Frost, then head coach at Central Florida, said his team ‘out hit’ Michigan in a 51-14 loss.
ANN ARBOR — Jim Harbaugh claims to have not remembered, but his players and coaches sure did.
It was 2016 and Scott Frost’s budding Central Florida team went into Michigan Stadium and dropped a 51-14 game to the Wolverines. Afterward, Frost told a room full of reporters that his team outhit Michigan, comments that largely rang hollow at the time.
But two years later, before No. 19 Michigan whipped a Frost-led Nebraska team, 56-10, those were remained use it as motivation. Defensive coordinator Don Brown, too.
« It was stressed a lot, » linebacker Devin Bush, Jr. said. « Coach Brown came in the meeting and he re-stated what he said two years ago, about UCF.
« We really took it to heart. We wanted to make a statement, like when you say something, make sure it’s true. »
Michigan responded on Saturday with a full throttling of Nebraska, hanging 39 first-half points on the reeling Cornhuskers (0-3,0-1 Big Ten), who mustered just 132 yards of total offense.
By halftime, the Wolverines had 305 yards of total offense, rushed for four touchdowns and forced two turnovers. And Michigan players say they felt Nebraska quit.
« We didn’t forget that — over there, the coach’s comments last time we played them, » starting left tackle Jon Runyan Jr. said. « All week, coach Harbaugh, coach (Ed) Warinner talked about being tough. Out-toughing them. And that’s we did. We proved it today. »
Defensively, Michigan held Nebraska to just 61 yards of offense through the first three quarters. The unit totaled four sacks and 14 tackles for loss, led by Bush and defensive end Rashan Gary, each of which had a sack and two tackles for loss.
The Cornhuskers finished 3 of 13 on third-down conversions. It took them nearly 40 minutes of game time to score, and by then the Wolverines had racked up a 46-0 lead and had started inserting backups.
« It’s been all week, » starting defensive end Chase Winovich said. « Every team finds something to cling to, like locker-room banter almost, and for us it was that this week.
« We definitely remembered. »
After blowout win, Michigan players say they felt Nebraska quit
Asked after the game about his players’ comments, and how much of that message came from him during the week, Harbaugh claimed he didn’t remember Frost’s comments.
Earlier in the week, in fact, Harbaugh praised Frost for the job he did at Central Florida, which culminated in 2017 when he lead the Knights to an undefeated 13-0 season, American Athletic Conference championship and Peach Bowl win over Auburn. He called him one of the game’s « bright young coaches. »
« I don’t remember that, » Harbaugh said of Frost’s 2016 comments. « I’m surprised they remembered that. »
But, Harbaugh added: « That’s what you want. You want your team to be tough. Play physical. »
Now, two years later, Frost was in a very different situation with his team. Trying to pick up the pieces after an 0-3 start, he called Nebraska’s loss a « watershed moment » for his program.
« We got our butt whipped, » Frost said. « I don’t know how many times I’ve been a part of a game like that, but we got beat in every phase. »
