Michigan Football: Facing Northwestern's Dan Persa Will Be No Picnic

Historically, Michigan defenses have been tough against the run and shaky against the pass. It was coach Bo Schembechler who brought the "stop the run" philosophy to the Wolverines in 1969.

The strategy worked to perfection in the Big Ten as Schembechler won or shared 13 league titles in his 21 seasons as head coach.

His bowl record was another story. Michigan only won five of 17 games, largely because the Wolverines were susceptible to strong-armed quarterbacks named Don Bunce, Vince Evans and Paul McDonald. 

Lately, it's been dual-threat quarterbacks who've given the Wolverines fits. Against Michigan, Troy Smith, Armanti Edwards and Dennis Dixon were practically scoring machines..

This year, opposing quarterbacks are still making noise. Western Michigan quarterback Alex Carder and Notre Dame's Tommy Rees both tested the Michigan secondary.

Saturday's foe happens to be Dan Persa, undoubtedly the best quarterback Michigan has faced in quite some time.

Despite missing the Wildcats' last three games of 2010 due to a severe Achille's injury, Persa was named All-Big Ten first team by the coaches, thanks to completing 222 of 302 passes for 2,581 yards and 15 touchdowns. His 73.5 completion percentage set a Big Ten single-season record.

A Heisman trophy candidate at the beginning of 2011, the 6'2", 210-pound senior missed the first three games because the Achilles wasn't quite ready.

Persa started last week's Illinois game and threw four touchdown passes before being lifted in the final quarter because of soreness in his foot.  

Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald says Persa will start Saturday, but he'll be be watched very closely. "He's ready to go, he's running around great today." Persa said at his Monday press conference. "We're going to be smart. He's a guy coming off of a major injury. If he's a little dinged up, we're going to err on the side of being smart. It's a marathon, not a sprint."

Prior to the season, Northwestern began a campaign for Persa's Heisman Trophy bid.  He's also been named to the various quarterback watch lists.  

“Obviously, you grow up thinking it would be cool to win the Heisman and be named to the Heisman,” Persa said. “When it happens, it’s a surreal thing. That’s why I don’t put too much thought into it. It’s cool but it’s kind of out of my control.”

Home away from home

Thanks to Michigan's large alumni base in Chicago, and Ann Arbor's close proximity to Northwestern, expect Wolverines fans to comprise nearly a third of the sellout crowd at Ryan Field. 

Even better, Michigan fans tend to cheer louder on the road than at the Big House.

"It's always nice to play behind folks that are behind you," coach Brady Hoke said at Wednesday's press conference. "It may help a little with crowd noise if we have a lot of Michigan people there."

No. 12?

The oddsmakers remain on Michigan's bandwagon, installing the Wolverines anywhere from  six- to 7.5 point favorites.

Equally mystifying is Michigan's No. 12 ranking. Granted the Wolverines are 5-0, but their only "signature" win is against a questionable Notre Dame team.

Saturday's road game against the Wildcats should provide more answers. If not, next week's battle in East Lansing certainly will.