LINCOLN — Going into Saturday’s matchup, Nebraska boasted the No. 1 pass defense in the country. With a developing freshman quarterback and an offense still trying to get its bearings in the pass game, the No. 21 Michigan football team knew it needed support from its backfield to get the job done.
Both junior running back Justice Haynes and sophomore running back Jordan Marshall delivered the necessary performances. On top of that, Bryce Underwood continued upon his stellar Week 3 rushing performance against Central Michigan with another 61 yards with his legs against the Cornhuskers.
The Wolverines took down Nebraska exactly the way they needed to. Knowing the outcome wouldn’t be contingent on the passing game, Michigan established the run game early. By the end of the first half, the Wolverines had 152 yards on the ground — highlighted by Haynes’ 75-yard score with 1:51 left in the half.
“He has good vision, and he has excellent acceleration,” Michigan interim coach Biff Poggi said. “We’ve played at some really good places with good fast secondary players, (Nebraska) and Oklahoma. He has finishing speed.”
Haynes continued his streak of games with 100 or more yards to four with 149 yards, and Marshall tallied 80 of his own. But what was the biggest indicator of success was the Wolverines’ combined 8.7 yards per carry as the team.
Some of the major outliers included Haynes’ 75-yard, Marshall’s 54-yard touchdown and Underwood’s 37-yard touchdown runs, all having a major impact on the game. Although those large runs certainly impacted the yards per carry, Michigan’s near nine-minute drive in the fourth quarter with 16 plays — 10 of which were runs — also played a huge factor.
In that game-clinching drive that led to senior kicker Domnic Zvada hitting a 21-yard chip shot, the offensive line created holes, the Wolverines’ backs broke tackles and Underwood took design runs to make it a two-possession game with under four minutes to go. Haynes had 39 of his rushing yards and 16 receiving yards on that drive alone.
“As an offensive line, we’re just doing our job and trying to open up running lines for the running backs and obviously Justice, he’s just doing his thing,” graduate offensive lineman Greg Crippen said. “It’s been really pretty impressive.”
All three impact players in the running game — Haynes, Marshall and Underwood — had a touchdown on the ground. Combined between all three of them, the Wolverines finished with 286 rushing yards compared to the Cornhuskers’ measly 43. But it was the overall tenacity and drive of the entire offense that allowed Michigan to dominate the trenches.
“If you were to look at the tape last year and then you look at the tape this year, it’s significantly better,” Poggi said. “That’s a young group and we have injuries there, but I thought (offensive line coach Grant Newsome) did a great job and I thought those kids played their hearts out.”
Michigan knew it needed to establish the run game and break off big runs — and it did. Using Haynes as their most reliable back, putting in Marshall as a steady No. 2 and getting Underwood going with his legs, the Wolverines both won the ground game and also ran away with their first win in Big Ten play.
