Michigan football's run game improving with Nebraska, nation's No. 1 run defense, next up
Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia looks back at what happened during Michigan football's 31-7 win over Rutgers and what's ahead for the Wolverines for their first road game on Sept. 30 at Nebraska.
Three things we learned
McCarthy's legs give run game life: Through three weeks of play, Michigan's run offense was surprisingly pedestrian. The Wolverines were in the bottom half of the nation (No. 68 at 156.5 yards per game) despite playing subpar nonconference competition; that didn't seem to bode well considering Rutgers' defense entered Saturday at No. 11, averaging 69.7 yards rushing allowed per game. Whoops. U-M found consistency on the ground with its best rushing afternoon: 40 rushes for 201 yards and two touchdowns. Blake Corum led with 21 carries for 97 yards and both TDs, but what separated this game was the involvement of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He ran seven times for 51 yards — actually five carries for 60 yards if you take out his two sacks — and converted four first downs with his legs.
Run defense every bit as good as last season: Although Michigan overwhelmed its nonconference foes' run games, there were still some doubts entering Big Ten play. Saturday erased them. The Scarlet Knights entered with a proven ground attack — just ask Virginia Tech, which allowed 256 yards on 7.5 yards per carry to Greg Schiano's team the week prior — and U-M's front rendered it almost completely ineffective. Rutgers ran 23 times for a season-low 77 yards and didn't find the end zone once, even though the Wolverines were without one of their best interior run defenders, sophomore Mason Graham. More than half (45) of those yards allowed came in the first quarter, as U-M forced Rutgers to play catch-up. Kyle Monangai, the reigning Big Ten Offensive Player of the Week, ran just 11 times for 27 yards. The Wolverines are now No. 12 against the run, at (80 yards allowed per game.
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Special teams must clean it up: Not every unit is clicking. On Saturday, special teams had a rough afternoon, though it wasn't a huge shock coming from a unit that hasn't moved the needle enough this year. It started early in the game, when U-M was flagged for having 12 on the field on an extra point. Then, on U-M's first punt return attempt, Jake Thaw let a perfect punt roll down the sideline and out of bounds at the U-M 6. Later, Michigan was flagged for delay of game on a field goal attempt (though coaching indecisiveness was mostly to blame), leaving kicker James Turner to miss the 42-yard attempt wide left.
Fast facts
Matchup: No. 2 Michigan (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) vs. Nebraska (2-2, 0-1).
Kickoff: 3:30 p.m. Saturday; Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, Nebraska.
TV/radio: Fox; WXYT-FM (97.1), WTKA-AM (1050).
Line: Wolverines by 17½.
Know the foe
The Huskers lost their first two games under first-year coach Matt Rhule with Georgia Tech transfer QB Jeff Sims and won the past two games after Nebraska product Heinrich Haarberg took over following Sims' ankle injury in the fourth quarter of the team's Week 2 loss.
Don't just chalk it up to the quarterback switch; the losses came against Power Five competition — at home vs. Minnesota and at Colorado for Deion Sanders' home coaching debut in Boulder — and the wins came against undistinguished Group of Five foes (Northern Illinois, 35-11, and Louisiana Tech, 28-14).
Still, Haarberg did the main job of a Cornhuskers quarterback: Protect the ball. That's been an issue for years with Sims, who leads Big Ten veterans in career turnovers (39). Haarberg completed just eight of 17 passes for 107 yards against the Bulldogs, but didn't have an interception.
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On the season, he's 24-for-47 for 278 yards, four touchdowns and no picks as Rhule attempts to insulate whichever quarterback is in the game with a run-heavy attack. The 'Huskers enter at No. 6 in the nation with 234.8 yards rushing per game. Running is also an area where Haarberg excels. The 6-foot-5 Kearney native is as dual-threat as they come; Saturday, he ran 19 times for a career-high 157 yards, including a 72-yard scamper, and a touchdown.
He was flanked by sixth-year senior running back Anthony Grant, whose own turnover issues landed him on the bench for a couple games; against LaTech, he ran 22 times for 135 yards and a touchdown.
When Nebraska tries to pass, it goes to Billy Kemp IV, who leads the team with 13 catches for 132 yards and a score. In the red zone, there's Thomas Fidone, who has just 84 yards on seven catches, but three of those are touchdowns.
The strength of Nebraska's team is defense, which ranks No. 1 (46.2 yards per game) against the rush. That's also almost exactly what it allowed to the Bulldogs: 46 yards on 21 carries. Minnesota ran 25 times for 55 yards, Colorado ran 33 times for 58 yards, and Northern Illinois ran 22 times for 26 yards against a front that has produced nine tackles for loss in the past two weeks.
Still, Nebraska is vulnerable through the air, at No. 101 (251.8 yards per game) against the pass.
Michigan will need to plan for defensive back Isaac Gifford (team-high 23 tackles, three passes defended and an interception), standout linebacker Luke Reimer (10 tackles, team-high 2½ sacks) and defensive back Omar Brown (22 tackles and a forced fumble).
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football faces test on the ground in first trip vs. Nebraska
