Michigan Looks to Carry Momentum Against Northwestern

Northwestern Pass Offense vs. Michigan Pass Defense

Word is that C.J. Bacher will be back this week after being injured the past couple weeks.

Bacher is not what you expect out of a Northwestern quarterback. He's actually pretty decent. He's thrown for 1,700 yards, 10 touchdowns, a 59 percent completion percentage, and has a 109.8 efficiency rating.

But he has thrown 11 interceptions and his receivers are not that good. No one has outstanding stats, but maybe that's because Bacher has shown an ability to throw the ball around and spread the wealth.

Eric Peterman has three touchdowns and averages 11.9 yards per catch, and that's the best Northwestern has.

After last week, I'm not sure what secondary will show for Michigan on Saturday. Last week they shut down a pretty good quarterback and passing offense after being awful most of the year.

Until Stevie Brown, Brandon Harrison, and the rest of the secondary show they can put it together for consecutive games, I'm not holding out hope.

Advantage: Northwestern

Northwestern Rush Offense vs. Michigan Rush Defense

Northwestern running backs Tyrell Sutton and Mike Kafka are both averaging around five yards per carry, and Bacher is a sure threat to take off.

Northwestern averages 160.3 yards on the ground, while Michigan is giving up 135.2 to opponents.

Putting Will Johnson back on the line every down was the logical thing to do after the disaster that was the 3-3-5 Purdue experiment.

Going with the 4-2-5 last week worked out brilliantly, and hopefully the Wolverines and Scott Schafer stick with that and keep things simple.

Minnesota quarterback Adam Weber was never a threat to take off though, and Michigan is once again faced with a spread quarterback.

We all know how this has worked out before for the Wolverines. Not pretty at all.

But Bacher is coming off an injury and might not be as prone to take off as normal, especially if he watched tape of Michigan last week and saw how hard the hits were that Brandon Graham has been giving out.

Advantage: Michigan

Special Teams

Northwestern has no viable threat to take one all the way, and with Zoltan "Space Lord Emperor of the Universe" Mesko making it impossible for return men by putting balls into the outer atmosphere, it's highly unlikely the Wildcats break one Saturday.

Michigan return men, on the other hand, have been getting better, but the fumbles are starting to resurface, and they need to get that solved right away.

K.C. Lopata is once again solid, and I'm not completely fearful of him blowing a game. He blew one this year, so I guess that fills Michigan's kickers' quota for giving up a game.

Northwestern kicker Amado Villarreal is 17-for-21 with a miss coming as close as 25 yards out and has missed two PATs this year.

Advantage: Michigan

Prediction

Northwestern has only won five games at Michigan Stadium, with the last coming in 1995, and have lost eight of the last nine against Michigan.

Am I going to follow the adage of 2008 of teams being due to beat Michigan? Not this time.

Northwestern is much like Minnesota: a team that padded its schedule with nobodies and a fraud as a bowl eligible team.

Michigan, on the other hand, has 15 seniors who do not want to lose their final home game and be remembered for being the team that only won two of seven home games in a season.

Prediction: Michigan 31, Northwestern 17

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