GRIII threw down an alley-oop dunk from Trey Burke to ignite the Michigan win (Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

Not quite one month ago in Evanston, Illinois, the Michigan Wolverines opened up the Big Ten season in grand fashion, storming out of the gates to take down the home-court Northwestern Wildcats by a whopping 28 points. Tonight, Northwestern had the opportunity for revenge. That opportunity, that dream, lasted all of about seven minutes.

With 12:53 remaining in the first half, Glenn Robinson III threw down what has now become a standard alley-oop from Trey Burke to take an 18-11 lead, forcing Northwestern coach Bill Carmody to call his second timeout in just over a two minute span and sucking up what remaining life Northwestern ever had entering Ann Arbor. Unfortunately for Northwestern, that timeout didn’t change the tide of the game much, as Trey Burke scored the next four points himself to help lead the Wolverines to an 18-10 run to end the half.

No one really had any doubt as to what the outcome of this game would be, but the way Michigan continues to win is still impressive. It is increasingly evident that Beilein has four top-notch scorers at his disposal, depth at just about every position, and a team full of players who have bought into his system and play for each other. Trey Burke could go out and score 25 points a night on 20 shots to boost his Draft stock if he wanted to, but instead he consistently has games like tonight – 18 points on 11 shots, eight assists to just one turnover, four rebounds, two steals, and a handful of nice defensive plays that won’t show up in the box score.

This team is, well, just that – a team. Perhaps no play all season embodied that sentiment as well as one tonight early in the first half, when Trey Burke received a long pass from under the basket for an open look from the corner. Instead of shooting, however, Burke made a quick pass to his right, finding Tim Hardaway, Jr. even more wide open for a wing three. For a guy shooting 41 percent from downtown on the year, this was a great shot. So what did he do? He made the extra extra pass, this time to freshman Nik Stauskas, the team’s leading three-point shooter, on the other wing. The Canadian sharpshooter buried the three, of course. With three excellent passes that led to ultimately to the best shot Michigan could get in that possession, the Wolverines again proved that they play more as a team than as individuals. They truly want to win ball games more than they want to inflate their own stats.

In all honesty, that might have been the best look Michigan will get all season. Stauskas, a guy shooting over 50 percent again from downtown, would have had time to tie his shoes and run to the concession stands before a Wildcat would have had the chance to get a hand in his face on the three. The crowd knew it was going down, too, as you could hear the anticipation build from Burke’s pass to Hardaway and then finally from the veteran to the newbie.

Another supremely encouraging aspect of tonight’s game was Michigan’s apparent dedication on the defensive end of the floor. Every college basketball fan in America knows by this time that Michigan can score the ball, but questions remain as to how well the Maize and Blue can prevent its opposition from scoring. For the night, at least, Michigan showed that it is capable of putting forth the necessary effort on both ends of the court, holding Northwestern to a horrid 37.3 percent mark from the field and just 21.1 percent from downtown.

Northwestern's guards had trouble keeping Burke in front of them all night (Gregory Shamus, Getty Images)

David Sobolewski and Reggie Hearn, the two healthy Wildcats that lead the team in scoring, combined to score just 12 points on 15 shots, as freshman big man Alex Olah was the only one in purple able to break the double-digit barrier with 10 points. It still took him 10 shots to get there though.

For Michigan, Burke led the way yet again on offense, but he was joined by Glenn Robinson III, Stauskas, and Jon Horford in scoring double figures. Horford was perhaps most impressive, as he finally displayed the potential every Michigan fan has been yearning to see in his first start of the season. Filling in for an injured Jordan Morgan, Horford put up a very respectable stat line of 10 points (3-of-5 FG, 4-of-5 FT), seven rebounds, and three blocks in 20 minutes and proved to be Michigan’s best interior defender tonight by a long shot. His back-to-the-basket game is easily the most refined out of all the post players, and his length contributes to his great rebounding and block numbers. Obviously Horford is still working his way back into the lineup, and Mitch McGary will continue to demand 15-18 minutes per game, but all of a sudden Jordan Morgan’s absence is not all that worrisome.

