Players To Watch: Nebraska vs Michigan

Nebraska will host Biff Poggi and the Michigan Wolverines inside Memorial Stadium. Which Huskers could help launch an upset bid against the Wolverines? It would be the program’s first-ranked win under Matt Rhule, and the first for the Cornhuskers since 2016.

Dylan Raiola

The sophomore quarterback has quietly established himself as one of the premier signal-callers in the Big Ten Conference. In just three games, Raiola has thrown for over 800 yards and eight touchdowns. However, it might be hard for Raiola to continue his work on Saturday. The Wolverines’ secondary has already forced five interceptions and two fumbles this season. And Michigan’s defensive line has also been stout. Granted, Lou Esposito’s unit didn’t have its best outing against Oklahoma. However, they should be able to rebound from their close loss to the Sooners. The Wolverines sacked John Mateer twice and made him throw an interception. We could see Raiola have an even better performance. But it will require the sophomore to use his wide receivers effectively. This means that Dane Key will have to get involved. The senior has had touchdowns in all three of his games at Nebraska. He’s also close to having 200 receiving yards on the season. But if the Wolverines key in on him,  Jacory Barney Jr could  be the Husker’s next best option.  The sophomore from Florida has 181 receiving yards on the season. And he also caught his first receiving touchdown of his career against Houston Christian.

Emmett Johnson

Nebraska’s do-it-all running back will have to force his way to success versus Michigan. The Wolverines’ defensive line has limited its opponents to just 100 rushing yards on the ground. And Michigan has only allowed two rushing touchdowns all season.  Johnson should have an advantage here because of his consistency running the football. In the first game of the season against Cincinnati, Johnson was able to rush for more than 100 yards against the Bearcats. He also rushed for 140 yards against Akron. Houston Christian should’ve been the day he got over 200, but he had 78 yards instead. This should give him enough motivation to gash Michigan’s defense. He also knows that he is one of the better backs in the Big Ten. A strong rushing performance against Michigan could put him into elite company.

Luke Lindenmeyer

Can the junior tight end show up on Saturday? Lindenmeyer had a strong start to the season in Arrowhead Stadium against Cincinnati. He was also able to reel in his first touchdown catch against Akron. However, Lindenmeyer wasn’t a factor in Nebraska’s game against Houston Christian. When Lindenmeyer was targeted, he dropped a pass and failed to block other defenders in the run game. This left Dana Holgorsen unimpressed with his performance. We should expect him to put together a better outing against Michigan. But he will have to make routine plays against the Wolverines. He’ll also have to be creative in how he creates space for the Cornhuskers’ running backs. If he does this, Nebraska should find success on the ground.

Williams Nwaneri

The former Missouri Tiger has been a tone-setter for Nebraska’s defensive line. In his first start as a Blackshirt, Nwaneri had six tackles, a pass breakup and was able to recover Vincent Shaver’s fumble. The former five-star prospect also made his presence felt on a scoop and score against Houston Christian.  But can Nwaneri have his way with the Wolverines’ offensive line? It’s certainly a possibility. Freshman left tackle Andrew Babaloa suffered a knee injury to start the season.  Plus, the Wolverines were without their starting guards against Central Michigan. This led  Grant Newsome’s unit to struggle mightily against Oklahoma. Nebraska’s defensive line can make the Wolverines struggle again. But in order to do that, the Huskers also need Riley Van Poppel  to make an impact. He blocked a field goal against Akron and knocked the ball out of Jake Weir’s hands.