Michigan vs. Nebraska: Five takeaways after a Michigan victory

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — There were snow flurries to start the game and it reminded everyone what Michigan is strong at. The Wolverines ran the ball down the Cornhuskers’ throat on Saturday.

J.J. McCarthy threw two passing touchdowns — to Ronnie Bell and to Bell who fumbled and Andrel Anthony recovered in the end zone — and ran for another. But he completed 47% of his passes and struggled to hit the deep throws.

Blake Corum ran for 162 yards in a game where he dominated. The Michigan offensive line did a great job in the run game but struggled with pass protection. McCarthy was sacked twice on Saturday, and the Cornhuskers had solid pressure.

In the end, Michigan allowed three points in the first half to Nebraska but those were the only points. The Wolverines won 34-3 on Saturday to move to 10-0 on the year.

Here are our five takeaways from the win.

Blake Corum continues to dominate

Photo by: Isaiah Hole

Blake Corum definitely will remain in the Heisman race after Saturday. The junior running back was basically the entire Michigan offense against Nebraska.

He was pulled to begin the fourth quarter with the game in hand, but he still carried the ball 28 times for 162 yards and one touchdown. Like I’ve said many times, this team is going to soar as long as Corum runs well. He has eclipsed 100 yards in seven straight games and he keeps his legs moving during contact.

Corum may have had a larger workload against Nebraska because Donovan Edwards ran the ball twice. It was never apparent that he was injured. He stood on the sideline with his helmet on and looked as if he could play, but something must of happened since the sophomore back didn’t play much.

Tavierre Dunlap and CJ Stokes did well spelling Corum on Saturday. Both carried the load, along with Isaiah Gash, in the fourth quarter.

Receivers not creating separation

Photo by: Isaiah Hole

Michigan attempted to throw the ball down the field, but as usual, not many were completed.

J.J. McCarthy completed 25- and 28-yard passes to Ronnie Bell and Colston Loveland, respectively, but that was it. To his credit, McCarthy had the ball in a good place for Cornelius Johnson to catch a pass for 30 yards, but the ball went right threw his hands.

McCarthy wasn’t overly sharp against Nebraska, but he ended up with two passing scores. At the same time, the receivers need to get some separation which would quit forcing McCarthy to lay the ball on the money every single throw.

Just about every throw downfield is well covered because Johnson or Bell — the only two that get deep ball targets — are covered. Maybe the Wolverines should try throwing the ball to some other players when they have a design of 20-or-more yards. Roman Wilson should be able to get separation or some of the young, fast receivers could get a shot.

Felt sluggish on offense

Photo by: Isaiah Hole

It was obvious Michigan was facing a 3-6 team and knew it.

Michigan attempted a few deep shots down the field and when those didn’t work, the Wolverines resorted to what works every game, running the football.

Michigan dominated the line of scrimmage and it worked. The Wolverines ran for 264 yards, but it just felt like the offense was a little off. McCarthy completed just 47% and of his throws and the play-calling was very vanilla.

The Wolverines made a blunder in the first half. Michigan started a drive with 4 minutes left in the second quarter with three timeouts. But the coaching staff’s time management was putrid. The Wolverines drove the ball down the field, by running and only running, and Michigan refused to call timeouts.

There were six seconds left in the half and Michigan was on the Nebraska 12-yard line but the Wolverines had to call a timeout and kick a field goal. Jim Harbaugh had two timeouts in his pocket entering halftime due to terrible clock management.

Just felt like an off day. But Michigan’s off day is better than some team’s A-game.

Michigan defense remained aggressive

Photo by: Isaiah Hole

Michigan allowed three points in the first half and that was it.

The Wolverines are outscoring their opponents in the second half, 117-3, over the last five games. The maize and blue appeared to sleepwalk through this game on offense, but the defense was really good once again.

Michigan held Nebraska to 146 yards of offense. The Cornhuskers had three three-and-outs in the first half, and in the second half, only one drive resulted in more than six plays.

The maize and blue forced two fumbles, both were recovered by the Cornhuskers, and Michigan sacked the Cornhuskers’ quarterbacks twice. Nebraska had just eight first downs in the game and struggled to gain any positive yardage.

Red zone offense was good

Photo by: Isaiah Hole

For the second straight game, the Michigan red zone offense was efficient.

The Wolverines got inside the Nebraska 20-yard line four times. The maize and blue scored touchdowns three times and kicked a field goal once.

It was a mixture of scores for Michigan. Blake Corum scored a two-yard run. J.J. McCarthy threw a nine-yard pass to Ronnie Bell and McCarthy ran for a three-yard score.

The field goal came before halftime. We already talked about it, but that was because of the poor time management from the Michigan coaching staff.

For a sluggish game, the Wolverines should feel good about the efficiency in the red zone.

Story originally appeared on Wolverines Wire