Lastly, Beilein has to be pleased with the way Michigan was able to play smart tonight and hold onto the ball. The Wolverines didn’t turn the ball over a single time in the first half, and only twice in the second, and although Northwestern coughed it up just six times themselves, there is not a team in the country that will consistently beat Michigan when they hold onto the ball like that.

With this sleeper game out of the way, Michigan can now place all of its focus on the looming night game matchup in Bloomington this Saturday. The Hoosiers rolled Purdue in West Lafayette tonight and will enter the game as the third-ranked team in the country. The winner of that game will have an early leg-up on the Big Ten championship race and will likely enter next week as the number one team in the country. A Michigan win would continue to solidify the team’s elite status.

By now, however, there isn’t much more to prove in the regular season. Michigan is elite, and, win or lose on Saturday, the Wolverines have all the makings of a conference champion and a titan in March. With the reigns of the team in Burke’s hands, this carriage is staying well on course.

#1 Michigan vs Northwestern
Wednesday, Jan. 30 | 6:30pm ET | Big Ten Network
19-1 (6-1)	Record	12-9 (3-5)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73 Northwestern 94-66 Iowa 95-67 Nebraska 62-47 #9 Minnesota 83-75 Purdue 68-53 Illinois 74-60	Wins	Texas Southern 79-49 Miss. Valley St. 81-68 FDU 80-53 Delaware State 69-50 TCU 55-31 Illinois State 72-69 OT Baylor 74-70 Texas State 74-68 Brown 63-42 Penn State 70-54 #23 Illinois 68-54 #12 Minnesota 55-48
#15 Ohio State 56-53	Losses	Maryland 57-77 Ill.-Chicago  44-50 Butler 65-74 Stanford 68-70 #2 Michigan 66-94 #9 Minnesota 51-69 Iowa 50-70 #2 Indiana 59-67 Nebraska 49-64
78.5	Points Per Game	64.2
59.2	Scoring Defense	61.5
584-for-1,146 (51.0%)	Field Goal %	453-for-1,089 (41.6%)
454-for-1,124 (40.4%)	Def. Field Goal %	461-for-1,117 (41.3%)
166-for-407 (40.8%)	3-point %	163-for-454 (35.9%)
129-for-414 (31.2%)	Def. 3-point %	118-for-353 (33.4%)
236-for-334 (70.7%)	Free Throw %	280-for-426 (65.7%)
11.8	FT Made/Game	13.3
37.0	Rebounds Per Game	32.5
29.2	Opp. Reb. Per Game	36.8
15.6	Assists Per Game	15.1
9.8	Turnovers Per Game	11.0
5.7	Steals Per Game	6.0
2.9	Blocks Per Game	3.4
G – Trey Burke (17.9) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.9)	Leading Scorer	G – Reggie Hearn (14.0) G – Drew Crawford (13.5)
F – Glenn Robinson (6.0) F – Mitch McGary (5.7)	Leading Rebounder	F – Jared Swopshire (6.6) G – Drew Crawford (4.6)

For the first time since the Fab Five graced the streets of Ann Arbor together, the Michigan Wolverines are on top of the college basketball world after another easy win at Illinois on Sunday. Tonight, Michigan will face the first revenge match of the year as they welcome Bill Carmody’s Northwestern Wildcats to the Crisler Center.

At the beginning of January, Michigan trounced Northwestern by 28 points on the road, but the Wildcats were without their steady senior leader, Reggie Hearn, and tonight Michigan will almost assuredly be without their own veteran in Jordan Morgan. With all eyes on Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, Jr., Glenn Robison III, and the rest of the gang, college basketball fans across the country wonder, will Michigan continue to cruise through the Big Ten? Here are three quick keys to the game:

1. Stay Strong in the Paint: One of Michigan’s many advantages over Northwestern should be in its ability to get in the lane on offense off the dribble and feed the big men down low. Freshman Alex Olah has been serviceable for the Cats so far, averaging 5.8 points per game to go along with 4.1 rebounds and 2.1 assists, but he is still adjusting to the speed of college and should have his hands full with Michigan’s bigs.

