+10
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Michigan looked to have its game versus Nebraska well in hand as the third quarter neared its end. However, a cleverly designed triple-option play in which quarterback Taylor Martinez handed off to tailback Rex Burkhead, who then pitched the ball to a trailing Ameer Abdullah, resulted in a touchdown that drew the Cornhuskers to a two-touchdown deficit.
The Wolverines lead the Cornhuskers 31-17 after three quarters of play in Ann Arbor.
Michigan scored two touchdowns in the third quarter. After Nebraska fumbled the second-half opening kickoff, the Wolverines ran off an eight-play drive completed by a one-yard scoring run by Denard Robinson to extend the lead to 24-10.
The Wolverines’ special teams made another big play on the following possession by Nebraska, blocking a punt by Brett Maher and recovering the ball at the 50-yard line. Five plays later, Michigan moved the ball to the Nebraska 6-yard line.
It looked like Michigan would have to settle for a field goal after failing to covert a 3rd-and-1. But the Wolverines called a fake field goal and Drew Dileo ran for five yards and a first down. On the next play, Robinson rushed for a one-yard touchdown and a 31-10 lead.
But Nebraska’s score just before the end of the quarter kept them in the game, but a two-touchdown lead looks pretty strong for Michigan as the fourth quarter begins. The Wolverines have the ball as the final 15 minutes begin.
Michigan fans have to be happy with the effort of their team’s defense in the first half against Nebraska.
The Cornhuskers have accumulated only 125 yards of total offense and 60 yards rushing against a strong Wolverines defensive effort. Nebraska only got five first downs in the first half and was 0-for-5 on third down.
Quarterback Taylor Martinez hasn’t had much room to run against Michigan’s front seven, along with well-timed blitzes called by defensive coordinator Greg Mattison. Overall, Martinez has rushed for 35 yards on eight carries. Perhaps more impressive is holding Rex Burkhead – who ran over the Michigan State defense a few weeks ago – to only four yards on four carries.
Michigan’s secondary has also done a nice job covering downfield, giving Martinez nowhere to throw the football. He’s completed 3-of-7 passes for 65 yards and a touchdown. But 54 of those yards came on one play, a 54-yard scoring pass to Brandon Kinnie that cut the Wolverines’ lead to 10-7 late in the first quarter.
On the offensive side, Denard Robinson has moved the ball effectively against the Nebraska defense. Robinson has struggled a bit in the passing game, due largely to excellent coverage by the Cornhuskers’ secondary. In the first half, he completed 6-of-11 passes for 98 yards and a touchdown, along with one interception.
Robinson has been more of a threat running the ball, as offensive coordinator Al Borges has called for more designed option runs. But perhaps more encouraging is that Robinson has tucked the ball in and run on several plays when he had no open receivers to throw to. Overall, he’s rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries. Fitzgerald Toussaint has added 51 yards on 13 carries.
Nebraska will get the ball to begin the second half.
A 42-yard Brandon Gibbons field goal is the difference between Michigan and Nebraska after the first quarter in Ann Arbor.
Gibbons’ field goal — a career-long kick for him — capped off what initially looked like another touchdown drive for the Wolverines, who were moving the ball well on the ground. But Nebraska had excellent coverage on a pass play, and Denard Robinson was sacked while trying to find an open receiver, moving the ball back to the Cornhuskers’ 25-yard line.
Robinson has been a dual threat thus far, completing 4-of-7 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown. The score came on a six-yard pass to Jeremy Gallon. Robinson has also rushed for 44 yards on six carries. Perhaps most encouraging is that he’s run on a couple of plays when no receiver was open.
Nebraska cut Michigan’s 10-0 lead to 10-7 late in the quarter on a 54-yard touchdown pass from Taylor Martinez to tight end Brandon Kinnie. Play-action drew in the safeties and linebackers, leaving Kinnie in single coverage. The much bigger Kinnie mowed over cornerback J.T. Floyd and he trotted in for an easy score.
Michigan has the ball to begin the second quarter, starting from their 23-yard line.
With kickoff set for just after noon, apparently the Big House was having some power issues.
