The No.2 ranked Michigan Wolverines enter the Northwestern game looking to capture their 51st victory in 67 all-time games against Northwestern. Michigan holds a 50-14-2 lead in the all time series, including a 7-3 edge in the last 10 meetings. In the nine overall meetings under head coach Lloyd Carr, the Wolverines hold a 6-3 advantage. The game will be televised nationally by ESPN with kickoff at Noon (Eastern) from Michigan Stadium in Ann Arbor.
Michigan junior tailback Mike Hart heads into the Northwestern game after cracking the 1,000-yard barrier for the second time in his career. Hart is second in the Big Ten and seventh nationally in rushing yards with an average of 129 per contest. He has carried the ball 214 times for 1,032 yards and scored eight touchdowns. Hart has cracked the 100-yard barrier in seven of the eight games this season.
Wolverine’s senior quarterback Chad Henne has thrown 12 touchdown passes in the past six games for an average of 31.5 yards per score. He is third in the Big Ten with 14 passing touchdowns this season with nine of those scores going to Mario Manningham. Henne has tossed at least one touchdown pass in 29 of his 32 career games.
Bet on College Football at BetRoyal
Get the latest college football point spreads here.
With the injury to starter Mario Manningham, freshman wide receiver Greg Mathews has stepped into the third receiver role. Mathews received his first career starting assignment in a three wideout set against Iowa and responded with a career best three receptions for 16 yards.
Michigan’s defense has been one of the nation’s toughest to crack on third down this season. The Wolverines list fifth in third down defense, allowing the opposition to convert just 27 percent of its chances (31-115).
Stuffing the run has helped Michigan’s defense make the opposition one-dimensional this season. The Wolverines are fifth nationally in total defense, allowing just 240.8 yards per contest to the opposition. U-M leads the Big Ten in two categories and lists in the top 25 nationally in seven defensive categories.
For Northwestern, the silver lining in Saturday's stinging 41-38 loss to Michigan State was the play of its offense. Led by redshirt sophomore quarterback C.J.Bacher , the Wildcats scored a season-best 38 points and totaled 440 yards of offense, which included 245 passing yards by Bachér. Northwestern tossed four touchdown passes against MSU after having just one TD reception all year, and that came seven games earlier at Miami (Ohio).
Besides the heartbreaking defeat, the Wildcats suffered a major blow to their defense with the loss of senior linebacker and team co-captain Nick Roach. Roach broke his right leg early in the third quarter and with him sidelined, the Wildcat defense was unable to slow down the Spartans, who rallied from a 38-3 deficit.
Michigan is a heavy –33 point favorite according to most offshore books. Only 13% of the public is buying the big line as Northwestern is getting the heavy action at 87%.