With Jordan Morgan sitting out due to a sprained ankle sustained on Sunday, John Beilein will look to Jon Horford and Mitch McGary to pick up the slack. Both Horford and McGary did an admirable job replacing Morgan on Sunday along with Max Bielfeldt, combining to score 17 points and grab 14 rebounds in 39 minutes. Another strong performance from that trio should be plenty enough. Pay special attention to who gets the starting nod tonight as well; McGary has obviously been seeing the lion’s share of minutes between him and Horford, but that is partially due to the lingering knee injury Horford has had. My money will be on Beilein to give the older and more experienced Horford the start and a few more minutes than his counterpart as Horford’s game continues to improve.

2. Focus: With the way ESPN and everyone else have been hyping up Michigan’s huge game at Indiana this Saturday, one would think that the game tonight was a scrimmage, or perhaps that Michigan didn’t even have to play at all. As we’ve all seen before, however, we know teams are most dangerous when the focus of the opposition is dwelling in the past or looking forward to the future. Perhaps no team is more dangerous in this regard than Northwestern.

Because Carmody has taught his team the rarely-heralded ways of the Princeton offense, the Wolverines need to be on guard at all times, watching for backdoor cuts, unique switches, and a variety of defensive looks. If Michigan is not focused on the game at hand, it will quickly become apparent, because Northwestern will get open shot after open shot against any team that plods around. The focus tonight will all start with Trey Burke. The sophomore All-American has certainly been putting up remarkable numbers all year, but all the more impressive is how he has molded this team into his own by playing a key role as a vocal leader as well. Coming into this season, questions abounded about who would take over for Zack Novak and Stu Douglass as leaders both on and off the court. Burke has stepped up to the challenge in every way, and even though he doesn’t wear the captain’s ‘C’, everybody on the team is looking up to one of the shortest guys alongside them.

NW's best player, Reggie Hearn, missed the game a couple weeks ago

3. Check Reggie Hearn: Northwestern doesn’t need much more motivation than it already naturally has tonight; after all, the Cats are playing on the road in the Big Ten against the number one team in the country, the same team that also already pounded them in Evanston to start the conference season. That is plenty enough right there. To add onto the already towering pile, however, Northwestern will look to senior leader and former walk-on Reggie Hearn to draw out the fire in them. Hearn had to sit out the first matchup between these two teams because of an injury, but he is fully healthy and ready to go now. The 6’4″, 210-pound guard from Fort Wayne has averaged a hair over 13 points per game since his return from injury earlier this month, including back-to-back 20-plus point efforts against Illinois and Indiana, and has been getting to the line at a torrid pace as well, averaging 7.7 attempts from the charity stripe per night in that same time period, with not one single game below four freebies. Hardaway, Jr. and Nik Stauskas will likely draw the tall task of defending Hearn throughout the night. They would be wise to stick to him closely and leave him off the line, where he has been doing the majority of his damage. Hearn is easily Northwestern’s best slasher, so if Michigan’s D can get the job done, Beilein will be pleased.

Prediction: All truth be told, Michigan could and should win this game with one eye on the calendar, but Beilein, Bacari Alexander, Lavall Jordan, and Jeff Meyer will do everything they can to keep this team from losing focus. A couple mistakes here and a couple mistakes there can be the difference between breezing through the second half and sweating it out at the line by the end of the night. I expect Burke and Hardaway, Jr. to lead the team vocally and statistically again tonight, combining for 35 points and 14 assists. Horford gets the starting nod and puts up double digits for the first time this season in a 78-63 Michigan win.

