Another week, another Michigan football beat against a lesser opponent.
But this time, the Wolverines did not wait for the second half to get started.
Michigan (10-0) wasn’t perfect in the first half, kicking twice and running the clock oddly late in the second quarter, but went into the break by two touchdowns – their most big halftime lead in Big Ten play – and never looked back, rolling Nebraska, 34-3.
It’s the first time the Wolverines have started a 10-0 season since 2006.
“It’s a joyous, happy race we’re in,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said. “It’s a mission, but it’s a happy mission, not one that has anxiety or anger or some kind of fear. It’s a happy ride.”
For the seventh consecutive game, Blake Corum had over 100 rushing yards (he had 103 at halftime) and a score, this time he rushed for 162 yards and a touchdown on 28 carries.
AFTER:Michigan needs improvement from receiving corps despite Nebraska rout
AFTER:JJ McCarthy doesn’t think Michigan football’s offense “should be stopped”. Is that just bluster?
JJ McCarthy was far from his best, hitting just two of his first seven attempts and finishing the day 8 for 17, but netted a touchdown against Ronnie Bell midway through the second quarter, a rushed score at the end of the third and a final touchdown in the fourth – a 29-yard pass.
The Michigan defense again dominated, which was expected. Nebraska entered the game with backup quarterback Chubba Purdy after Casey Thompson’s transfer was ruled out on Thursday with a hand injury. But Purdy was knocked out midway through the second quarter after taking a hit when he slipped awkwardly for a first down.
The practice, which was completed by Logan Smothers at quarterback, gave the Huskers the only points of the game.
“We knew going into this game with the quarterback issues without (Thompson) out, the call to play would be a lot easier to help play to the strengths of (Purdy) and (Smothers)” , said defensive back Mike Sainristil. “We just knew that going there, the style of play calling wouldn’t be anything crazy.
“We just have to do a better job of starting fast and staying that way throughout the game.”
The offense goes to ground and pound
Michigan’s offense wasn’t exciting, but it was effective, running 49 carries for 264 yards. The Wolverines set the tone in their 12-game, 80-yard opener; they ran nine times (none of which gained more than 9 yards) and passed three times.
Corum had a catch for 4 yards, then six carries (Donovan Edwards also had two touches) before scoring his 17th touchdown of the season, which tied him with Anthony Thomas for fifth in a single season in the program. the story.
“I always go into every game wanting the ball, I want it as many times as they’re going to give it to me,” Corum said. “It ended where I had the ball a good number of times, so I’m happy.”
The next two drives lasted just seven games combined — McCarthy was 0 for 4 assists with a mixed sack — and Michigan returned to the floor.
After Nebraska failed to take the lead on Corum’s fifth inning of Michigan’s fourth drive, the fullback rebounded a rush to the outside right for a 12 gain to make it the first and aim. Michigan called play action, which resulted in Bell opening wide in the end zone for his first touchdown reception since Week 2 against Hawaii.
“That first one was really good,” Bell said. “Very well.”
Curiously, Wolverines took their time on the final practice of the half and settled for a field goal, entering the break with two of their three timeouts remaining.
“Yeah, that was, I was fighting,” Harbaugh said. “They had 12 men on the pitch, I could have just taken the penalty and that would have been first and 5, that would have been the way to do it, but Blake had six more yards of run and I declined so he got those six yards.
“But yeah, it definitely cost us a game because the clock kept ticking and I should have called a time out there.”
On the second drive of the second half, the Wolverines walked a 10-play, 65-yard drive, rushing the ball nine times. After Corum had back-to-back 7- and 10-yard runs to get down at the Nebraska 3, McCarthy kept the run designed around the left side for the walk-in touchdown, courtesy of a big block on Corum’s rim.
“I felt pretty big when I knocked him down,” Corum said. “Nice run from JJ, great blocking by the offensive line, but yeah, I hit that big boy on his butt.”
Four running backs touched the ball on the disc; Corum, CJ Stokes, Isaiah Gash and Tavierre Dunlap, but Donovan Edwards didn’t play that possession. He touched the ball twice in the first quarter, rushing for 13 yards and stood beside the coaches on the sidelines with a helmet, but did not enter the game in the last three quarters.
Corum didn’t enter the game in the fourth quarter, but Stokes showed flashes with straight streaks of 17, 15 and 14 to enter Nebraska territory. In the second and sixth, McCarthy found Bell on a crossing route who broke a tackle, stayed in bounds and climbed up the right sideline but fumbled the ball just before crossing the goal line.
Andrel Anthony collected the ball in the end zone as it headed out of bounds and was credited with the touchdown.
“It was crazy, I don’t really know what happened, but shout Drel,” Bell said with a laugh. “The fact that it was still a touchdown was worth it. So yeah man, huge play from him.”
Stokes finished with eight carries for 68 yards, a career high.
Defense dominates from start to finish
Nebraska gained 34 yards on its first drive, including 30 on a third and 6 through ball to one of the Big Ten’s top receivers, Trey Palmer. The Huskers also put together a 12-play, 47-yard drive shortly before halftime when Purdy was knocked out of the game.
Outside of those two efforts that yielded 81 yards, the Huskers only managed 60 more total yards. Michigan’s rushing defense, which entered Game 1 in the nation giving up under 73 rushing yards per game, maintained its status quo, giving up 75 yards on 29 carries (2.6 per attempt).
Anthony Grant, the Huskers’ leading rusher coming into play, was limited to just 22 yards on 11 carries.
Junior Colson led the team with six tackles and a sack. Mason Graham, a true freshman, also had a sack to go with a rushing quarterback and three tackles. Harbaugh admitted Graham and Kenneth Grant were two freshmen he hired that summer.
“He showed up at first practice and it was like ‘okay, it’s in shorts, let’s see that in the pads’ and right away in the pads, he was really good,” Harbaugh said. “He’s a hell of a player in a position you really need, defensive tackle.
“They were the two guys I was talking about in the summer who were a gift from the football gods.”
Purdy completed his first three passes of the day, but went 6-for-12 for 56 yards that day while Smothers went 4-for-8 and just 15 yards as the Huskers had just eight first downs in the daytime.
Michigan has completed its fourth second-half shutout in its last five games and has now beaten its opponents in those quarters, 117-3.
“Coach Minter and all the defensive staff do a great job when we come to halftime to make the necessary adjustments,” Sainristil said. “We don’t give anything to anyone in the second half, we just want to keep having shutouts in the second half.
“We know that in the second half it’s 0-0 and we want to win every half.”
Contact Tony Garcia at [email protected] Follow him on Twitter at @realtonygarcia.
#Michigan #football #strangles #Nebraska #stay #undefeated