Michigan vs. Nebraska point spread: Picking Wolverines vs. Cornhuskers

The Michigan Wolverines have taken care of business in their first four games. They currently sit at 4-0 overall on their 2023 campaign, even though their offense has not looked overly impressive. Their defense, however, has been one of the most dominant units in the country, only allowing 23 total points through their first four games.

The Wolverines will look to remain unbeaten on Saturday, as they take on the Nebraska Cornhuskers in Lincoln. Michigan is currently a 17.5-point favorite heading into the matchup. On Wednesday evening, Andy Staples and Ralph Russo shared their thoughts and analysis on the game.

Both Andy and Ralph agree that the Cornhuskers will struggle mightily to move the football on Saturday in Lincoln, Nebraska.

“So, Michigan’s a 17.5-point favorite. I think Michigan covers in this one. I don’t think Nebraska’s offense is going to be able to do anything against Michigan’s defense,” Staples said.

“It’s a little like the Georgia, I think my assessment is very similar to Georgia–Auburn. It’s like….how are you completing passes Nebraska? Nebraska is basically trying to hide its passing game. Hide its quarterback. And I don’t think you’re gonna be able to do that because that requires running the ball against Michigan, when there’s no threat of a passing game,” Russo said.

The Michigan defense is only allowing 5.8 points per game through their first four games, ranking them first in the nation in that category and by a substantial margin. Their rush defense and pass defense both currently rank in the top 15 in the country in yards allowed per game.

“Now, to get back to the comment I made about Kentucky, Michigan has played so slowly this year. Like, they haven’t covered yet, but that’s because they’re just not running plays. They’re just milking the clock. They’ve had all of these enormous spreads and they’re just not playing a lot of football. So, I could see another game like that, where Michigan runs barely 60 plays and they win by 17 which barely covers the spread. But they’re never in doubt. They’re never threatened. That’s my only concern here. But again, I don’t know if Nebraska’s gonna put up 10 points in this game, without a lot of help,” Russo said.

“J.J. [McCarthy]’s been pretty explosive in the pass game this year, so I think Michigan’s gonna cover this one. Nebraska’s defense has been good. It’s been worn out because the offense just doesn’t get anything done, but I think the problem is you get Michigan leaning on you now and you’re still not gonna be able to move the ball when you get it. And I think that’s just a recipe for a Michigan cover,” Staples said on Wednesday evening.

Even though the Wolverines haven’t run that many offensive plays, running back Blake Corum is still averaging 6.1 yards per carry and he’s already found the end zone eight times on just 58 carries. He leads the team with 351 rushing yards.