Raheem Anderson, C (Western Michigan): Anderson is a backup lineman for Western Michigan.
Andrel Anthony, WR (Duke): Anthony did not record any stats in a 45-33 win over North Carolina State.
Jeremiah Beasley, LB (Missouri): Beasley made 1 tackle in a 29-20 win over South Carolina.
Kechaun Bennett, DE (UCLA): UCLA (0-3) had a bye after firing head coach Deshaun Foster. Bennett has 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss, 1 sack, and 1 quarterback hurry this year.
Tristan Bounds, OT (Arizona): Bounds is a starting offensive tackle for Arizona.
RUSH OFFENSE vs. NEBRASKA RUSH DEFENSE Michigan is #15 in rushing (242.7 yards/game) and yards per carry (6.12). The revelation last week was QB Bryce Underwood's legs when he ran 9 times for 114 yards and 1 touchdown. Running back Justice Haynes has 100+ yards in all three games this season and averages 7.92 yards per attempt so far. Backup RB Jordan Marshall (10 carries, 52 yards, 2 TD last week) had his best game and showed off some nice speed, though one long touchdown run was called back because of a hold. On the offensive line, Michigan will likely be without LG Giovanni El-Hadi but should get RG Brady Norton back from injury. Nebraska is #75 in rushing defense (136 yards allowed/game) and #84 in yards allowed per carry (4.04). Against the lone Power 4 team they played so far, they gave up 30 carries for 202 yards (6.7 yards/carry) to Cincinnati, including 13 carries for 96 yards and 2 touchdowns to QB Brendan Sorsby. Underwood is obviously a better athlete than Sorsby, so has Nebraska figured anything out? Will Michigan let Underwood run that much? It remains to be seen. Nebraska runs a 3-3-5 defense, so the base includes a good number of defensive backs, but their top five tacklers are all defensive backs. Senior safety DeShon Singleton (6'3", 210) and redshirt freshman Rex Guthrie (6'1", 200) lead the team with 12 tackles each. Former top-100 recruit Elijah Jeudy (6'3", 300) starts at nose tackle after coming over from Alabama, and Missouri transfer Williams Nwaneri (6'7", 265) is another former highly recruited player who starts on the defensive line. Michigan should be too big for Nebraska to handle up front, but the 3-3-5 can be tough against gap runs, because sometimes all those linebackers can get run-throughs when linemen pull. Advantage: Michigan
Michigan has only played Nebraska tentimes throughout history and has a 6-4 record against the Cornhuskers. They first played in 1962, but then did not play again until the Fiesta Bowl at the end of the 1985 season. Nebraska joined the Big Ten in 2011. Jim Harbaugh went 4-0 against the 'Huskers.
Steve Breaston 69-yard kickoff return (2005)
Donovan Peoples-Jones 60-yard punt return TD (2018)
Dylan McCaffrey 56-yard TD pass to Ronnie Bell (2018)
Hassan Haskins 50-yard run (2021)
Cade McNamara 48-yard pass to Mike Sainristil (2021)
Denard Robinson 46-yard pass to Roy Roundtree (2011)
Karan Higdon 46-yard TD run (2018)
Karan Higdon 44-yard TD run (2018)
Denard Robinson 38-yard TD pass to Martavious Odoms (2011)
Cade McNamara 35-yard pass to Daylen Baldwin (2021)
Hit the jump for videos of Peoples-Jones, McCaffrey-to-Bell, and Haskins.
Michigan is really good. No disrespect to CMU, but that was an a** kicking. Michigan dominated them physically, and that happened minus the two starting offensive guards and a potential starting left tackle in Andrew Babalola. Michigan averaged 7.7 yards per play, including 6.9 yards per rushing attempt and 9.4 yards per passing attempt. Michigan had seven players with a rush of 10+ yards, including two wide receivers in Andrew Marsh and Anthony Simpson.
