The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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THE WOLVERINE 2022 FOOTBALL PREVIEW ■ 131 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE Nebraska head coach Scott Frost is betting on himself. His seat is warm after posting yet another losing campaign at the helm of his alma mater, going 3-9 last season. The Cornhuskers were close to breaking through, but could never fin- ish the deal. All nine setbacks came by single digits, the most such losses in the FBS since 1978. Frost restructured his contract, which included taking a $1 million pay cut for this coming season, and fired four of his assistant coaches on offense. The Nebraska offense racked up a lot of yardage — 446.6 per game, ranking 22nd in the country — last season, but turned the ball over 18 times, slotted 106th in red-zone scor- ing percentage and posted just 27.9 points per contest, 77th in the land. The entire operation has been turned upside down, with a new coordinator in Mark Whipple (from Pittsburgh) and pass game coordinator in Mickey Joseph (LSU). After four seasons with the program, the school's all-time leader in total offense, quar- terback Adrian Martinez, transferred to Kan- sas State. He's set to be replaced by junior Texas transfer Casey Thompson, the Big 12's leader with 24 touchdown passes last season. He started 10 games and completed 63.2 per- cent of his passes for 2,114 yards with 9 inter- ceptions, before, like Martinez, looking for a change of scenery. Other notable transfer portal additions for the offense include junior wide receiver Trey Palmer (LSU) and senior wideout Marcus Washington (Texas). Palmer notched 41 recep- tions for 458 yards and 3 touchdowns in his LSU career, while Washington recorded 24 grabs for 366 yards and 2 scores during his time in Austin. Senior wideout Omar Manning is the top returning pass-catcher (26 grabs for 380 yards and 2 touchdowns). Three starting offensive linemen are also back — though the unit remains a question mark — and so is sophomore running back Rahmir Johnson, the Huskers' second-lead- ing rusher a year ago (behind Martinez). He churned out 495 yards and 4 touchdowns on 112 attempts. The linebacking crew is strong and headlines a defense that tied for 26th in the country with 22.7 points allowed per game last season but loses a lot of key pieces, including six starters. Junior inside 'backer Luke Reimer led Ne- braska with 108 tackles a year ago, adding 6 stops for loss, 6 pass breakups, 3 forced fum- bles and 1 interception. Sophomore counterpart Nike Henrich was right behind him with 99 tackles, 3.5 of which came behind the line of scrimmage. Landing junior defensive end Ochaun Mathis out of TCU was massive. The 6-5, 260-pounder started 34 games for the Horned Frogs, totaling 135 tackles, 30.5 stops for loss and 15.5 sacks over four seasons. Before he made his commitment, the second-team All- Big 12 pick in 2020 and 2021 was ranked as the No. 1 available player in the transfer portal by The Athletic. Big question marks remain on the defensive line and secondary, positions where Nebraska is thin. The Cornhuskers will have to replace both starting defensive tackles up front. And while junior Garrett Nelson (57 tackles, team-high 11.5 stops for loss, 5 sacks) and senior Caleb Tannor (33 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 2 sacks) are back, depth is thin at edge defender. Three starters, including cornerback Cam Taylor-Britt, a second-round pick to the Cin- cinnati Bengals, are gone from the defensive backfield. Notes Nebraska ranked sixth nationally with 9.3 yards per pass at- tempt last season … The Cornhuskers notched just 65 tackles for loss (tied for 93rd nationally) and 20 sacks (101st). ❑ PLAYERS TO WATCH Offense: Casey Thompson, Jr., QB The 6-1, 200-pounder's three career games with 5 or more touchdowns were the most in Texas history. Defense: Ochaun Mathis, Jr., DE The TCU transfer's 9 sacks were the most by a Horned Frog in three seasons and led the Big 12 in 2020. Cornhuskers Are On The Verge Of Breaking Through 2022 SCHEDULE Date Opponent 2021 Result Aug. 27 NORTHWESTERN* W, 56-7 Sept. 3 NORTH DAKOTA — Sept. 10 GEORGIA SOUTHERN — Sept. 17 OKLAHOMA L, 23-16 Oct. 1 INDIANA — Oct. 7 at Rutgers — Oct. 15 at Purdue L, 28-23 Oct. 29 ILLINOIS L, 30-22 Nov. 5 MINNESOTA L, 30-23 Nov. 12 at Michigan L, 32-29 Nov. 19 WISCONSIN L, 35-28 Nov. 25 at Iowa L, 28-21 *Nebraska will play Northwestern at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, Ireland GAME 10 • NEBRASKA CORNHUSKERS • NOV. 12 QUICK FACTS All-Time Series: Michigan leads 6-4-1 First Meeting: U-M 31, Nebraska 0 (Oct. 21, 1905 at Ann Arbor, Mich.) Last Meeting: U-M 32, Nebraska 29 (Oct. 9, 2021 at Lincoln, Neb.) Head Coach: Scott Frost, 15-29 (5th year) at Nebraska, 34-36 overall (7th year) 2021 In Review: 3-9, 1-8 Big Ten (6th West) Final 2021 Ranking: Unranked Returning Starters: 11 (5 offense, 5 defense, 1 spe - cialist) Last Bowl Appearance: 2016 (Music City Bowl vs. Ten- nessee, L 38-24) RETURNING LEADERS Passing: Logan Smothers (317 yards, 0 TDs) Rushing: Rahmir Johnson (495 yards, 4 TDs) Receiving: Omar Manning (380 yards, 2 TDs) Tackles: Luke Reimer (108) Sacks: Garrett Nelson (5) Interceptions: Myles Farmer, Luke Reimer (1) Nebraska running back Rahmir Johnson recorded 275 of his 495 rushing yards after contact in 2021, per Pro Football Focus. PHOTO COURTESY NEBRASKA ATHLETICS