// This is the single game page 2025 Nebraska football vs. Michigan - HuskerMax game page
Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Jacory Barney celebrates his Hail Mary touchdown catch at the end of the first half.

Michigan 30
Nebraska 27

Sep. 20, 2025 • 2:40 p.m. Central
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, NE • CBS
1st 2nd 3rd 4th  F 
Michigan 10 7 10 3 30
Nebraska 0 17 0 10 27
Embed from Getty Images
Embed from Getty Images
First quarter
  UM: Zvada 46 field goal, 1:38
  UM: Underwood 37 run (Zvada kick) 0:11
Second quarter
  NU: Cunanan 39 field goal, 8:58
  NU: Barney 26 pass from Raiola (Cunanan kick) 2:01
  UM: Haynes 75 run (Zvada kick) 1:51
  NU: Barney 52 pass from Raiola (Cunanan kick) 0:00
Third quarter
  UM: Zvada 56 field goal, 7:43
  UM: Marshall 54 run (Zvada kick) 5:40
Fourth quarter
  NU: Cunanan 38 field goal, 14:56
  UM: Zvada 21 field goal, 3:54
  NU: Haarberg 3 pass from Raiola (Cunanan kick) 1:34

                         UM        NU
FIRST DOWNS ............ 16        23
  By rushing ............ 9         5
  By passing ............ 7        15
  By penalty ............ 0         3
RUSHES-YARDS ....... 33-286     31-43
PASSING-YARDS.......... 105       308
  Comp-Att-Int .... 12-23-0   30-41-1
TOTAL OFFENSE....... 56-391    72-351
Punt Returns-Yds ..... 1--1      3-21
KO Returns-Yds......... 1-1      1-23
Punts-Avg .......... 4-41.0    4-49.2
Fumbles-Lost .......... 1-1       0-0
Penalized-Yds ........ 4-39       3-9
Possession Time ..... 26:43     33:17
Third-Down Conv. ..... 4-12      2-12
Fourth-Down Conv. ..... 0-0       2-3
Red-Zone Scores ....... 1-1       3-4

Attendance: 87,278
Nebraska's Dasan McCullough sacks Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood during the second quarter.
Kenny Larabee, KLIN
Nebraska’s Dasan McCullough sacks Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood during the second quarter.

Coverage

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Wolverines’ pass rush, running game rule the day

While battling from behind most of the afternoon, the Huskers succumbed to a barrage of sacks and a potent Michigan ground game in a 30-27 defeat. Once again, a win against a ranked team was not to be.

After squandering a pair of early scoring opportunities, Nebraska fell behind by 10 points early and the situation appeared bleak. But the Huskers tied the game in spectacular fashion, 17-17, on a 52-yard Hail Mary heave from Dylan Raiola to Jacory Barney Jr. on the final play of the first half. It was Barney’s second TD catch of the quarter.

The Wolverines soon were back on top by 10 after a field goal and a 54-yard touchdown run in the first nine minutes of the third quarter. Kyle Cunanan’s field goal on the first play of the fourth quarter made it a one-score game again, 27-20, but Michigan appeared to put the game away with a 16-play, 77-yard drive for a chip-shot field goal, making the score 30-20 with 3:54 remaining.

Nebraska wasn’t finished, however. The Huskers drove 75 yards for a touchdown with 1:34 left, but the Wolverines recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock for the three-point win.

Raiola was sacked seven times as the Huskers were outgained on the ground, 286-43.

Omaha World-Herald*
HuskerMax/On SI
Lincoln Journal Star*
Husker247
More Neb. Sources
HuskerOnline
Daily Nebraskan
Inside Nebraska*
Corn Nation
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MLive
Wolverines Wire
Detroit Free Press*
Michigan Athletics
USA Today
The Athletic*
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Pregame & team info
Pregame page & opp. info
Predictions | Stats matchup
Series history

Practice reports

MON | TUE | THU
More pregame press
2025 results
08/28 @ Cincinnati W 20-17
09/06 Akron W 68-0
09/13 Houston Christian W 59-7
09/20 Michigan L 27-30
10/04 Michigan St. W 38-27
10/11 @ Maryland W 34-31
10/17 @ Minnesota L 6-24
10/25 Northwestern W 28-21
11/01 South­ern Cal L 17-21
11/08 @ UCLA W 28-21
11/22 @ Penn State L 10-37
11/28 Iowa L 16-40
12/31 Utah L 22-44
— 2024 | 2026 —

Commentary

Stryker

Bud Crawford led the Huskers onto the field, but the team didn’t pack a punch once the whistle blew. The Huskers failed their early-season physicality test.

Tad Stryker
HuskerMax/On SI
Henry

The physicality of a Power Four run game had its way again.

Kaleb Henry
HuskerMax/On Si\I
Bausman

The Wolverines’ running game was too much for the Huskers to handle. Whether that shortcoming is fixable, we’ll see as the season progresses.

Chuck Bausman
HuskerMax/On SI
Stukenholtz

When it’s late and you need a stop from your defense, you absolutely cannot miss tackles on back-to-back 3rd downs.

Cole Stukenholtz
HuskerMax/On SI
Feit

Contrary to popular belief, Nebraska’s season is not over. It is way too soon to declare the Matt Rhule era a failure.

Dave Feit
HuskerMax/On SI
Christopherson

What's concerning is Nebraska has now had four drives inside the 6-yard-line with no points this year.

Brian Christopherson
Husker247
Ketterson

The most important thing to me was the Huskers never stopped fighting back.

Andy Ketterson
Corn Nation
Shatel

There are still holes, deficiencies that reared their heads on Saturday. It’s a better team, but not there yet.

Tom Shatel *
Omaha World-Herald
Just

It wasn't just one thing you could point your finger at here. All of the miscues collectively factored into Nebraska's loss.

Amie Just *
Lincoln Journal Star
Callahan

NU had no answer for the Wolverines’ first-down home runs. Michigan averaged 7.9 yards on 25 first-down plays, including 17 rushes for 165 yards.

Sean Callahan *
HuskerOnline
Sipple

People expect more than middle of the pack. They should expect more. It’s certainly not unreasonable to expect more.

Steven Sipple *
HuskerOnline
Beecham

With all eyes on his program, Rhule showed that the Huskers still aren’t ready for the spotlight.

Ben Beecham
Daily Nebraskan
Sherman

Nebraska played close. Again. It played to win, though. And the Huskers learned, painfully, in what areas they must improve.

Mitch Sherman *
The Athletic
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