Even with a changing of the guard with Kyle Whittingham taking over the Michigan football program, the Wolverines are somewhat flying under the radar. Despite all of the behind-the-scenes turmoil, the maize and blue managed to go 9-4 last season, which stands to reason: with more cohesion, could Michigan be better in 2026?

The schedule is brutal, but there’s a level of seriousness that Whittingham brings to the table. Considering the upgrade that new offensive coordinator Jason Beck should be, along with many of the transfers who have come in on that side of the ball, there’s a lot to like about the Wolverines’ offense.

ESPN had a roundtable discussion about some of the early storylines across college football, and one panelist, when talking about offensive players, demurred from the Dante Moore-Jeremiah Smith expectations and spoke up about Bryce Underwood and what he might bring to the table in his second year.

Lyles: I agree with all of the above, but I’ll add Michigan quarterback Bryce Underwood based on his potential. I am excited to see what new offensive coordinator Jason Beck is going to be able to do with him after seeing the success Beck had with Devon Dampier at both New Mexico and Utah. If he’s able to have similar success with the Wolverines, there’s no question Underwood will be one of the more impactful players this season.

She left that role with the AG’s Office, which had her also heading multistate investigations, to prosecute crime as a deputy Dodge County attorney. Most recently, Brasher, 35, was a litigator for an Omaha private firm. Earlier, she led the child support enforcement division in the Dawson County Attorney’s Office in Lexington.

A Democrat, Brasher said her decade-long legal career in prosecutorial positions prepared her for the elected office that she says should be “independent and principled” and argues has been dragged down in recent years by partisan politics. 

She contrasts herself with Hilgers, saying, “He has made this office very political and very partisan by having a partisan agenda. That is not me, and that is not what I will do.”

Her top priorities include consumer protection, public safety and health care. 

Among the cases she is proud of, she said, is a monetary settlement for students of Bellevue University who were impacted by misleading information regarding the school’s nursing program.

She said she also helped resolve a $35 million settlement with Tempoe LLC that ended a 41-state investigation into what she described as “predatory leasing” practices. 

If elected, Brasher said, she would assemble a task force to combat crimes against children. She also would “work to ensure immigration enforcement in Nebraska complies with constitutional requirements and due process.” 

In distancing herself from Hilgers, she cited his resistance to medical marijuana. Nebraskans in 2024 approved the legalization of medical cannabis with more than 71% of the vote, yet Brasher said Hilgers is “fighting the voice of the people” by threatening a lawsuit that goes against that.

On Day One, she said she’d “work swiftly” to provide guidance for patient access to medical cannabis so “providers can have the guidance they need to prescribe it and that they won’t be at risk.”

Brasher also took aim at how the Attorney General’s Office handled a four-year-long case against the former director of History Nebraska. The state’s highest court last month confirmed that prosecutors waited too long before bringing Trevor Jones to trial, and the felony theft charge was dismissed.