By Chris Gentilviso
The Daily Northwestern
There was a time this season when Northwestern and Michigan stood at opposite ends of the college football spectrum.
Two weeks ago, the Wildcats were fresh off a late-game victory against Nevada, looking to go 3-0 against a team that was winless in two seasons. The Wolverines suffered two home losses to open a season for the first time since 1968, staring at an 0-3 start for the first time since Hawaii and Alaska became states.
But as Michigan (2-2, 1-0 Big Ten) righted its struggles, NU (2-2, 0-1) floundered, leading to a showdown of .500 teams Saturday at Ryan Field.
“It’s a great blueprint for success when you get knocked down,” NU coach Pat Fitzgerald said. “They were knocked down in the opener and maybe it took them a week to get past Oregon. But when you look at their hunger as a football team, it’s the same kind of hunger we need to get back to our winning ways.”
While Ohio State torched NU through the air, Michigan’s attack is likely to stand at a lower elevation: Mike Hart’s running game. The senior leads the nation in carries (127) and is second in rushing yards (655) behind early Heisman favorite Darren McFadden of Arkansas.
The Wolverines are coming off a 14-9 victory against Penn State that squelched talk of the Nittany Lions standing with Wisconsin as the favorites to win the Big Ten. Michigan handed the ball to Hart a career-high 44 times, stretching Penn State’s linebackers all over the field.
But Michigan’s ground attack in the eyes of Fitzgerald will be a welcomed change to NU’s defense, specifically his linebacker corps.
“It’s like when you play an option team – the linebackers really salivate,” he said. “They know the whole game is going to be played right in front of them. When the ball gets thrown over your head, it somewhat neutralizes the front seven. When you’re playing a team that puts it in four-wheel drive though, your front guys get excited about it.”
Coupled with the No. 2 rushing game in the country, Michigan quarterback Chad Henne returns to action after exiting the Oregon game two weeks ago with a right knee injury. Freshman quarterback Brian Mallett filled in admirably, throwing for three touchdowns in Henne’s absence.
Head Coach Lloyd Carr will have little reason to exert his passing game and his star quarterback’s knee, as the Wolverines have run for 684 yards on 153 touches since 2004 against the Cats. Henne has only thrown 79 passes in those three games.
The receiving corps sports junior Mario Manningham, who is sixth in the Big Ten this season with 19 catches for 279 yards. More importantly, he stands three inches shorter than Ohio State receiver Bryan Robiskie, who swiped two touchdowns on NU’s secondary last week. With two interceptions in four games, the Cats secondary took that stat as a point of emphasis in preparing for Michigan’s receivers.
“We always talk about being playmakers,” senior safety Reggie McPherson said. “Sparking the defense, and sparking the whole team. That’s the identity we need to come forward with. That’s the identity we’re still working to become.”
And while defensive tackle Adam Hahn admitted that the Michigan gameplan begins with stopping the run, he said the strategy will be keeping the Wolverines in the air.
“We need to get them into passing situations,” Hahn said. “But once we get them in those situations, they’re a great protection team. We’re going to have to gameplan around that.”
Reach Chris Gentilviso at [email protected].