Trey Burke put on a first half show in Evanston (Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Michigan hit the road for just the second true road game of the season on Thursday night and it felt right at home. With a strong alumni contingent on hand in Welsh-Ryan Arena, Michigan dominated Northwestern from the opening tip, using a 20-4 lead to start the game en route to a 94-66 win.

Michigan scored the first 10 points of the game, prompting a Northwestern time out. The Wildcats finally got on the board, but Michigan widened the lead to 20-4 thanks to 13 straight points by Trey Burke and some help from Glenn Robinson III and a pair of free throws by Mitch McGary.

After five straight NW points, Nik Stauskas made a layup and a three to give Michigan a 25-9 lead and the Wildcats called another timeout. The teams traded baskets and Tim Hardaway Jr decided to get in on the action with back-to-back threes, prompting NW’s third timeout in the first 10 minutes. Five minutes later, Hardaway hit back-to-back threes once again and Michigan took a 51-30 lead into the locker room.

The Wolverines stayed hot in the second half, starting with a 12-6 run to open up a 63-36 lead, and cruised the rest of the way to the 28-point victory.

Michigan shot 59.6 percent from the field, hit 13-of-22 three-point attempts, and out-rebounded Northwestern 41-25.

Burke led the way with 23 points on 9-of-16 shooting. He hit 4-of-6 three-point attempts and also contributed five assists and four rebounds. Hardaway added 21 points, hitting 4-of-5 from downtown, while Jordan Morgan recorded a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Robinson and Stauskas scored 10 apiece to give all five starters double figures. Caris LeVert hit both threes he attempted to be the leading scorer of the bench, while Mitch McGary contributed four points and eight rebounds.

Michigan returns to action on Sunday to face Iowa (11-3) in the Crisler Center at noon. The game will be televised on the Big Ten Network.

#2 Michigan v. Northwestern
Thursday, Jan. 3 | 7pm ET | ESPN2
13-0 (0-0)	Record	9-4 (0-0)
Slippery Rock 100-62 IUPUI 91-54 Cleveland State 77-47 Pittsburgh 67-62 Kansas State 71-57 NC State 79-72 Bradley 74-66 W. Michigan 73-41 Arkansas 80-67 Binghamton 67-39 West Virginia 81-66 E. Michigan 93-54 C. Michigan 88-73	Wins	Texas Southern 79-49 Miss. Valley St. 81-68 Fair. Dickinson 80-53 Delaware St. 69-50 TCU 55-31 Illinois St. 72-69 OT Baylor 74-70 Texas State 74-68 Brown 63-42
	Losses	Maryland 57-77 Illinois-Chicago 44-50 Butler 65-74 Stanford 68-70
80.1	Points Per Game	67.8
58.5	Scoring Defense	59.3
389-for-761 (51.1%)	Field Goal %	300-for-698 (43.0%)
293-for-729 (40.2%)	Def. Field Goal %	277-for-696 (39.8%)
112-for-275 (40.7%)	3-point %	108-for-280 (38.6%)
80-for-261 (30.7%)	Def. 3-point %	74-for-221 (33.5%)
151-for-207 (72.9%)	Free Throw %	173-for-255 (67.8%)
11.6	FT Made/Game	13.3
37.4	Rebounds Per Game	35.3
28.8	Opp. Reb. Per Game	34.7
16.4	Assists Per Game	17.2
9.7	Turnovers Per Game	11.3
5.2	Steals Per Game	5.6
2.6	Blocks Per Game	3.7
G – Trey Burke (17.8) G – Tim Hardaway Jr. (15.8)	Leading Scorer	G – Reggie Hearn (14.5) G – Drew Crawford (13.5)
F – Glenn Robinson (5.9) F – Mitch McGary (5.6)	Leading Rebounder	F – Jared Swopshire (6.0) G – Reggie Hearn (5.5)

