Huskers Open Big Ten Play at Michigan on FS1

NEBRASKA at MICHIGAN
SEPT. 22, 2018 | MICHIGAN STADIUM
ANN ARBOR, MICH. | 11 A.M. (CT)

BROADCAST INFO
TV - FS1 (Tim Brando, Spencer Tillman, Holly Sonders)
RADIO - Husker Sports Network (Greg Sharpe, Matt Davison, Ben McLaughlin)
SATELLITE RADIO - Sirius Channel 83, XM 384
INTERNET RADIO - Huskers.com, TuneIn.com
APP AUDIO - Official Huskers App, TuneIn App

HUSKERS
Record: 0-2, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: lost to Troy, 24-19
Rankings: NR
Coach: Scott Frost
Career/NU Record: 19-9 (3rd Year)/0-2 (1st Year) 
vs. Michigan: 0-1

WOLVERINES
Record: 2-1, 0-0 Big Ten
Last Game: def. SMY, 45-20
Rankings: 19 AP, 21 Coaches
Coach: Jim Harbaugh
Career/Michigan Record: 88-39 (11th Year)/30-12 (4th Year)
vs. Nebraska: 0-0

The Matchup
Nebraska takes to the road for the first time in 2018, traveling to Michigan for the Big Ten opener. The matchup between two of college football's iconic programs will kick off at Noon ET (11 a.m. CT) on Saturday at Michigan Stadium. The game will be televised on FS1 and available on the IMG Husker Sports Network.

Nebraska and Michigan both rank among the top five all-time in college football in victories and have combined to win 88 conference championships and play in 99 bowl games. Both schools have a history of national championships, most recently sharing the 1997 national title.

Nebraska will head to Ann Arbor looking for its first victory of 2018, following a second close home loss in a 24-19 setback against Troy. The Huskers controlled the stat sheet for a second straight win, but had three costly turnovers in dropping to 0-2.

Michigan will enter Saturday's game with a 2-1 record following a 45-20 victory over SMU on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The Wolverines dropped their opener at No. 8 Notre Dame, but have rolled to wins the past two weeks, outscoring the opposition 94-23. Michigan has made a statement in the running game, churning out 308 and 237 yards on the ground the past two weeks..

This Week's Numbers
10 - Nebraska and Michigan will be meeting for the 10th time on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The series is tied at 4-4-1, with Nebraska holding a 2-1 advantage since the Huskers joined the Big Ten in 2011.

14 - Nebraska sophomore receiver JD Spielman will be playing in his 14th career game on Saturday at Michigan.Spielman needs 58 receiving yards to reach 1,000 career yards, which would mark the fastest Husker to the 1,000-yard plateau. Heisman winner Johnny Rodgers accomplished the feat in 16 games.

7 - Nebraska is one of only seven teams in the FBS to rank among the top 25 nationally in both rushing offense and rushing defense. The Huskers are the only Big Ten team in that group and join Air Force, Cincinnati, Georgia, Mississippi State, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M.

Nebraska-Michigan Series
Nebraska and Michigan will meet for the 10th time overall and the fourth time as Big Ten opponents on Saturday in Ann Arbor. The schools met each season from 2011 to 2013 as members of the Big Ten Legends Division.

This week's meeting is the first matchup between the schools since the Big Ten switched to an East-West Division format in 2014. 

• Nebraska owns a 2-1 record against the Wolverines in Big Ten matchups, including a 2013 victory at Michigan Stadium.  

• The schools have met in a pair of bowl games, splitting two closely contested games. Michigan defeated the Huskers, 27-23, in the Fiesta Bowl following the 1985 season. Nebraska won 32-28 over the Wolverines in the 2005 Alamo Bowl. 

• Nebraska is 2-2 against ranked Michigan teams, with the Wolverines ranked in four of the past five meetings.

Traiditional Powers Set for Saturday Showdown
Nebraska and Michigan are two of the most successful program in the history of college football. Michigan ranks first in college football history with 945 wins, while Nebraska is fifth at 893 victories.

The Cornhusker football program has won five national championships, while Michigan has 12 national crowns in its history. The schools shared the 1997 national championship, with Nebraska earning the Coaches crown, and Michigan being named the AP national champs.

Huskers Ready to Open Big Ten Conference Action
Nebraska will begin the Big Ten portion of its 2018 schedule Saturday at Michigan. The game marks the start of the Huskers' eighth season of Big Ten competition.

• The Huskers are 5-2 in Big Ten openers since joining the league in 2011. 

• Michigan is the fifth different school Nebraska has faced in a Big Ten opener. It also marks the second straight year, Nebraska has opened league play against an East Division foe, after defeating Rutgers in last year's Big Ten opener. 

• Nebraska has won 39 of its past 43 conference openers overall, with three of those losses against top-20 teams. 

• Overall, Nebraska is 91-21-2 all-time in conference openers (.807 winning percentage). 

