Friday 18 November 2011

Nebraska Prediction

This is a hard game to pick, mainly because Nebraska are so similar to Michigan this year; both 8-2 (4-2), both with limited passing games but fairly good running games, both with mobile quarterbacks and decent defense etc etc.

I watched most of their game vs Penn St, and I think Michigan's biggest problem will be Rex Burkhead. He's got over 1000 yards rushing on the year, and his general toughness makes him hard to bring down. Penn St has a good defense and he gained 121 yards on them with a TD, so this is worrying.

Michigan will probably (hopefully?) dare Nebraska to pass, and if they can get the same kind of QB pressure as they did against Illinois, Taylor Martinez should be forced into some mistakes. The concern though is if Michigan loses contain and allows him to scramble, he's got the speed to make the defense pay.

On offense, Michigan will no doubt start the game by just running Fitzgerald Tousiannt, seeing how good the interior DL of Nebraska is without Jared Crick. Personally, I'd like to see us do short and easy throws on first down to keep Nebraska off balance, stuff like a tunnel screen to Gallon. Michigan needs to get Denard Robinson into the game early, whether it be by rushing or passing, we need him to be confident, because when he is, he's very dangerous.

Michigan's offense has been good at home, but they haven't really faced a good defense since Notre Dame, so this will be a good test before the big game next week. Ultimately I think Michigan will pull out the victory, limiting their mistakes while our defense forces some turnovers.

Prediction: Michigan 31; Nebraska 21

29 comments:

  1. A steady dose of Burkhead and a very solid defense leads me to give Nebraska the edge in this one. I believe it will be low scoring. Maybe a special teams play makes the difference. Nebraska 24 Michigan 14. Hope I'm wrong!

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  2. Because I said last week that I will not pick against UM again I am going with UM 24-10. This will all depend on weather DR passes the whole game or he exits early. I believe he will not make it past the first qt. They have been giving DG all the fisrt snaps this week and I believe the coaches have coached him up and will be ready to manage the game and let the D play lights out.
    Fitz get over 100 yards and 2 TDs
    DG shines
    Countess and Floyd 1 int each.
    D line 4 sacks.
    GO BLUE

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  3. I meant if DR plays the whole game.

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  4. I like the matchup for us with our corners and their wide receivers/passing attack. Martinez is a horrible passer...trust me folks our situation could be a whole lot worse. I don't think Nebraska is as good as advertised. I think they'll stack the line against the run and shut them down much like they did against Illinois except Nebraska's wide receivers and quarterback aren't as good. I think if we can get a lead early then we'll win. Nebraska doesn't play well from behind. I like us 27-17.

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  5. I think we need to run the ball and run the clock down as much as is reasonably possible. Nebraskas offense reminds me of ours from last year a bit and our defense will need the rest. Would be good to keep Nebraska to only a handful of drives. I expect the game to be pretty similar to Illinois, but with less passing, and more qb sneaks, and slightly better execution on offense from us at home.

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  6. We need to stack the box sure, but we can't lose containment on the outside either. Martinez and Burkhead are both good runners, but both can also get to the outside. I really like Countess, but if Burkhead gets to the outside, I'm not sure I like our chances on Countess/Floyd bringing him down alone.

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  7. haha I hate reading Michigan.rivals.com articles. They always pick Michigan to lose.

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  8. so do a lot of people on here...especially recently...

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  9. Sorry guys...........my pre-season pick had us losing this one 31-24. I now think we can win by 5.

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  10. I see that Brown is reportedly visiting Oregon State. I know we haven't offered but Powe is also checking out Oregon.

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  11. @GoBlueNorth
    Brown as in Pharaoh Brown is visiting Oregon State?

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  12. He means Powe is visiting Oregon State.

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  13. I think UM lands 2 commits today. One for 2012 and one for 2013.

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  14. who is visiting from the 2013 class other than Dymonte? we already have him...

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  15. @jer
    touchthebanner.blogspot.com has a list of the visitors for this game up

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  16. so could it be possible that the coaching staff are a bunch of evil geniuses and they have kept Denard's running bottled up until the end of the season?

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  17. @akmed
    It does kind of seem that way. However why would they risk losing to both MSU or Iowa by holding back denard. I think it was more of trying to keep denard healthy by limiting his running and now that it is closer to the end of the season they have finally pulled the all the stops out to gets wins in these last 2 games.

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  18. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  19. that really wasn't a totally serious comment...it's more to do with the fact that after the first drive the coaches most likely reminded him it's ok to run if he has an opening...btw this could not be a much better game for recruits to attend...too bad Diggs didn't come for this game. Defense is flying to the ball, special teams is on point and the offense has been very efficient.

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  20. That was, without doubt, the best looking game so far this season. Fingers crossed next week looks even better!

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  21. @akmed
    I didn't figure it was a completely serious comment and i totally understand where you were coming from. This looked like a completely different offense when it seemed they gave Denard the ok to run. Also our defense has improved so much that i will be stunned if Mattison doesn't get Asst. Coach of the year.

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  22. Yeah seriously Julia...even if doesn't..."Aww F*ck it!" - Lee Corso

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  23. Tomvh just tweeted that Dunn just took a picture with his cousin and Shane morris on the 50 yard line.
    Also how awesome was it to see the fans counting down the play clock for denard after that delay of game?

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  24. As a Michigan fan from/living in Ohio is ok if I start, BEAT OHIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    osu 10-Michigan 31!!!

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  25. I was confident in a win, but woah! MANBALL!!!

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  26. That was AWSOME!!!!!
    By far the best DR has played all year. And I will give credit where credit is due. That was the best he has passes the ball all year. And that deep TD was jaw dropping. So my hats off to DR. Fritz played very well and the D played lights out again. Just a all around great game from the whole team and coaches.

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  27. According to Allen Trieu, Dunn and Kalis are taking their official visits to Michigan in the same week. And according to Sam Webb Dunn will be at Michigan again next week and does plan to graduate early.

    Its been stated before but I will say it again, he would be a nice recruit to help wrap up this class.

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  28. That's very good news...you know Kalis will be in his ear the whole trip much like I'm sure his cousin was as well...I just hope this won't be a repeat of the Clarett trip...BTW I really like our chances in the OSU game...you know they're going to bring their best effort of the year against us to try and salvage their season, but their QB situation is basically the same that we have faced the last couple of weeks (Illinois, Nebraska)...very mobile, slippery QB, our defense will have to stay disciplined...good thing is Miller is probably the worst passer of the bunch although Martinez was pretty bad...

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