At the beginning of November, the Michigan Wolverines were a preseason top-five team with a questioning fan base and a young, inexperienced team. Two short months and an undefeated non-conference season later, Michigan is now undoubtedly one of the best and most talented teams in the country, finding themselves entering Big Ten season as the only unblemished team in the conference. Tonight (7pm on ESPN2) they will travel to Evanston, Illinois to take on the depleted Northwestern Wildcats, the one major conference team that has still never made an NCAA Tournament. Here are your quick hitters for Michigan:

1. Stay Disciplined: When you play against Northwestern, you know to prepare for the cut-heavy Princeton-style offense that Bill Carmody employs for the Purple and Black. Northwestern will rarely take ill-advised shots without exhausting the shot clock and lacks the athleticism to fast-break Michigan to death. What the Wildcats will do plenty of is shoot from deep and cut inside. The whole point of the Princeton-style offense is to get players in position to make easy baskets. With smart passes and positioning, Northwestern provides an immense challenge to teams that may be more athletic and talented overall but lacking in discipline. Luckily for Michigan, John Beilein is used to Carmody by now and has not had too much trouble with Northwestern, going 6-4 against them in his time at Michigan. With more talent, length, and athleticism at his hands, Beilein should have his team very well-prepared. Still, Michigan has struggled on the defensive end of the court, and with Northwestern shooting 38.6% from downtown as a team, there has to be some concern that the Wolverines will be sent back to Ann Arbor with their first loss of the season. Michigan needs to stay with Dave Sobolewski and Kale Abrahamson, who each shoot 35 percent or better from three, to avoid disaster. Alex Marcotullio is another shooter to watch out for, and even though the lefty is struggling this season while shooting only 31.8 percent from downtown, he can go off at any time.
   

   NW suffered a huge blow when Drew Crawford was lost for the season

1. Wear them Down: John Beilein is known for sticking with a fairly concrete seven- to eight-man rotation, and this season is no different, as only five Wolverines average better than 20 minutes per game and two more play more than 10. In much the same manner, Carmody has been forced into a short bench this season after losing Drew Crawford, by far the team’s best athlete, scorer, and overall player, for the rest of the year to injury during the non-conference season and Jershon Cobb in the offseason. They’ll also be without current leading scorer Reggie Hearn who suffered a sprained ankle against Stanford. Northwestern will likely play at least Sobolewski and senior Jared Swopshire for 30-plus minutes while Marcotullio should also see significant playing time. Beyond that, a number of unproven Cats will get some run, but it’s really anyone’s guess as to which ones will stick. If Michigan can wear the unathletic Northwestern team down with the transition game, the Wolverines should come out on top. If Northwestern can successfully slow the game to a crawl and limit Michigan’s fast break, it could be very close. Michigan has obviously been great offensively, shooting 51.1 percent from the floor and 40.7 percent from three, but their questionable defense gives Northwestern a shot if they can’t wear the Wildcats down. Northwestern will also look for a secondary option to get hot and be the hero tonight. Freshmen Alex Olah, Tre Demps, Abrahamson, and Mike Turner are all guys that have flashed potential but have not put it together. A big game from any of those would go a ways toward helping the upset cause.

1. Quiet the Crowd: Even though this is already Michigan’s 14th game this season, tonight is just the second time the Wolverines will play a true road game so far. The Maize and Blue took down a mediocre Bradley team in Peoria back in early December by just eight points, something Northwestern will certainly be looking back on and looking to capitalize on with a rowdy home crowd. The Wildcats will need to prove their worth in Big Ten play if they are to have any prayer of dancing in March, and they would want nothing more than a conference-opening win over Michigan this evening. The Wildside student section will still be out on break, but the rest of the Northwestern faithful will pack the house to cheer on their team. Michigan’s alumni base in Chicago should help neutralize the noise a bit, but there is no doubt that Carmody’s team is going to give it their best shot. Nik Stauskas, who continues to lead the whole country in three-point shooting percentage, mentioned in yesterday’s media meeting that he relishes taking his talents on the road; he and his teammates must stay calm when Northwestern makes their runs if Michigan is to remain undefeated.