Or Central Michigan isn't good. One thing I have noticed over the years is that the weaker opponents usually have at least one guy who's dangerous, whether it's a tough running back who's difficult to bring down or a speedy slot receiver or maybe a quick quarterback. That's not the case with Central Michigan. I didn't see anyone who made me nervous, and they couldn't threaten the Wolverines. Defensively, they might play with enough discipline to get some wins this season, but they don't have playmakers on offense.
I've been aware of Matt Drinkall for a while because of clinics and such. Having spent several years at Army recently, he's very much entrenched in that style of football, which is about discipline and conservative football.
RUSH OFFENSE vs. CENTRAL MICHIGAN RUSH DEFENSE Michigan is #60 in rushing offense (173.5 yards/game) after two contests and #37 in yards per carry (5.42), based largely on the running of Alabama transfer Justice Haynes (35 carries, 284 yards, 4 touchdowns), who has 75-, 59-, and 56-yard runs already this year. The big question for this phase is the offensive line, which already lost 5-star freshman Andrew Babalola prior to the season and saw left guard Giovanni El-Hadi go down last week against Oklahoma. Even Cal Poly transfer Brady Norton, the starter at right guard, had to leave last week's game at one point, drawing in redshirt freshman Jake Guarnera. El-Hadi will likely miss this week's game, so I would expect Nate Efobi to start this week. Central Michigan is #48 in yards allowed per game (99.5) and #84 in yards allowed per carry (3.98) after a week in which they allowed Pitt to run 26 times for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns. That's not an awful performance, but it indicates CMU will probably struggle against a Big Ten rushing attack. Senior inside linebacker Jordan Kwiatkowski (6'1", 235) leads the team with 14 tackles and fifth year senior OLB Dakota Cochran (6'2", 240) is right behind him with 13. Redshirt sophomore OLB Korver Demma (6'3", 245), a transfer from Nebraska, leads the team with 1.5 tackles for loss. The defensive line will be undersized compared to most Michigan opponents. This should be a "get right" game for Michigan's offensive line to continue working on its cohesiveness. Advantage: Michigan
Michigan is 3-0 over Central Michigan all-time with wins taking place in 2003, 2006, and 2013. It's a little surprising to me that it was twelve years ago when the Wolverines last played the Chips, but I guess time flies.
All of these names make some sense except one . . . and that name appears twice.
Chris Perry 63-yard run (2003)
Raymon Taylor 53-yard interception return (2013)
John Navarre 48-yard touchdown pass to Braylon Edwards (2003)
Devin Gardner 45-yard pass to Joe Reynolds (2013)
Dennis Norfleet 39-yard kickoff return (2013)
Steve Breaston 38-yard punt return (2003)
Dennis Norfleet 38-yard run (2013)
John Navarre 36-yard pass to Steve Breaston (2003)
Shane Morris 36-yard pass to Devin Funchess (2013)
Derrick Green 30-yard run (2013)
Joe Reynolds 30-yard blocked punt return for a touchdown (2013)
Yep, it's walk-on receiver Joe Reynolds appearing twice on the above list that's a name you totally didn't expect to see.
The team the team the team. I'm not going to start off talking about He Who Shall Not Be Named in the First Paragraph because I want to take a more holistic look at Michigan's 2025 team. But this looks like a complete team. I don't think it's a championship team, but it's a complete team in that there are no glaring weaknesses or players who are obviously overmatched. Now some might say "Meh, it's New Mexico and they were 5-7 last year and lost their coach and brought in a bunch of new players," but it's a team that had a mindset of running the ball last year (#2 in the country in 2024) and it's one that seems to have taken on the attitude of its coach. I heard good things about Jason Eck a few years ago on the coaching clinic circuit, and the team played with some swagger, which you have to do coming into Michigan Stadium as a giant underdog. Michigan looks like a pro team in the sense that there are no easy days against pro teams. If you have an injury on your 53-man roster in the NFL, you bring in another guy who looks like a pro, because he's been a backup or he's a veteran who played for ten years but maybe didn't have the right contract situation. I mentioned before that this is the deepest Michigan team I've seen (perhaps not the best, but the deepest), and I think that showed on Saturday night.