• Saturday's game is also the first of five Big Ten road games in 2018. The Huskers are 3-4 in their first conference road game since joining the Big Ten. NU has won its last two conference road openers, picking up wins at Northwestern (2016) and Illinois (2017). 

Huskers to Face Nationaly Ranked Wolverine Squad
The trip to Ann Arbor on Saturday will mark Nebraska's first game of the 2018 season against a ranked opponent. Michigan enters the game ranked 19th in the Associated Press poll and No. 21 by the coaches.

Nebraska has four upcoming games against teams in the AP poll including No. 4 Ohio State, No. 18 Wisconsin, No. 19 Michigan and No. 24 Michigan State.  

• Nebraska will be looking for its first win over a ranked opponent since a win over No. 22 Oregon in Lincoln in 2016. It would also be the highest ranked team Nebraska has defeated since a 39-38 win over No. 6 Michigan State in 2015. 

• The Huskers' last road win over a ranked opponent was a 17-14 win at No. 12 Penn State in 2011. 

• Head Coach Scott Frost led UCF to three consecutive wins against ranked teams to complete the 2017 season, capping the perfect campaign with a win over No. 7 Auburn in the Peach Bowl. Frost was 3-1 overall against ranked opponents at UCF, with the only loss at No. 5 Michigan in 2016. 

Nebraska Set for Frost's First Big Ten Game
Scott Frost will coach his first Big Ten Conference game on Saturday at No. 19 Michigan. The contest will also mark Frost’s first road game as Nebraska’s head coach and first time facing a ranked opponent at Nebraska.

• The last first-year head coach to win his conference opener at Nebraska was Bill Callahan in 2004, when the Huskers defeated Kansas, 14-8, to open Big 12 play. Callahan is also the last first-year Husker to win his first road game, leading the Huskers to a 24-17 victory at Pittsburgh on Sept. 18, 2004.

• The trip to Ann Arbor brings Frost back to the location of his first road game as a head coach. On Sept. 10, 2016, UCF lost to Michigan in the second game of Frost’s head coaching career. 

• Michigan also marked the first road game for Bob Devaney as Nebraska’s head coach. Devaney led Nebraska to a 25-13 victory over the Wolverines at the Big House on Sept. 29, 1962 in his second game as Husker head coach.

NU Looks to Keep Run Game Moving Against Wolverines
Nebraska churned out 329 rushing yards in the opener against Colorado, and added 187 rushing yards against Troy.

The rushing total against Colorado bettered Nebraska's season highs from 2017. In fact, the Huskers had 243 rushing yards by halftime, surpassing last year's single-game high of 225 yards against Arkansas State.

• The 329 rushing yards were Nebraska's most yards on the ground since rushing for 458 yards against Illinois in 2014.

• Nebraska surpassed 300 yards on the ground for the first time since rushing for 310 yards at Northwestern on Sept. 24, 2016.

• Adrian Martinez (117) and running back Greg Bell (104) both cracked the century mark on the ground. That marked the first time Nebraska had a pair of 100-yard rushers in the same game since a 2014 win over Illinois.

• Nebraska had a pair of runs of 40 yards or more against Colorado–a 41-yard touchdown by Martinez and a 45-yard rush by Bell. That was the first time Nebraska had two runs of at least 40 yards in a game since a 2014 win at Fresno State.

• Nebraska was solid again on the ground against Troy, rushing for 187 yards. NU was again led on the ground by a true freshman, with Maurice Washington rushing 14 times for 92 yards.

• Head Coach Scott Frost led a successful rushing attack in his previous meeting with Michigan. In a 2016 loss at Ann Arbor, UCF rushed for 275 yards, more rushing yards than Michigan has allowed in a single game in the subsequent 27 games.

Huskers Elect Four Captains
Four Husker seniors were elected by their teammates as captains for the 2018 season. On offense, the captains are OG Jerald Foster and WR Stanley Morgan Jr. Representing the defense are NT Mick Stoltenberg and LB Luke Gifford.

2018 Nebraska Team Captains
Jerald Foster, Sr., OG, Lincoln, Neb.
Stanley Morgan Jr., Sr., WR, New Orleans, La.
Luke Gifford, Sr., LB, Lincoln, Neb.
Mick Stoltenberg, Sr., NT, Gretna, Neb.

• This marks the second straight season Nebraska has had three Nebraska natives as captains. Prior to last season Nebraska had not had three homegrown captains since 2001.

• This marks the 13th straight season at least one native Nebraskan has been elected as a captain.

• Foster and Gifford were teammates at Lincoln Southeast High School. This marks the first time high school teammates have served as captains in the same year since Jerry Tagge and Jim Anderson in 1971. Tagge and Anderson both went to high school at Green Bay West in Wisconsin. Foster and Gifford are the first pair on in-state high school teammates to serve as captains together.

• Foster is serving as a captain for the second straight season, and becomes just the 11th two-time team captain in NU history. This marks the sixth straight season an offensive lineman has served as a captain.

Nebraska's full notes package can be found in the PDF file at the top of this page