Fortunate? Perhaps.
However, college football remains an entity in which the best teams make their own luck.
Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez has a long history of dropping the ball. Did he simply do that or Michigan safety Brad Hawkins make a brilliant play by ripping it out of his hands?
It's a moot point because it was nonetheless a fumble, which Hawkins recovered and ran deep in Cornhusker territory. Jake Moody made a 39-yard field goal and Michigan is 6-0.
Whether the Wolverines have enough to beat the likes of Michigan State, Penn State and Ohio State remains an open question. The Big Ten East is arguably college football's toughest division. At minimum, though, Michigan has recovered to the point the stench has been removed from last season's 2-4 disaster.
This had the same feeling as the Rutgers' game. Michigan's defense is vastly improved, yet has been inexplicably gashed in the second half of two games by less-than-stellar offenses.
Quarterback Cade McNamara and Michigan's pedestrian passing attack is disconcerting.
The Wolverines left a number of passing plays on the field Saturday as Nebraska loaded up to stop the run. A strength for McNamara is taking care of the ball. His untimely interception in the second half was an aberration. It is, however, a red flag McNamara has thrown just two TD passes - both against Wisconsin - in four games vs. Power 5 competition. And you have to wonder if head coach Jim Harbaugh should work 5-star freshman QB J.J. McCarthy more into the rotation before it is too late.
Ohio State and MSU have much more explosive passing attacks than Michigan, as does Penn State, well, at least until QB Sean Clifford left Saturday's loss to Iowa with a 17-3 lead because of an undisclosed injury.
One factor that could be playing into Michigan's favor is the unusual volatility of this season. Alabama, Clemson and Ohio State have all lost. Notre Dame was blown out by Cincinnati. You'd think Wake Forest would be in serious trouble after sensational running back Kenneth Walker III transferred to MSU, but the traditionally hapless Demon Deacons are 6-0, just like the Spartans. So is Kentucky, led by Penn State transfer QB Will Levis, after thrashing LSU, which is floundering at 3-3.
Heisman Trophy favorite Spencer Rattler was benched as Oklahoma's QB and true freshman Caleb Williams led the Sooners' electrifying comeback win over Texas.
This wasn't necessarily a game Michigan would have lost in the past under Harbaugh. They won their first nine games in 2016 and were ranked No.2. It fell apart. The Wolverines were 10-1 and ranked fourth in 2018. They disintegrated.
It's merely the halfway point. Michigan is still in the mix. Can the Wolverines finish this time? Seems unlikely if they can't improve their passing attack and clamp down better defensively in the second half.
