Instant takes from Nebraska's 34-3 loss to No. 3 Michigan

On3 imageby:Abby Barmore11/12/22

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Here are three instant takes from Nebraska’s 34-3 blowout loss to No. 3 Michigan.

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Defense gave the Huskers an early chance

The Husker defense held up pretty well in the first quarter. They held Michigan to 67 total yards. Star running back Blake Corum had 33 yards on eight carries. He averaged 4.1 yards per carry. He finished with 162 yards on 28 carries, an average of 5.8 yards per carry.

Michigan had 38 rushing yards and quarterback J.J. McCarthy had -8 yards in the first quarter.

After they scored in the opening drive, the Wolverines punted twice.

Nebraska’s defense started the second quarter with a huge drive. Running back Blake Corum ripped off a 12-yard rush, his longest of the game so far. However, Michigan decided to throw it after that and threw three consecutive incomplete passes.

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On 3rd-and-10, McCarthy threw it behind the first down marker but Caleb Tannor was right there to drag down Ronnie Bell for an incompletion.

At the end of the first half, Nebraska held Michigan to a 30-yard field goal to be down 17-3. The Wolverines didn’t score again until the end of the third quarter after a 10-play, six-minute drive.

Michigan has a really good offense with one of the best running backs in the country. They are making a strong case for the College Football Playoffs and Nebraska held them to 24 points through three quarters.

When going up against an offense like Michigan’s, the Huskers needed to slow them down and limit their possession/scoring opportunities. The defense did that.

The Wolverines finished with 412 total yards with 264 rushing yards.

The Huskers’ offense didn’t help the defense at all as they couldn’t score outside of a field goal in the second quarter.

Nebraska’s quarterback situation just got worse

With quarterback Casey Thompson out for the second straight game, backup Chubba Purdy got the start again. There was a lot of discussion about starting Logan Smothers instead but Interim Head Coach Mickey Joseph and Offensive Coordinator Mark Whipple went with Purdy.

Purdy went 6-of-12 for 56 passing yards on a snowy and cold afternoon in Ann Arbor, Michigan. He rushed five times for 39 yards, a first-half team-high for Nebraska. The redshirt sophomore averaged 7.8 yards per carry.

However, similar to Illinois last week, Nebraska’s offense couldn’t get going. They had one first down in the first quarter and three straight three-and-outs.

In the middle of the second quarter, Purdy put together Nebraska’s best drive of the first half. He started it off with a 13-yard rush up the middle. Purdy connected with Alante Brown for a 13-yard gain a few plays later.

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Amid Purdy’s best drive of the entire first half, he scrambled for eight yards and a first down. He slid awkwardly and his leg got caught on the turf. The quarterback yelled in pain and grabbed his left leg.

Purdy walked off the field under his own power but went to the locker room soon after.

Although it was under a terrible circumstance, Smothers got his shot. Michigan brought a lot of pressure with a new quarterback under center and in the red zone. Smothers was hit hard while throwing in the pocket on the first play. The sophomore fumbled but recovered the ball after a bad snap on third down.

Timmy Bleedrode kicked a 37-yard field goal for Nebraska to go up 14-3 with 4:36 left in the second.

It was not a good throwing day for any quarterback with sub-40-degree temperatures and snow. Smothers went 4-for-8 for 15 yards. Where Purdy made plays with his legs, Smothers didn’t against Michigan. He had one yard on four carries.

Next week, Wisconsin is in Lincoln. If both Thompson and Purdy are out, Smothers needs to take advantage of being QB1. That is an opportunity he has been waiting for for a long time.

However, the quarterback situation behind Smothers will be interesting with redshirt freshman Heinrich Haarberg, true freshman Richard Torres and walk-ons Matt Masker and Jarrett Synek, who traveled to Michigan.

Whipple’s injury and play calling

In the second quarter, offensive coordinator Mark Whipple was hit hard by A.J. Henning as he was pushed down running along the sideline.

Whipple, 65, fell hard and lay on the ground for roughly five minutes while being attended to. He sat up and then was helped up by the medical staff. Whipple was clearly in pain but made his way to a bench with the help of the staff. After they looked at his left leg, he stood with assistance on the sideline with a headset on.

Whipple used a medical cart on the sideline against Rutgers and has battled medical issues all season.

At half-time, Whipple was taken to the locker room on a cart. Joseph told Husker Radio Network’s Jessica Coody that Whipple was receiving X-Rays. He said the staff would be calling the plays.

Offensive analyst Steve Cooper is the only other coach on Nebraska’s staff with play-calling experience at Portland State, an FCS school.

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Joseph, who spent the week talking about running the ball, ran it four times and passed it twice, once to a running back. Nebraska ran it 15 times in the second half compared to the 14 in the first half. Seven of the 20 passing attempts were in the second half.

The Huskers’ offense had the ball for 11 minutes in the second half compared to Michigan’s 19 minutes.

Hopefully, Whipple is OK and didn’t suffer any serious injuries.

Playcalling is an art that takes years to build. While Husker fans and Joseph himself have been wanting Whipple to call more running plays, the last thing they wanted was to lose his expertise on the sideline. Over 40 years of coaching knowledge like Whipple’s is irreplaceable.

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