When the Nebraska football team last visited Michigan Stadium, the year was 1962 and the Cornhuskers were Big 8 bottom feeders. They had had just three winning seasons in the previous two decades, posting an overall record of 72-125.

Under then-first-year head coach Bob Devaney, Nebraska planned to resurrect its embarrassment of a football program. In the season opener against South Dakota, the Huskers rolled, 53-0.

Even so, the Sept. 29 matchup with Michigan wasn’t expected to be pretty. Nebraska fans liked the week-one shutout, but toppling a football giant wasn’t in the itinerary — even when facing a relatively weak Michigan team, the resurgence could wait.

It didn’t. Devaney and the Cornhuskers trumped the Wolverines, 25-13, at the Big House, en route to an 8-3 season. That game, a signature Devaney victory, set the program on the fast track to national prominence. His 11-year résumé featured a 47-8 record at the helm in Lincoln.

The Cornhuskers’ return to Michigan Stadium last Saturday was a welcomed trip down memory lane for Nebraska, in its first season in the Big Ten.

But the tides were turned for this go-round at the Big House: Michigan played the part of the rebuilding program with a first-year coach, while Nebraska has grown into a national powerhouse.

On paper, it was a titan clash between the two winningest programs in college football history. In reality, the scales were tipped in the visitors’ favor.

It didn’t take long for Michigan coach Brady Hoke to prove Michigan’s turnaround. A 45-17 victory against No. 17 Nebraska doesn’t need much of an explanation — the Wolverines proved dominant.

After 50 minutes of play, a “Beat Ohio” chant circled the stadium. The fans had seen enough. They lauded Hoke by looking ahead to the season finale against Ohio State, a matchup he has anticipated since his arrival in January.

But don’t jump ahead too quickly. Try to put this victory in perspective before looking to next week. It was arguably the program’s biggest win since the Lloyd Carr era — fitting, since Carr was honored before the game.

The resounding victory was a statement and a signature Hoke win.

Hoke preaches three simple things to his team: Win the turnover battle, plug the gaps to stop their running game and establish your ground game early and often.

Check, check and check.

Special teams players swarmed to the ball, forcing two turnovers on kickoffs and blocking a punt. Michigan leads the nation in fumble recoveries with 19 recoveries in 11 games — under former coach Rich Rodriguez, the Wolverines had 23 recoveries in three full seasons.

Michigan held Nebraska running back Rex Burkhead, the Big Ten’s third-leading rusher, to a season-low 36 yards.

The Wolverines’ ground game dominated from start to finish. The backfield duo of junior quarterback Denard Robinson and redshirt sophomore running back Fitzgerald Toussaint combined for 221 yards. Unlike last season, it hasn’t been all Robinson.

Hoke’s fingerprints are all over this team. And it looks like the prints are going to stay there for a long time to come.

Rolling into the last week of the season with a 9-2 record, Hoke has his team in a perfect position: a victory over the Buckeyes could possibly earn Michigan an at-large invitation to a BCS bowl — think about it.

After years of mediocrity and embarrassment, Brady Hoke has the Wolverines back on top. Ann Arbor is, no doubt, relevant again. No one wants to visit Michigan Stadium, where Hoke and Co. are 7-0, outscoring teams 267-65.

Just like Bob Devaney in 1962, Hoke proved his worth with Michigan and Nebraska at the Big House.

— Nesbitt wants to know if you're coming back to Ann Arbor for The Game. He can be reached at stnesbit@umich.edu or on Twitter: @stephenjnesbitt.