Michigan Wolverines looked dominant again vs. Nebraska. But what does it truly mean?
Early season rankings in college football are funny things. And I’m not talking about how teams stack up in polls, though assumptions can be comical in those, too.
No, I’m talking about Nebraska, and how they came into the game against Michigan with the No. 2 ranked defense in college football. Clearly, they were not that good. But because the Cornhuskers had played Minnesota, Colorado, Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech, they beefed up their stats along the defensive line.
They lost two of those games, by the way, which says lots about their offense, so it’s hard to say much about Michigan’s defense Saturday, other than to say shutouts are always nice. Whoops, there went Josh Fleeks up the middle, untouched, for a 74-yard touchdown. That changes a stat line and ruins a shutout.
Still, the Wolverines allowed seven points. They’ll take it.
As for U-M's offense?
They scored 45. And, yeah, 436 total yards looks good, and Blake Corum continues to look better, and J.J. McCarthy made a handful of next-level throws as he has done every Saturday since the season began. His rollout left, throw-across-his-body toss to Roman Wilson in the back of the end zone is end-of-the-night highlight worthy, and if it’d been a tight game, we’d be seeing the throw on a loop.
Yet for most of the afternoon in Lincoln, Nebraska, McCarthy didn’t need to leave the pocket at all, except maybe for a sip of water on the sideline. He could’ve meditated back there if he’d wanted or gone through a Yoga routine.
Nebraska didn’t have the rush to bother him. Which brings us back to the stat up top, suggesting these Cornhuskers had an elite defense, especially against the run:
They don’t.
And while Corum looked more certain in the way he cut and jump cut, and the line opened holes big enough for Corum and Donovan Edwards to gain almost seven yards a pop in the first half, it’s hard to take too much from the run game considering the overstated efficiency of Nebraska’s run defense.
OK, so no one “stated” Nebraska had an elite run defense. It was just numbers. Numbers based off opponents who obviously couldn’t run, for whatever reason.
Colorado, for instance, appears to have a fine offense but that’s mostly through the air. Its offensive line couldn’t block an intersection if given a semi and a dump truck.
So, what can we really say after the Wolverines’ easy win? That the game was finished midway through the first quarter? When U-M consolidated its opening, 75-yard drive (capped by a spectacular catch by Wilson) with an interception and another quick score?
That McCarthy’s arm is so strong he wasn’t bothered by 20-mph winds? That Kris Jenkins can move for someone carrying 300 pounds?
Yeah, we can say all of that and more. These Wolverines are talented, maybe as talented as any roster coach Jim Harbaugh has put together in Ann Arbor.
But we still can’t say how good the team is. They look good — and have looked better the past two weeks. And Harbaugh’s presence on the sideline seems to make a difference.
About all we can say definitively is U-M just won its 17th straight contest in the Big Ten, and that is the fourth longest streak in conference history. That’s impressive, no matter how much the league seems to be struggling outside of a few teams.
Getting a gauge on this team won’t be easy for a while. Yeah, maybe Michigan State offers some kind of rivalry test in East Lansing in three weeks. You know, when a beatdown program finds a little pixie dust and … nah, what are we talking about?! That ain’t happening.
Which means the Wolverines aren’t going to line up and face a team with anywhere near its talent until Nov. 11 at Penn State. That’s six weeks away. Four games and a bye.
And those four games?
Ooof. Not pretty. At least not if you’re interested in learning much more about the team than what we saw in Lincoln, Neb.
As mentioned, MSU is among the dates. But first, U-M gets back on the road and heads to Minnesota. P.J. Fleck isn’t roaring that oar, or boat, or canoe, or whatever waterproof vessel he used to metaphor his way to wins as Western Michigan coach.
After Minnesota, the Wolverines host Indiana. Then go to East Lansing. Then get the week off. Then host Purdue. Drew Brees isn’t playing. In fact, he has retired from football, which means there’s no chance he’ll be on the sideline in uniform at Michigan Stadium.
When U-M knocks off the Boilermakers, it won’t have played a ranked team. Sure, 9-0 is great, and it keeps the Wolverines where they need to be for the playoff chase.
But what to say other than that?
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Nebraska is not good. OK, cool. They’re not. That was true before U-M beat them.
U-M, meanwhile, might be good enough to win it all. They’ve got Sunday talent up front on both sides of the ball, a running back tandem as good as anyone, a receiving core that’s led by an emerging star in Wilson and a prodigy at tight end in Colston Loveland, speed in the defensive backfield, an all-American type at cornerback who is now healthy, thumpers in the middle and, of course, McCarthy.
He has an NFL arm, NFL mobility, NFL calm, or so it seems. His second touchdown throw to Wilson after rolling left and throwing right was as pretty a play as you’ll see at this level.
Yet it’s one thing to have to pull that off once or twice a game. It’s another to have to make those kind of plays all game long.
He’ll have to do some of that in Happy Valley in six weeks. Unfortunately, no team before then will tell us if he can, or if U-M is what it looks like it can be.
Contact Shawn Windsor: 313-222-6487 or swindsor@freepress.com. Follow him @shawnwindsor.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan football looked dominant vs. Nebraska. But what does it mean?
