Let’s see which team takes the win on this Wolverines at Cornhuskers betting preview.
The Michigan Wolverines are in the letdown spot following what many say was their best all-around performance of the season in a 38-17 win at Wisconsin last week. The Nebraska Cornhuskers are not a team to be overlooked though, especially on a Saturday night in Lincoln where the team has gone 3-0 so far this season.
The Wolverines are just a -3 point favorite which has trap written all over it. Michigan’s 5-0 record looks nice on paper, but they’ve been at least a TD favorite in four of those wins, and two TD favorites in three of those contests.
Wolverines Truly Tested Here
Nebraska let one slip away in their season opener, falling 30-22 at Illinois as -6.5 road favorites. They’ve gone just 2-2 since then, but the reason the Cornhuskers can’t be overlooked is because their losses were to #6 Oklahoma (23-16) and #11 Michigan State (23-20 OT).
Make no mistake UM looked great last week in Madison, especially defensively as Wisconsin ran for just 43 yards on 32 carries. The 17 points by the Badgers were the most Michigan has allowed all season, and their 12.8 ppg allowed is 6th best in the nation.
QB Cade McNamara looked good going 17/28 with 2 TD against the Big Ten’s #2 defense. That was a solid performance considering it was Michigan’s first road game of the season after starting off 4-0 in Ann Arbor. How will the Wolverines fare in a 2nd straight conference road game however?
Nebraska Looked Complete Last Week
The Cornhuskers are playing their second straight home game after a complete dismantling of Northwestern last week, 56-7 as -11 point favorites. QB Adrian Martinez had 3 rushing TDs in the 1st quarter alone as Nebraska overall ran the ball 53 times for 427 yards.
Nebraska has the 5th best pass defense in the Big Ten so it is a bit concerning that they allowed Northwestern’s Ryan Hilinski to throw for 256 yards last week. The big concern on Saturday though is defending against the run, as Michigan leads the Big Ten and is 7th in the nation with 246 yards/game on the ground.
Michigan’s defense looked good last week, but Wisconsin also now has the worst offense in the Big 10. Nebraska meanwhile very quietly has put up over 500 yards/game with Martinez accounting for 15 combined TD through six games.
These two squads did not meet in 2020, and actually haven’t faced each other since a 56-10 Michigan beatdown in Scott Frost’s first game at Nebraska. Since then Frost is 0-9 against ranked opponents, so maybe there is some value at the Wolverines -3 points.
Michigan at Nebraska Pick
Martinez is special and that, combined with the fact that Michigan might be a little bit overrated is making the Cornhuskers look like a solid play. It’s a Saturday night game, in front of their own fans, and with Michigan playing their second straight conference road tilt. Recipe for disaster for UM.
Pick: Nebraska +3
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