Matt Rhule shares what Michigan did that 'disrupted everything' in win over Nebraska

The Wolverines took home a close win over the Cornhuskers. Matt Rhule gave a couple of takeaways from the game.

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Michigan moved to 3-1 after a close 30-27 win over Nebraska. The Wolverines found themselves up by 10 points twice in the game, but a Hail Mary conversion and a late Nebraska touchdown might have made the score a touch closer than it really was.

The Wolverines were the more dominant team in the trenches against the Cornhuskers -- especially on the defensive side of the ball. Michigan pressured Dylan Raiola 35 times, per PFF. The man who led the way was linebacker Jaishawn Barham. The Wolverines moved him to edge against CMU, and the move has worked to perfection.

Jaishawn Barham led the way

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Barham led Michigan with seven pressures on the afternoon and was almost unblockable. On Thursday, Nebraska head coach Matt Rhule told Pat McAfee on 'The Pat McAfee Show' that the move Michigan made by moving Barham to edge 'disrupted everything'.

“The week before they moved Jaishawn Barham, they moved him from middle linebacker -- he played at Maryland -- they moved him out to their outside linebacker," Rhule said. "I walked up to him after the game, I said, ‘Boy, you’re a Top 10 pick. I mean, that move disrupted everything.

“He didn’t play that against Oklahoma. He played off the ball, and he’s a great off-the-ball linebacker, but he is a difference-maker coming off the edge.”

The Wolverines sacked Raiola seven times in the game, and while it was a team effort, Barham made a huge difference off the edge.

Matt Rhule says Michigan had another difference maker

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Coach Rhule said Barham's play was his first takeaway, but he said his second was the play of Alabama transfer Justice Haynes. The Wolverine RB has now rushed for over 100 yards in each of his first four games as a Michigan player. He is the first to do so. While Rhule believes Michigan will have to push the ball down the field to win games in the Big Ten, he called Haynes a top-10 player.

"Justice Haynes, the tailback from Alabama -- we gave up 286 yards rushing, and three carries for 186 yards. You give him a crack and he's gone," Rhule said of Haynes. "To win in the Big Ten, they will have to throw the ball more. You can't throw the ball for 105 yards on screens. You're going to have to throw the ball down the field, but they have two guys there that were top-10 guys there that are going to be difference makers."

"You can't win in the Big Ten if you don't control the line of scrimmage and we have to improve that..

Jaishawn Barham is a difference maker and so is Justice Haynes" ~ @CoachMattRhule #PMSLive https://t.co/pL3LCrVDhn pic.twitter.com/Belf3qacWv

— Pat McAfee (@PatMcAfeeShow) September 25, 2025

Michigan enters its bye week and will play against in Week 6 with Wisconsin coming to town.

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