According to Larry Lage of the Associated Press, the videoboards and everything that needed power was knocked out just an hour or so before honoring former coach Lloyd Carr and the subsequent kickoff.
That will not prevent things from carrying on as scheduled, though:
@freepwolverines
Freep Wolverines Despite power issues at stadium, game will kick off as scheduled at 12:03 p.m.
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In addition to No. 18 Michigan taking on No. 16 Nebraska, every other Big Ten team plays on Saturday. While the U-M/Nebraska game is definitely the conference's headliner, there are a couple other interesting match ups, including No. 21 Penn State vs. Ohio State.
As it's very well known, both the PSU and OSU programs are in turmoil, the Nittany Lions in the middle of a child molestation scandal and the Buckeyes recovering from the players' tats-for-cash scandal. When these teams played last year, both had the most winningest active coaches in college football and now, Tressel and Paterno having been fired, both have two of the least winningest coaches in college football.
Ohio State is coming off of a heartbreaking 26-23 loss to Purdue after missing the game-winning extra point in regulation. Penn State lost 17-14 to Nebraska last week. Today's game is at 3:30 p.m. EST and it will be airing on ESPN/ABC in select regions.
Here's the rest of the Big Ten schedule for today:
*Michigan State can clinch a trip to the conference's first championship game with a win.
The Big Ten Legends Division is up for grabs as Michigan and Nebraska play what amounts to an elimination game in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines need victories over Nebraska and Ohio State, plus a pair of losses by Michigan State, in order to reach the Big Ten championship game. Nebraska needs two victories, but only one loss by the Spartans. More likely, the winner of this game has the inside track to a possible at-large BCS berth if they can finish 10-2 overall.
Game date, time: Saturday, Nov. 19, 2011, 12 p.m. ET
Location: Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor, MI
TV channel: ESPN
Spread: Michigan favored by 3.5
Series history: Nebraska leads, 3-2-1
For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit the Michigan Wolverines blog Maize N Brew and the Nebraska Cornhuskers blog Corn Nation. Here’s the complete Week 12 college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.
Michigan State currently leads the Big Ten's Legends Division. The Spartans are the only Legends Division team with one conference loss, and they control their own destiny. If Michigan State beats Indiana on Saturday and Northwestern next week, it will represent the Legends Division in the first ever Big Ten title game.
Even if the Spartans drop one of their final two games, they could still make it to the Big Ten title game. The only two-loss teams in the Legends Division right now are Michigan and Nebraska. MSU holds the head-to-head tiebreaker against Michigan, but not against Nebraska. If both the Spartans and Cornhuskers finish with two conference losses, for example, Nebraska would get the nod.
Before Saturday's game between Michigan and Nebraska kicks off, two special events are set to take place. One of them is part "Military Appreciation Day," which will involve the military being honored by fans and there being a pregame card stunt. The other special event will see former Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr be honored.
Additionally, a pregame ceremony will be held to honor retired Michigan head football coach Lloyd Carr (1995-2007), who will be inducted into the National Football Foundation and College Football Hall of Fame on Dec. 6.
It will be interesting to see what kind of reception Carr gets because of what was written in Three and Out, the book about the Rich Rodriguez era written by John U. Bacon. In the book, there are a number of things written about Carr's actions before and after Rich Rodriguez was hired, and some of the things he allegedly did (or didn't do, in some cases) make it seem like he played a hand in trying to sabotage Rodriguez's tenure as coach. (Carr declined multiple requests to be interviewed for the book, so his side of the story wasn't shared.)
I would imagine Carr will be cheered, but it wouldn't surprise me if there are some boos as well given what was written in the book. Personally, I am not going to cheer or boo Carr on Saturday. He has done too much for Michigan to be booed, but it's impossible for me to cheer him after reading Three and Out.
To keep their hopes of a trip to a BCS Bowl alive, the Michigan Wolverines will need to beat the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Both teams sit at 8-2, and though Michigan is essentially out of the Legends Division race aside from some trap-game hopes in regards to Michigan State, the bowl games are the new aspirations for the Wolverines. Nebraska is in the same situation at this point - needing to get past Michigan to keep their hopes of a title game alive.
