On the Drive That Counted the Most, Nebraska Couldn’t Stop Michigan

For Nebraska, in some ways, the game came down to a crucial fourth-quarter Michigan drive. After all the fireworks, the explosive plays, and the successful Hail Mary (!), the Huskers needed to stop the Wolverines when it mattered the most.

As you know, they didn’t. They couldn’t.

Michigan, clinging to a 27-20 lead, went on an epic drive — 16 plays that went 77 yards and chewed up 8 minutes, 46 seconds. Three times, the Wolverines had third downs and three times they became first downs. Michigan needed five, nine and 10 yards on the third downs they converted.

And the Huskers all but knew Michigan was going to run. Eleven of the 16 plays stayed on the ground. The passes were of the safest variety, quick throws into the flat that essentially were glorified runs. Wolverines freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood had been largely ineffective passing and the Wolverines weren’t going to risk having him throw the ball downfield.

Nebraska linebacker Dasan McCullough joined the Huskers from Oklahoma. | Nebraska Athletics

At the drive’s end, Michigan kicked a 21-yard field goal for a 30-20 lead. The 21st-ranked Wolverines (3-1) hung on to win, 30-27, in the teams’ Big Ten opener. Nebraska is now 3-1.

“We battled back and that second-to-last third down we had several chances to get them off the field and couldn’t make the play,” Huskers coach Matt Rhule said.

A stat that will hurt Huskers fans today: Michigan’s second-longest of its 12 drives: 3 minutes, 22 seconds, in the first quarter.

Michigan’s run game

Nebraska linebacker Dasan McCullough, who had an otherwise strong game, missed a tackle behind the line of scrimmage on a third-and-nine swing pass to Justice Haynes that would have forced Michigan to punt.

“I’m still thinking about missing that tackle,” McCullough said. “I have to make that play. Just talking about long drives in general, we get conditioned for that.

“I felt like compared to Cincinnati a couple of weeks ago when they had a long drive you could see us physically getting tired during that last two minutes.

“We did a good job keeping our composure but it was just the execution. We need more hats to the ball. We just need everybody doing their job.”

Michigan ran the ball 33 times for 286 yards. Nearly 60 percent of its rushing yards came on three touchdowns plays — runs of 37, 75 and 54 yards. That’s 166 yards of TD runs, nearly 60 percent of the Wolverines’ rushing total.

“If you eliminate the 75-yard run, the other quarterback run and stuff like that, we were doing a good job of being sound … but the problem was they had three explosive plays that made it look bad. So we have to fix that,” McCullough said.

“They played well, they executed well. I feel like we could have done better though. I thought we could have executed a little better. We played hard, we played physical. It’s just about the little things.”

McCullough was analytical about the defensive performance. He was asked postgame about what the Huskers should have done to stop the Michigan run game.

“Getting off blocks, getting more pushback, too,” said McCullough, a senior transfer from Oklahoma, who tied a career high with two tackles for loss. “I feel we definitely weren’t getting pushed around but just getting more pushback and just getting them behind the line of scrimmage."

Controlling Bryce Underwood

The Huskers, except for Underwood’s 37-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, kept the talented freshman in check. He finished with 69 yards on eight carries. This a week after he gained 114 yards on the ground on nine carries against Central Michigan.

“We focused on it [containing Underwood] a lot,” McCullough said.

Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood passes against Nebraska defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel (5) in fourth quarter. — Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood passes against Nebraska defensive lineman Riley Van Poppel in the fourth quarter. | Dylan Widger-Imagn Images

“[Cincinnati quarterback Brendan] Sorsby, Week One, gave us some good practice on how to keep a quarterback contained. So aside from that run he [Underwood] had, I felt like we did do a good job containing him, not rushing past the level of the tackles, pressuring the pocket.”

‘We’re only going to get stronger’

The Huskers have a bye week before playing visiting Michigan State on Oct. 4. Is this a fork in the road for a program that was 7-6 last season, its first winning season since 2016?

“I think we’re only going to get stronger from this,” McCullough said. “A loss like this, especially so close to a very good team, it can only make you better.

“A couple of years ago, guys would have been jumping up and down to be this close with a team. Just the fact that we’re in this position talking about we should have won these type of games should leave guys with a better head space.”

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