One of the biggest games of the week in college football will go down in Lincoln, NE as the Michigan football team will hit the road to play Nebraska. This is a huge game for both teams for a lot of reasons, and it is expected to be tight matchup. The Cornhuskers need to end their dreadful losing streak vs. ranked teams, and the Wolverines can’t afford to lose a second game this early in the season. A lot is on the line.
Former Michigan football player and Big Ten Network analyst Jake Butt knows what it is like to be in these big game situations. When previewing the matchup, he dove into what’s at stake for both teams. For Nebraska, this is an incredible opportunity at home.
“You can literally feel the gravitational waves of the anticipation of this game from the Husker fans,” Jake Butt said on the Big Ten Network. “You just think about everything leading up to this. It's year three Matt Rhule, start off 3-0, they're red hot, right? Raiola looks great. You've won your last two one-score games. A ton of reasons to be encouraged, and now you're hosting Michigan at home with an 18-year-old freshman quarterback without their head coach.
This is an opportunity where there's a fork in the road here, a split in space and time. If you beat Michigan at home, what are we going to be saying about the Huskers? Look at that schedule. We're thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, Nebraska might be a playoff team.’ That is the opportunity this weekend.”
Michigan is feeling good coming into this game after the way the offense looked last week, but being on the road against Nebraska will be a completely different beast.
“The flip side for Michigan is yes, Bryce Underwood looked great, Biff Poggi said we will never take the air out of the football again. We're going to give it to Bryce. Communication is a premium on the road,” Butt said. “Nebraska runs that 3-3-5 defense. It's hard to ID and communicate, especially on the road. They're replacing some pieces on the offensive line. It's going to be a fun chess match here for two young, talented quarterbacks against some fun defenses.”
Michigan and Nebraska will get underway at 2:30 CT on Saturday from Memorial Stadium in Lincoln, NE. The game will be airing on CBS, and the Wolverines are currently favored by 2.5 points.
