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Steve, Craig, Tim, and Steve B welcome you to The Wolverine Den!

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This Week at The Wolverine Den

Game Weather

Game Preview

The Michigan Wolverines take to the road for their first Big Ten game of the season. The opponent is the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Nebraska has been historically one of the best football teams in the nation, but they have fallen on recent hard times. Over the past 10 years, Nebraska is 50-69 for a 42% winning percentage. Even worse, in conference games, the Huskers have only won 35.2% over the past 10 years. They haven't beaten a ranked opponent since 2016. Last season's 7-6 record was only the 2nd winning record in a decade. But it's still Nebraska and hope is riding high in Lincoln. Consider that Nebraska has sold out its stadium for 405 straight games, dating back to 1962. During that span, they have won 81% of their home games. Is Nebraska back?

The 2025 Cornhuskers are led by former 5 star QB Dylan Raiola. Like Bryce Underwood, Raiola started as a true freshman last year (and had a pretty good season) 2800 passing yards with 13 TDs, but 11 interceptions. This year, he is completing 76.6% of his throws and has 8 TDs in 3 games. He is the son of former All-Pro Detroit Lion Dominic Raiola. Raiola is a good quarterback. The best wide receiver is a transfer from Kentucky, Dane Key. The top running back is Emmitt Johnson, who ranks 10th in the nation after 3 games.

The Huskers defense, known as the Black Shirts, is off to a great start. They lead the nation in allowing the fewest passing yards per game and have held three opponents to only 8 points per game. But this is more a reflection of the competition than the prowess of the defense. Even against really bad teams, Nebraska has only 5 sacks on the season and only 1 interception.

The Wolverine Den Trivia

Michigan did not punt at all in last weeks game. When was the last time that happened?

Michigan started the season with a more difficult-than-expected game against New Mexico and then a road game against Oklahoma. Turns out that New Mexico is actually a pretty good team, soundly beating UCLA last week in the Rose Bowl. And Oklahoma is now ranked #11 in the latest AP poll and considered by many to be a playoff team. The dominating performance by the Wolverines last week against CMU shows they are putting all the pieces together and should be at peak performance on the road at Nebraska. This is a crucial game on the schedule for Michigan. Win and the Wolverines are back in the playoff conversation. Lose, and we would need to run the table to have any chance at the playoffs.

The Wolverines have performed historically well in Big Ten Conference opening games, winning 53 of their last 57 conference openers, including a 56-10 win over Nebraska in 2018. The Maize and Blue are 8-4-1 all-time against the Big Red and 2-1-1 in Lincoln. The Wolverines have won the last 4 match ups. Is Nebraska back? Or will the fans in Lincoln turn to their #1 ranked volleyball team after losing again to Michigan? I'm betting on volleyball.

The Wolverines are a 2½-point road favorite.

Steve's Prediction

24-21

Brown's Prediction

28-21

Tim's Prediction

28-17

Craig's Prediction

27-20

Brown 10, Steve 9½, Craig 5½, Tim 5