years, I’ll still keep an eye on it while sitting at Memorial Stadium. Why not, you know? Auburn’s defense is ranked in the top 30 nationally, and sixth nationally in red zone defense. I don’t suspect the Tigers take this one, but the defense should at least do its job (until it gets tired, of course).

Evening - No. 11 Notre Dame at No. 17 Duke, 6:30 p.m., ABC

I love that Duke is getting College GameDay for the first time ever. That’s fun. As for the game itself, we’ll see how fun it is. Notre Dame is likely looking to make up for its loss to Ohio State last week, which is always a dangerous thing. Duke should make things interesting — especially with its receivers — but Notre Dame is probably good enough to hold off the upset. If I’m wrong though, I won’t be upset at all.

Brandon

Morning - No. 8 USC at Colorado, 11 a.m., FOX

Guess where Fox’s “Big Noon Kickoff” show is headed this week. That’s right, it’s at the Colorado game for the fifth straight week (which meant bouncing Penn State-Illinois out of the spot in Week 3). The Buffs were violently brought back to Earth at Oregon last week, and USC (-21.5) is expected to bury CU this week. The Trojans will put up huge numbers offensively in this game, but Colorado will probably move the ball as well. This might feel like watching a tennis match on 2x speed, which seems like a good enough way to start the day (particularly if you’re watching Michigan-Nebraska next).

Afternoon - No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas, 2:30 p.m., ABC

Kansas got its proof of concept under Lance Leipold late in his first season (2-10) with a 57-56 win in 2021 as 31-point underdogs. Prior to that game, the Jayhawks were outscored by an average of 27.7 points. Since, they’re outscoring opponents by 2.7 points per game and have started this season 4-0. It’s a strong enough test that we’ll learn a little more about Texas (-16).

Evening - Iowa State at No. 14 Oklahoma, 6 p.m., FS1

If it wasn’t on the Pac-12 Network, and thus barely televised at all, I might go Arizona-Washington here, but choosing Oklahoma (-20) helps me complete a project. The Sooners’ defense is dynamite, but the offense looked shaky against the two decent teams it has faced. Meanwhile, Iowa State rebounded as much as it could from a loss to Ohio by beating Oklahoma State last week. As for the project, I’m calling it Compare-and-Contrast Saturday. All three games here feature at least one coaching staff relatively early in its tenure–Year 2 Lincoln Riley v. Year 1 Deion Sanders, Year 3 Lance Leipold v. Year 3 Steve Sarkisian and Year 2 Brent Venables in the nightcap. Minus middle-stage Matt Campbell and Sanders, the rest of the teams could all serve as an example of where Nebraska’s trying to get to in the seasons ahead. In fact, if you want to play a fun game before the games, which future would you choose for the Huskers right now if they could just, poof, become one of these teams (but still be Nebraska)–Year 2 USC, Year 3 Kansas, Year 3 Texas or Year 2 Oklahoma? I’ll put my pick in the comments.