America’s favorite pastime faded out of the national sports zeitgeist when the World Series ended earlier this month, but that won’t stop the No. 18 Michigan football team from playing Northwestern in one of baseball’s most historic parks Saturday.
The Wolverines need to stay undefeated in their last three games to keep their College Football Playoff hopes alive, and the Wildcats are still looking for that sixth, bowl-clinching win after notching some early-season upsets. Michigan and Northwestern both run the ball well and pass the ball, well, less well.
Here’s what to watch for when the two teams battle it out at Wrigley Field:
After a bye week, can Michigan return some of its impact players?
Due to how Labor Day has lined up on the calendar this season and last, every FBS team has been afforded the luxury of a second bye week on the schedule. You won’t hear Michigan complain about that.
All the way back in September, the Wolverines dubbed their first bye week ‘opportunity week’ and gave more snaps to second- and third-string players with the extra practice time. Coming out of that bye, freshman wide receiver Andrew Marsh emerged as a capable starter.
If Michigan assigned a name to this bye week, it would probably go with ‘rehabilitation week’ or ‘get-well-soon week,’ neither of which quite roll off the tongue like ‘opportunity week’ does.
“That was the number one goal,” Michigan coach Sherrone Moore said Monday. “We wanted to make sure we got guys healthy. Obviously, get work in, do things to get us better, but trying to get guys back. We’ll see what their status is as we go through the week, but feel good about where (sophomore linebacker Cole Sullivan) is. We’ll see where they are, we’ll see where (senior linebacker Jimmy Rolder) is, we’ll see where (senior linebacker Jaishawn Barham) is, but feel like we’re in a positive place with all of them, and I feel like we’re just keep getting more guys healthy.”
The Wolverines believe they go four deep at the linebacker position, but getting back any one of Sullivan, Rolder or Barham would immediately elevate Michigan’s defense. On offense, Moore was optimistic that Hogan Hansen, the sophomore tight end who’s missed the last three games, could return as well.
Michigan shouldn’t need to be at full health to beat Northwestern, but returning some starters wouldn’t hurt.
Can Michigan match Northwestern’s established offensive line and its running game?
One of the best elements of the Wolverines’ defense is their pass rush. Michigan produces 2.67 sacks a game, a stat that doesn’t take into account the pressure and throwaways that the Wolverines generate against weaker offensive lines. Moore doesn’t expect that to be the case against the Wildcats.
“Up front, I’m just telling you, their O-line works really, really well together,” Moore said. “They’re big, they’re physical and they’re all older, they’re grads and one redshirt freshman. So they all play physical. They all play well together, and that back, No. 5 man, he’s good. He’s a really good player. He’s got great vision, great speed.”
No. 5 is Caleb Komolafe, Northwestern’s primary running back who plays with burst and patience. Komolafe has gotten better every week, and his 5.1 yards per carry and eight touchdowns in nine games can’t be mentioned without crediting the offensive line.
Wildcats left tackle Caleb Tiernan is 6-foot-7, 325 pounds and consistently grades out as one of the best tackles in the Big Ten and the country, per PFF. Like most of his fellow starting linemen, he simply doesn’t make many mistakes.
“Their offensive line is a very experienced group of guys,” Michigan senior defensive linemen Damon Payne said Monday. “They work really well together, very well together. It’s a great challenge this week, because they’re aggressive. That’s what I feel like we come to Michigan for, to play in big games against a great group of guys like them. So, excited for the challenge.”
For an early barometer of how Saturday’s game will unfold, look to the trenches.
Wait a second… that doesn’t look like a football stadium!
You’re right, it’s not. Northwestern’s new stadium is under construction and its temporary stadium, beautifully set beside Lake Michigan, is too cold and windy in November. So, the Wildcats are hosting Michigan at Wrigley Field, the historic home of the Chicago Cubs. This comes with some quirks.
The home dugout of ‘The Friendly Confines’ is removed for one of the end zones, the warning tracks, pitcher’s mound and everything else with sand is covered up with grass. As of last year, there’s additional space for the two teams to gather on separate sidelines.
The temporary football field will stretch from around the on-deck circle to deep right field. The home locker room is reserved for 75 of Northwestern’s players, while the remaining Wildcats set up in the Cubs’ batting cages. The Wolverines will be in the visiting locker room, and walk onto the field from the visiting dugout.
“I think it’s awesome,” Moore said. “It’s a historic venue. We’re really excited about going there, but again, it’s just the place we’re playing. We can’t really worry about that too much. We talked about it and showed them what it looks like, but we gotta go play football on a blade of grass.”
As much as Michigan wants to tune out any external factors, the unconventional setting does bring one additional element to consider.
“The biggest thing will be the wind,” Moore said. “We’ll be seeing how the wind is in Chicago and what way that’s traveling, which way that’s going, because that’ll alter and change what you do a little bit, from how you attack their defense and offensively, what they’re going to do. So that’s the thing we’re gonna have to definitely not be concerned about, but have an eye for.”
Saturday’s forecast predicts moderate winds blowing west, gusts of up to 28 mph and 60 minutes of physical Big Ten football.
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After two weeks of no football, the Wolverines are hoping to return some key starters while continuing to apply pressure on both sides of the ball. Playing in a historic ballpark, Michigan will hope to establish its physicality over Northwestern to stay ahead in the count.