Prediction: Purdue’s win last night over 14th-ranked Illinois shows just how tough it is to win on the road in the Big Ten. If one thing is for certain, tonight’s Big Ten opener will be a dog fight. Neither team makes a ton of mistakes and both like to shoot the ball from deep, but in the end, Michigan’s superior talent will get the job done. Stauskas will quiet the crowd a number of times with threes while Trey Burke continues his candidacy for the Naismith Award with another 20-plue point outing. With Tim Hardaway, Jr.’s status still up in the air, both teams need to be prepared for any scenario. Wolverines pull it out, 77-68.

Michigan kept its Big Ten title hopes alive with a thrilling come-from-behind overtime win over Northwestern. Brady Hoke spoke to the media afterwards.

Brady Hoke postgame press conference (photo by Justin Potts, M&GB)

Opening statement
“Let me ask them a question: Who started writing the article before the game was over? [room laughs] Obviously we’ve got a lot that we didn’t do well, but we did do well when you win the football game. It was two teams that played hard. I have so much respect for Pat [Fitzgerald] and how he runs his program and how his guys come to work every day and how they play. We knew it would be a dog fight. We missed way too many tackles, but you’ve got to give Kain Colter some of that respect because he made us miss him. We’ve got to do a better job there.

“I think offensively, [we] moved the ball pretty consistently. Still need to rush for more yards from the backfield, which  means we’ve still got to continue to improve up front, how we’re blocking the line of scrimmage. We missed a couple of cuts, but Devin did a tremendous job really managing everything, staying in the game and extending some things and then his athleticism obviously helped on some of the first downs. We were 7-of-10, so that’s all I’ve got to say.”

On whether this is the kind of win where he tells his team to just find a way to win and build from it…
“Well, there’s a lot to build from and a lot to learn from. Our seniors play their last game at Michigan Stadium next week. That’s significant and if we want to send them out the right way, then we’ve got to play better. That starts always with the coaching side of it and that has to be paramount for us.”

On the bit plays by the seniors, Roy Roundtree and Kenny Demens…
“Roy really, I think on a couple of balls, he really had great focus and great intensity into what he was doing. On the last tackle there, number one, I like the call that Greg [Mattison] made because it was one where we may have talked them into running the football because of some of the space inside. Then Kenny did a nice of really working inside out to the ball. Maybe a little bit earlier we were maybe getting to far ahead of them.”

On how much the experience of tight games the past couple years is a benefit in a game like today…
“I think that’s a great question and I think when I look at them on the sideline and communicate with them and talk to them, they are never in doubt that they weren’t going to win the football game, in my opinion. I think all of that helps. I think experience in anything in life helps you get through it the next time, and I think the same thing in the game of football.”

On how Devin Gardner improved from last week to this week…
“I don’t know if I could do that right now. I think he managed the game well. I thought he had two throws [that were] probably not the best throws. He did a nice job getting rid of the ball in the end zone. He made some good decisions.”

On how different the offense is run with Gardner as opposed to Denard…
“I think the biggest thing is there’s a little more to that. There’s a little more vertical run. There’s a little more power play, to some degree, but a lot of lead play – iso, they used to call it in my day. But from that standpoint, there’s still the zone read and all those things from the gun too.”

On what Northwestern was doing to convert third downs so well…
“What were they doing? I think they converted and they were a little more accurate in some of the throws on the seven routs, smash routes. We need to do a better job in the seam part of our defense when they were throwing it. And I think he scrambled at times and either we missed the tackle, which we did a couple times on a scramble, or we didn’t force the ball enough. As far as when you talk about your lanes and compressing the pocket from the outside.

