Nebraska head coach Scott Frost suggested things were going to get worse before they get better in Lincoln. One half in Ann Arbor suggests he knew what he was talking about. Nebraska is being obliterated on the road in a Big Ten opener by Michigan, with the Wolverines leading Nebraska by a score of 39-0 at the half. The score is every bit representative of the way this game has unfolded to this point.
Michigan’s defense got things going right from the start of the game when Josh Metellus picked off a tipped pass from freshman quarterback Adrian Martinez on the fourth play of the game. The Wolverines then went to the ground with Karan Higdon breaking off a 46-yard run and Ben Mason taking care of business inside the 10-yard line with three straight running plays to get in the end zone for a touchdown.
Nebraska went three-and-out on the ensuing possession, and it took one play for Higdon to rip off a 44-yard touchdown run, his third carry of the game taking him to 92 rushing yards at the time. It continues to spiral out of control for Nebraska from there. Another three-and-out, losing three yards of offense, led to a third Michigan touchdown. Mason, once again, did the honors from just outside the goal line.
RUSHING YARDS:
— Michigan Football (@UMichFootball) September 22, 2018
MICHIGAN: 183
Nebraska: -18
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TOTAL YARDS:
MICHIGAN: 270
Nebraska: 17#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/mNWXgmrmml
Nebraska seemed to be in a spot to get some good field position to work with soon after digging the 20-0 hole, but a muffed punt return near midfield was recovered by the Wolverines. Quinn Nordin knocked down a 50-yard field goal to tack on to the Michigan lead a few plays later.
Higdon has rushed for 136 yards. Shea Patterson has completed 12 of 17 passes for 115 yards and a touchdown. Nebraska’s Martinez has passed for 23 yards and has been taken down for a loss of 12 yards on the ground.
At this point, Nebraska knows it won’t stand a chance of winning this game, so working on some details the rest of the way is what needs to happen. And there are a lot of details to work on after halftime.