Michigan State is in town for an afternoon tussle tomorrow and I know I should start talking about all the things which went wrong against Michigan, but that horse has had enough. He may not have been beaten to death, but he’s not gonna be running in the Kentucky Derby anytime soon, let alone junking up my Pick-6 at Ak-Sar-Ben (RIP to both the track and the infield beers every few races.)
The O-line and the run defense. Got it. It’ll get better or it won’t, but further gnashing my teeth the night before won’t change anything, so to hell with it until when and if those problems rear their heads again whether it’s in 22 hours or November.
Advertisement
We lost 30-27. Some folks acted like it was 30-3 whether it was despondent Husker fans or Michigan folk trying to convince the world they shoulda won by the latter score or worse. It was three points. Yes, there was a Hail Mary, but y’all Wolverines are just mad our little ball of fire went into that end zone crowd and just took the damn ball away from you. There were no lucky tips or bounces – our guy just wanted it more.
Jacory Barney Jr. is the living embodiment of of those single-digit jerseys and it was no fluke – he torched the Michigan secondary with 6 grabs for 120 yards and a pair of sixes to lead both teams in the latter two categories, although, to be fair, Michigan was not really in the running since Wunderkind Bryce Underwood only threw for 105.
Michigan won the line battles and the ground war, but the Huskers dominated the skies almost as hard. The total yardage was won by Michy but only by 391-351 and the last time I checked, the scoreboard still didn’t care how you gain ‘em. Unfortunately, it does care if you drive 70 yards but there were 75 yards to go when you started and there I go breaking my promise above, but sonofabitch, we gotta stop finding ways to not close the deal and I’m moving on now.
Advertisement
Beyond Jacory, Dylan and our secondary, the brightest light for me was this: 0-10. 10-10. 10-17. 17-17. 20-30. 27-30 and dammit to hell, almost – almost, and Carter Nelson – next time, light that Wolverine up like a 4th of July night sky and send that ball flying.
Yep – it was a one-score loss but not like those others. We know those – befuddling mistakes and a sense of doom before handing opponents the win. This time the boys scrapped and fought, didn’t let it get away and kept answering the bell until time ran out. Is there much to clean up? Hell, yes.
But this crew swung back. And that’s been missing. On to the How To Watch.
HOW TO WATCH
Time: 3:00PM PM CST
Advertisement
Location: Memorial Stadium, Lincoln, NE
Surface: Hellas Turf (Blessed by the Bobfather himself from Husker Valhalla)
Wagering Info: Huskers -12 1⁄2 . O/U – 49 1⁄2 (FanDuel)
Series Record: Nebraska is 9-4 all-time vs. the Wolverines and 4-4 since joining the Big 10. This is the Spartans first trip to Lincoln since 2018.
TV: The game can be viewed on FS1 – Play-by-Play: Tim Brando. Analyst: Devin Gardner. Sidelines: Josh Sims. It is also streaming on the Fox Sports App.
Radio: The audio can be streamed live for free at Huskers.com or the Huskers App. The crew will be: Play-by-Play: Kyle Crooks. Analysis: Damon Benning. Sidelines: Jessica Coody. Pre/Post-Game: Matt Coatney, Jessica Coody, Ben McLaughlin & Jeremiah Sirles.
Advertisement
Weather: Game-day weather should be mostly sunny, very warm and very windy with temps around 87 at kickoff and cooling a little to the low 80’s by game’s end. Think Rutgers 2024.
FACTS & FIGURES
-
Nebraska’s offense ranks among the top 15 nationally in numerous categories including passing offense (2nd), completion percentage (2nd), scoring offense (12th), and total offense (13th).
-
Saturday’s game will mark the 114th Homecoming game in University of Nebraska history. The Huskers are 86-23-4 all-time on Homecoming and have won 13 of their last 15 Homecoming games. NU is 10-2 against Big Ten schools in Homecoming games.
-
Each of the past five meetings between Nebraska and Michigan State have been decided by five or fewer points dating back to 2014. The total point differential of those five games is 15.
-
Saturday’s game will mark the first meeting in Lincoln since 2018, when Nebraska defeated Michigan State, 9-6. That marked Nebraska’s first win without scoring a touchdown since 1937.
-
Nebraska’s 39-38 victory over No. 6 Michigan State in Lincoln in 2015 was just the third time in school history an unranked Nebraska team defeated a top-10 opponent.
-
Nebraska’s nine-game win streak against non-conference competition is the longest by the Huskers since a 12-game win streak spanning the 1999 to 2001 seasons.
-
Nebraska leads the nation in pass yards allowed per game at 75.8 per contest and and also ranks in the top 25 nationally in total defense (249.3 ypg, 14th) and scoring defense (13.5 pgg, 16th).
-
Nebraska has not allowed a pass play of 20 yards or more this season–the only team in the country yet to allow a 20-yard pass. Every other FBS team has allowed at least four passes of 20 yards this season.
-
Nebraska has yet to allow an opponent to throw for a touchdown in 2025, one of just two FBS teams yet to allow a passing touchdown.