SB Nation's odds partner OddsShark has Michigan favored in this one, at -176, with Nebraska drawing a line of +159. The opening line made the Wolverines 2.5-point favorites, and MIchigan has been 7-3 ATS against the number, while the Cornhuskers are 3-6-1 ATS this season.
The game preview goes on to list some numbers that reflect the narrow margin: Michigan's pasing attack averaging 190.2 yards per game, while Nebraska's pass defense is giving up a very similar 190.7 yards per game. The Cornhuskers have the league's No. 55-rated road run defense, while Michigan has the No. 7 rushing offense at home. For more on their preview, go here.
Although Michigan is essentially eliminated from the Legends Division race since Michigan State would have to lose to both Indiana and Northwestern, the Wolverines are still playing for positioning with their bowl game. They currently have an 8-2 record, and with games against Nebraska and Ohio State at home to close out the season, Michigan has a great chance to play its way into an at-large berth in a BCS game.
To even have a chance at a BCS game, Michigan first has to beat Nebraska. The Cornhuskers come to Ann Arbor on Saturday in a similar situation. They need help to end up in the Big Ten title game, but even if Indianapolis isn't in the cards, Nebraska could have a shot at an at-large bid if it wins against Michigan and Iowa to close out the season.
Saturday will serve as the first meeting between the Wolverines and Cornhuskers since the 2005 Alamo Bowl. That game is remembered best for the controversial final play in which Michigan almost pulled off a miracle touchdown thanks to a set of laterals. It came up short in the end and saw players from both teams running onto the field from the sidelines before the play was over, making for a wild scene in San Antonio.
Saturday's game in Ann Arbor is set for a noon start. ESPN will handle the broadcast.
Michigan Vs. Nebraska Final Score: Wolverines Dominate In 45-17 Win
Eleven games into the season, the Michigan Wolverines put together the type of performance that Brady Hoke and his coaching staff has surely wanted to see all year long.
Michigan dominated on both sides of the ball, a dual effort that resulted in a surprisingly dominating 45-17 win over Nebraska at Michigan Stadium on Saturday.
Denard Robinson threw for two touchdowns and ran for another pair, while racking up 263 yards of total offense. Michigan’s quarterback looked like the sort of double threat that many hoped he could be all season. Overall, Robinson completed 11-of-18 passes for 179 yards, while throwing an interception in the second quarter. He also rushed for 84 yards on 23 carries, which was important against strong Nebraska pass coverage.
The Wolverines moved the ball well on the ground, too. Fitzgerald Toussaint continued his breakout season, rushing for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 24 carries. Several times, Toussaint made Nebraska defenders look silly with sharp cuts to change direction. He also showed strong balance, staying upright after taking some hard hits.
But the most impressive aspect of Michigan’s win was the performance of its defense.
Quoting Lou Holtz is probably never a good way to go, but as he said during halftime of the ESPN telecast, if Rich Rodriguez had this kind of defense, he’d still be the head coach of Michigan. Of course, he never came close to putting together a good defensive staff or roster, which is one of the major reasons he’s an analyst for CBS College Sports this year.
Greg Mattison’s defensive game plan worked wonderfully against the Nebraska offense, with well-timed blitzes that rattled Taylor Martinez throughout the game. But the Michigan defensive line also deserves most of the credit for pushing hard off the line of scrimmage, giving the Cornhuskers little room to run.
Nebraska compiled 256 yards of total offense on the day. Rex Burkhead, who rushed for 130 yards against a presumably better Michigan State defense, managed only 36 on nine carries. Martinez added 51 yards.
Michigan was also helped by excellent play on special teams.
The Wolverines recovered a fumble on the opening kickoff of the second half, eventually converting that into a touchdown and 24-10 lead. A fake field goal on a 4th-and-2 from the Nebraska 6-yard line resulted in a first down. Robinson ran for a one-yard touchdown on the next play. Michigan recovered another fumble on a kickoff early in the fourth quarter, but weren’t able to capitalize on that Nebraska mistake.
With the win, Michigan improves its record to 9-2. Beating Nebraska also helped Michigan State to clinch the Legends Division championship and a bid in the Big Ten’s championship game. Up next for the Wolverines is Ohio State to close out the season..
Nov 19 4:38p by Ian Casselberry