Report Card: Grading Michigan in a 30-27 win at Nebraska

Michigan beat Nebraska, 30-27, for a key road win, using big plays in the running game, outstanding third-down defense, and some key kicks from Dominic Zvada to overcome several mistakes. We grade the Wolverines in all areas here: 

RELATED: Michigan 30, Nebraska 27: Notes, quotes, and observations — tougher than it should have been, but a huge win

Michigan rushing offense: A+

This isn’t the grind-it-out, pound them until they wear down Michigan rushing offense we’re used to. Instead, it’s an opportunistic, mix it up and take advantage of your chances, big-play running game that’s worked so well that Justice Haynes was the nation’s leading rusher following the win. 

Credit center Greg Crippen for two of the big runs, Haynes’ 75-yarder and sophomore Jordan Marshall’s 54-yarder. He played a great game. We’d still like to see more from freshman quarterback Bryce Underwood, though we loved the quarterback draw for a touchdown. 

Bottom line — 286 yards, 8.7 yards per carry, and 3 scores on the ground is fantastic.

Passing offense: D+

Let’s be clear … this grade isn’t an indictment on Underwood. It’s the passing game as a whole, and it wasn’t good enough Saturday (12-for-22, 105 yards) because the receivers dropped a lot of balls and didn’t make plays. Donaven McCulley, for example, should have stopped his route when he saw Semaj Morgan’s pass was coming up short of the end zone on an early trick play. Sometimes you have to help your quarterback, even if he’s a receiver. 

Morgan dropped a few balls, sophomore Channing Goodwin as well, including a beautifully thrown ball to the end zone off his fingertips. The pass protection was pretty solid — Underwood was only sacked once — but the receivers need to be better. Getting tight end Hogan Hansen back (he was out again) could help.

Michigan rushing defense: A-

The Cornhuskers managed only 43 net yards, but the sack-adjusted total was 92 (3.8 per carry). There were a lot of very short gains in there, too, for the backs — 14 of 3 yards or less — and the Wolverines really dominated the line of scrimmage. 

Nebraska’s lead back Emmett Johnson managed only 65 yards on 19 carries, averaging 3.4 yards per rush.

Passing defense: B

The Michigan pass rush made life miserable for Nebraska quarterback Dylan Raiola — 7 sacks and an unbelievable 36 pressures. That should have made Raiola’s numbers even more pedestrian, and while he checked down quite a bit, he still finished 30 of 41 for 308 yards with 3 touchdowns and a pick. 

There were still too many holes in the U-M zone, though, and a few breaks, including a touchdown called back on an illegal touch in which a receiver was alone in the end zone. There were also some leak-outs from the backfield to uncovered receivers. These are things they can work on during the bye week, but it was great to see grad safety Rod Moore back on the field. His presence mattered on the downs he played.

Michigan special teams: B-

Kicker Dominic Zvada was one of the MVPs, making all three of his field goals. His 56-yarder for the lead in the third quarter was one of the plays of the game — miss that, and Nebraska has the ball in great field position with a chance to take the lead. 

Michigan punter Hudson Hollenbeck had his ups and downs again, though he did pin one inside the 5-yard line. He also had another short one and was inconsistent. Morgan was a net negative in the return game, and the punt coverage was shaky (a shoestring tackle prevented a huge return). Overall, Zvada raises the grade along with Beckham Sunderland’s booming kickoffs (no returns).