Nebraska-Michigan: A defensive philosophy tested

Previewing the Huskers-Wolverines matchup with three key numbers to hit for an NU win.

Courtesy Nebraska Athletics

Let’s go back to the end of the 2023 college football season. Nebraska had recently finished Matt Rhule’s first season in Lincoln 5-7, losing each of its final four games by a touchdown or less. Michigan had just finished three seasons of blunt-forcing and code-cracking its way back to the top of the sport, winning the national title.

Since then, the Wolverines have changed coaches, the Huskers have not, and both programs are 10-6 over their last 16 games. When the opening line for Saturday’s matchup in Lincoln was released, oddsmakers saw little difference between the two teams with Michigan starting as a 1.5-point favorite. The line has moved towards the blue, it was Michigan -2.5 on Wednesday, but that still leaves us in perceived tossup territory.

It's quite similar to where the Huskers found themselves last season at this juncture, 3-0 with a tough-but-winnable game at Memorial Stadium to open Big Ten play. Last year, Nebraska let a lead slip and fell in overtime to an Illinois team nobody knew was that good yet. Win that one and NU would’ve been off and running, likely on its way to a 6-0 start.

Can the Huskers maintain their early season momentum this time around? Doing so will have something to do with running, maybe a lot. Just a matter of which team’s doing it.

Let’s explore three keys for Nebraska (3-0) to get a win over No. 21 Michigan (2-1) to open conference play.