On the resolve of the team to step up and stop Northwestern on third- and fourth-and-short in overtime…
“These kids have been great. It didn’t surprise me. It really didn’t surprise me. There were 18 seconds left when they punted the ball or something like that and Dan Ferrigno did a nice job all week because they would rugby punt, if you want to call it that – it wasn’t a full on rugby – but lining up Gallon where he lined him up. That’s exactly where when we charted a year of punts, that’s where they were going and they rugby punted and it was perfect. It got us great field position and then obviously the throw.”

On Gardner’s throw to Roundtree at the end of regulation…
” Well, I really can’t describe it all for you, but we knew we had to get to a certain point on the field. We knew from the 35, 38 in, is where we wanted to kick the field goal to tie it up. It just so happened that the post part of the route, the combination was where we needed to hit it. Devin through it well and Roy made a football play.”

On if Denard could have played if Gardner had gotten injured in the game…
“Maybe. [room laughs] He was dressed, right? [Yes] Ok.”

On what Roundtree has done to step up the past two weeks…
“Oh I don’t know, he’s always been like that. Roy’s always been pretty focused. He prepares well, he gets himself ready for a game.”

On whether he has seen a change in Roundtree the past two weeks…
“No, not really.”

On where do you start with trying to stop Northwestern schematically…
“Scheme-wise was really good. I thought Greg and the defensive staff, you’ll go back and look and [say] maybe I should have ran this more or whatever it might be, but I thought scheme-wise, especially with some of the things we were doing – I’m not going to explain them, obviously – it was very effective. We kind of got them into one formation. When you can get somebody into one formation, two formations, then you don’t have all the other problems.”

On Denard’s status…
“Day-to-day.”

He didn’t do much in warm-ups…
“Day-to-day.”

On whether he would have written the game story if he were in the reporters’ shoes…
“No. No. Because of those kids. No way. My wife just asked me that on the way in. Did you know you were going to win? I said yes.”

On Northwestern’s success with the option…
“Perimeter of the defense. We need to play better on the perimeter of the defense. Need to get off blocks better.”

On whether he’s surprised Northwestern went away from the option…
“No, because I think he [Colter] got beat up a little bit there for a minute. Siemian’s a very good quarterback, but he’s not the same quarterback. Then when he came back, they went to their bread and butter on the fourth down play – tried to go option.”

On how hard Fitz Toussaint ran and what the offensive line has to do to help him…
“Well, I think we’ve got to finish on blocks a little better, combination wise. I really thought they were getting some movement – probably not as much as we would like, because it never is. I do think he ran extremely hard. I mean, you could hear football on the field.”

On the win keeping the Big Ten title hopes alive…
“Well, we can’t worry about what other people do. We’ve got to worry about what we do. We’ve got Iowa [next].”

On what he will do with the quarterback situation when Denard is healthy enough to come back…
“I think that’s probably something we’ll figure out.”

On his faith in Brendan Gibbons to make the game-tying kick and Drew Dileo to hold it…
“You know, that combination is a pretty good combination. They work so much together, because we kick everyday. But they are two – don’t tell Gibbons I ever said this – two football players.”

On Devin commanding the huddle and leading the offense…
“Well, he’s really done a nice job, and always has. I thought the way he’s gone about his business, the maturity and the growth has been really, I guess, expected.”

On a day when a trio of tackles were honored as legends, it was a receiver that made the biggest play. Roy Roundtree has become a big play legend in his own right while donning Desmond Howard’s legends jersey and has now been on the receiving end of two of the most improbable comebacks in Michigan history.

