The Michigan Wolverines headed into a loud and hostile environment on Saturday and left with a victory, defeating the Nebraska Cornhuskers 30-27 at Memorial Stadium in Lincoln.
Michigan was without head coach Sherrone Moore, who was serving the second and final game of his NCAA suspension this season. Biff Poggi served as interim, and the team did just enough to get a hard fought win.
The game was tied 17-17 at halftime. Michigan went up 30-20 before Nebraska cut it to 30-27 with a chance at an onside
kick. Michigan recovered the onside attempt and won. After the game, Poggi explained the statements that were made from the victory.
“The statement was, I think, multifaceted. First of all, it was, ‘we love our coach, he’s our coach. He’s our coach for a reason.’ He recruited the team. He prepares the team. That was the first statement,” Poggi said.
That wasn’t the only statement Poggi felt the team made.
“The second statement was, there’s this narrative going around that we can’t win on the road. And that was a statement,” Poggi explained. “A little bit of a narrative like, hey, if it’s a really lively, hard place to play, we kind of, you know, we’re not finishing those games. And I think a lot of that was statement today.”
While Michigan was a slight betting favorite, there was a perception from many pundits that this was Nebraska’s year to beat the Wolverines. Nebraska was 3-0 heading into the matchup while Michigan was 2-1. Michigan didn’t fare well on the road in Week 2 against a really good Oklahoma team in Bryce Underwood’s first career start. However, those narratives that Michigan would struggle on the road once again against Nebraska were overblown. While Michigan’s win against the Cornhuskers included a few unncessary penalties (five for 41 yards), they kept their cool overall in a loud and rowdy environment and picked up an important win.
Poggi is right, the win was a statement. And now it’s all about what they do from here a quarter into the season at 3-1 — that’ll be the truest statement of all.
