3 Takeaways From Michigan Football's Dominant Win Over Nebraska
Michigan football had no style changes in its 34-3 win over Nebraska on Saturday.
Jim Harbaugh's Wolverines ran the ball 27 more times than they passed it when the starters played.
It was like any other Harbaugh-led victory -- the Wolverines slowed the game down by dominating possession (35 minutes to 24) & playing shut-down defense on the opposite side (146 yards allowed).
Still, the win wasn't perfect, and many questions surrounding the passing attack remain unanswered.
Here are three takeaways from Michigan's 10th consecutive victory.
Michigan will need to figure out a passing attack to have a chance in Columbus
We're at that point of the season where everything Michigan does immediately translates to: will this beat Ohio State?
And the passing attack against Nebraska was far from good enough to beat an undefeated OSU team.
QB J.J. McCarthy -- who was the most accurate QB in the country three weeks ago -- finished with a completion percentage below 50% (47) for the second-straight game.
Drops from Ronnie Bell, Cornelius Johnson, and Andrel Anthony did him no favors, and neither did Michigan's 44 rush attempts to 17 passing.
The offensive coordinators tried. Early in the game, there was a series where Michigan drew up two straight deep passes that fell incomplete, then ran a crossing concept on 3rd that should've resulted in a first down if not for an egregious Bell drop.
Without ever having a rhythm, McCarthy never settled in, and his lackluster stat line (8-for-17, 129 yards) paints a fearful picture for The Game in two weeks.
Blake Corum *is* the offense
I mean -- was this ever in question?
Corum is arguably the leader of a tight Heisman race, including QBs Hendon Hooker, C.J. Stroud, and UNC QB Drake Maye.
The junior stayed red-hot, running for over 100 yards in the first half, which notched his seventh-straight game with 100-plus rushing yards, all during Big Ten play.
Corum finished the day with 162 rushing yards on 28 attempts, averaging nearly six yards per carry.
Given the struggles in the air, Michigan's offense relies entirely on Corum's success.
Will that hold up in two weeks?
At 10-0, so far, so good.
The defense leaves no room for air
DC Jesse Minter continues to do his thing, albeit against a lowly Nebraska offense that's missing its starting QB due to an elbow injury.
Nebraska didn't have over 100 yards passing or rushing, notching 137 yards total on the day.
If you take away QB Chubba Purdy's scramble yards, Nebraska had 36 rushing yards.
The defense finished with two sacks and tackles for loss.
LB Junior Colson led the way with six tackles.
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @BrandonJustice_, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @DavisMoseley, @lucasreimink
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram