[media-credit name=’MATTHEW KUTZ/Herald photo’ align=’alignright’ width=’336′][/media-credit]For the first time since 2001, Wisconsin (3-0) hosts No. 14 Michigan (2-1) under the lights at Camp Randall Saturday.
The numbers are not on Wisconsin's side in this series. Michigan leads the all-time series 47-10-1 and owns a 23-3-1 record against the Badgers in Madison. To further complicate things for Wisconsin, Michigan has won its last 24 Big Ten road openers. The last time Wisconsin was able to chalk up a win against the Wolverines was in 1994, when they beat Michigan 31-19 in Ann Arbor.
In its 100th season in the Big Ten, Michigan has remained the conference's premier team, with 42 conference titles — including three this decade. While head coach Barry Alvarez respects the Michigan tradition, he isn't intimidated by it.
"I think it's a simple fact that [Michigan] is pretty good," Alvarez said. "They always have been. I think if you take a look at every other team in the [Big Ten], there has been some slippage where they have slipped and they have down years. I can't remember a year where Michigan has been down. Their down years are pretty good years."
Coming off a heartbreaking 17-10 home loss to the re-energized Fighting Irish, Michigan exploded for 435 total yards and seven touchdowns against Eastern Michigan last Saturday. Michigan looks to carry the momentum from the Eastern Michigan contest into its first road game of the year, having struggled in recent years in their opening road game, losing five straight.
"As a team, we don't look at things the same way that the media will look at things," Michigan wideout Carl Tabb said in a team press conference. "I'm not going to sit and say that we've lost our last five openers, we need to do something special in this one. You have to approach every game the same … if anything, it's going to make me want to win even more. It's going to make the team work that much harder to turn that stat around."
Michigan is lead by sophomore quarterback Chad Henne. In his true freshman season at Michigan, Henne led the Wolverines to a Big Ten title en route to a Rose Bowl berth. However, the true standout player this season for Michigan has been senior captain Jason Avant.
With the departure of Braylon Edwards to the NFL, Avant has become Henne's go-to guy at wideout. In three games this season, Avant leads the Big Ten in catches (22) and receiving yards (310) while snaring three touchdowns.
Michigan's ground attack will prove to be a large challenge for Wisconsin's depleted defensive front. The Wolverines sport three running backs — Kevin Grady, Max Martin and Mike Hart — all of whom are more than capable of carrying the workload. In three games this season, the trio has combined for over 400 yards and four touchdowns.
The key to the game for both teams could come in the trenches. Wisconsin's defense enters the contest boasting the No. 4 rush defense in the nation, allowing a paltry 39.7 yards per game.
Conversely, Michigan hopes to contain Junior Brian Calhoun with a punishing run defense of its own. Over Michigan's last three games, the Wolverines have allowed an average of only 110 yards per game on the ground and just two rushing touchdowns.
The hype surrounding Saturday's kickoff promises an energized atmosphere at Camp Randall, as these two Big Ten rivals always play each other tough, despite the disparity in the all-time series. The last four meetings have been decided by a total of only 18 points (4.5 ppg).
"It's a big game," Alvarez said. "It will be two rated teams playing, [which] is one of the goals that we set going into the season. We wanted to make this a big game. We should have a great atmosphere. My main concern [is] that we prepare well and play well."