Before we get to this week’s Ugly Underdog, a tip of the cap to Biff Poggi’s Charlotte 49ers for giving us a no-sweat cover against Florida on Saturday to extend this column’s winning streak to a robust two games.
Charlotte managed to score only seven points, but the Gators’ offense wasn’t really at the races and never threatened to cover the 28-point spread.
We’ll now head out of the Swamp and into the breadbasket as we look to back the perpetually rebuilding Nebraska Cornhuskers against No. 2 Michigan.
The Wolverines are a 17-point favorite on the road.
There’s been plenty of carnage at the top of the ladder in college football this season, but Michigan has been steadily humming along without much fanfare.
While plenty of ink has been spilled about rising powers in the Pac-12 such as Washington, Oregon and USC, or the resurgent teams like Florida State and Texas, not much mind has been paid to Jim Harbaugh’s Wolverines, who are the No. 2 team in the AP Poll and the second-favorite to win the national championship behind Georgia.
But there’s a reason for the lack of fanfare so far in Ann Arbor. Michigan just hasn’t been tested yet.
The Wolverines can beat only the teams put in front of them, but wins over East Carolina, UNLV, Bowling Green and Rutgers — all at home — aren’t going to get tongues waggin’ when Ohio State is playing Notre Dame, Texas is taking on Alabama and Florida State is taking on LSU.
The schedule has been a cakewalk for the Wolverines, but it’s still hard not to be impressed by their splits.
Michigan has outscored its opponents by a combined score of 127-23 and has not allowed any team to get into double digits yet.
The numbers look terrific for the Wolverines, but the truth is we won’t know just how good this team truly is for a long time.
The Wolverines’ next five games are at Nebraska, at Minnesota, home to Indiana, at Michigan State and then home to Purdue.
It would be a shock if they’re not bringing a 9-0 record into their trip to Beaver Stadium to take on Penn State on Nov. 11.
And even though Michigan is a 17-point favorite on the road, there are some reasons to believe Nebraska can stay within this number in front of a massive crowd at Memorial Stadium.
The first signal pointing to a Huskers cover is the Over/Under. This is a 17-point spread with a 39-point total. That means you’re roughly asking the Cornhuskers to get into the end zone twice.
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That’s not a monumental task for this offense, which has started to show signs of life with 63 points in its last two contests, albeit against Northern Illinois and Louisiana Tech.
Another reason to be confident that the Cornhuskers can keep this contest relatively competitive is that they just love to run the ball.
The Huskers rank eighth in the nation in rush rate and will sell out to establish the run, which should keep the clock moving.
There is method to the madness, too, as Nebraska is averaging 5.5 yards per attempt on the ground.
This should be a stiff test for Michigan’s front seven.
Michigan may come into Lincoln and stomp the Huskers, but this is the biggest game of the year for Nebraska and I’m willing to back Matt Rhule and the Cornhuskers against a Michigan team that has yet to be tested in any way this season.