No. 12 Michigan starts key stretch with Wisconsin
At 5-1 overall and 3-0 in the Big Ten, Michigan is off to a great start and all of their preseason goals remain within reach. Whether the 12th-ranked Wolverines achieve any of those goals may depend on what happens in their next three games.
Between now and Nov. 3, the Wolverines will face a trio of opponents who are a combined 11-4, starting with Saturday’s 7:30 p.m. ET visit from No. 15 Wisconsin. After that they go to Michigan State and, after a bye, host No. 8 Penn State.
The teams Michigan faced during their five-game win streak are a combined 11-16 this season.
“I think they’re really excited for this game,” Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh said Monday of his players.
Wisconsin (4-1, 2-0) is coming off a 41-24 home win over Nebraska. The Badgers are allowing 16.4 points per game, second behind Michigan (15.8) in the conference in scoring defense and lead the league in rushing with 287 yards per contest.
“Both sides of the ball they’re really good in the lines,” Harbaugh said.
How this game turns out may depend on which team’s quarterback can make the most big plays. Or, rather, which makes the fewest mistakes.
Michigan junior Shea Patterson threw just his third interception of the season in last week’s 42-21 win over Maryland but also had 282 yards and three touchdowns on 19-of-27 passing. He’s completing 68.8 percent of his throws.
Patterson has the Wolverines’ lone lost fumble, on a strip sack in the opener at Notre Dame, but he’s also been able to use his legs to keep plays alive.
“He protects the football really well,” Harbaugh said. “He has a knack for making the right escape move from the pocket. Really good with the ball handling. Like a point guard, being able to see the field.”
Alex Hornibrook, Wisconsin’s junior QB, has thrown only two picks in 114 attempts after being intercepted 15 times last season. The Badgers run twice as often as they throw but aren’t afraid to put the game in Hornibrook’s hands.
“He’s got really good stature in the pocket,” Harbaugh said. “He can get hot. He throws those intermediate dig routes timed as well as anybody. A very experienced guy, played in a lot of big games. Really good quarterbacks create really big problems.”