Michigan 38 – Northwestern 31 (OT)
	Final Stats
38	Final Score	31
7-3, 5-1	Record	7-3, 3-3
419	Total Yards	431
133	Net Rushing Yards	248
286	Net Passing Yards	183
21	First Downs	27
2	Turnovers	1
2-26	Penalties – Yards	8-75
3-154	Punts – Yards	4-164
25:32	Time of Possession	34:28
7-of-10	Third Down Conversions	8-of-16
0-of-0	Fourth Down Conversions	1-of-2
2-21	Sacks By – Yards	1-2
1-for-1	Field Goals	1-for-1
5-for-5	PATs	4-for-4
5-for-5	Red Zone Scores – Chances	4-for-5

When Michigan got the ball back at its own 38 with 18 seconds remaining, J.T. Floyd told the offense that the defense did its part and now it was up to them. Devin Gardner launched the ball downfield and Roundtree tipped it in the air and caught it from his knees at the Northwestern 9-yard line with eight seconds left. Brendan Gibbons hit the 26-yard field goal to tie the game at 31.

In overtime, Michigan got the ball first and went right back to Roundtree. A 17-yard reception put the ball inside the 10 and after a pair of Fitz Toussaint runs to the Northwestern one, Gardner faked the handoff and rolled to the right for the touchdown. After the game, Gardner credited Al Borges with the call.

“That was a play call by Coach Borges; it was a great call,” Gardner said. “When I saw how tight they were, I was like ‘this is the best call possible’ and I basically walked into the end zone.”

Northwestern took over needing a touchdown to force a second overtime, but on 4th-and-2, Kenny Demens hit Tyris Jones at the line of scrimmage to seal the deal.

The game was a lot closer than many expected, with both teams fighting to keep their respective Big Ten title hopes alive. Northwestern struck first with a 10-play, 78-yard touchdown drive after forcing Michigan to punt away its first possession. But Michigan matched the Wildcats with a 10-play, 78-yard drive of its own, capped off by a Gardner 8-yard touchdown run. On the run, Gardner appeared to have nowhere to go around the 5-yard line, but pump-faked the defender which gave him just enough space to dive for the pylon.

Michigan appeared to be ready to score again on its next possession as Toussaint broke a 50-yard run inside the NW 10-yard line. But a hit from behind popped the ball loose and Northwestern recovered at its own three.

The Wildcats moved the ball to the 49, but Jibreel Black sacked Colter and knocked the ball loose. Michigan recovered at the Northwestern 37.

Roundtree's acrobatic catch saved the game (photo by MGoBlue.com)

At the beginning of the second quarter, Michigan struck again, this time a 10-play, 37-yard drive punctuated by a Thomas Rawls 1-yard touchdown run. Gardner kept the drive alive with a 17-yard run on 3rd-and-11.

The teams traded punts and Northwestern got the ball back with 1:53 remaining in the first half. Backup quarterback Trevor Siemian came in and guided the Wildcats to a game-tying touchdown that covered 56 yards in six plays. The teams entered halftime deadlocked at 14.

In the second half, Northwestern did just what it did on its first possession of the game: march the ball right down the field for a score. The Wildcats went 75 yards on 10 plays as Kain Colter found Dan Vitale for a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Michigan went three-and-out and NW was on the move again. On 3rd-and-goal from the eight, Craig Roh came up with a big sack to force the Wildcats to kick a 34-yard field goal and take a 24-14 lead.

Michigan answered right back with a four-play, 78-yard drive that was aided by a pass interference call on Northwestern on 3rd-and-17. Right after that, Gardner found Jeremy Gallon for a 42-yard play and then dumped the ball off to Toussaint who romped 28 yards into the end zone.

After forcing a NW punt, Michigan went 91 yards on 11 plays to regain the lead. On 3rd-and-6 from the Northwestern eight, Gardner hit Devin Funchess in the end zone. Michigan led 28-24 with 8:45 to play.

But Northwestern wasn’t finished. The Wildcats mounted an eight-play, 66-yard drive to take the lead back. Colter had to come out of the game with an injury and Siemian came in and completed passes of 21 yards and 15 yards. The Wildcats were also helped out by a 15-yards roughing the passer penalty on Brennen Beyer, taking away what would have been 3rd-and-11.

Dennis Norfleet returned the ensuing kickoff 37 yards to the Michigan 42, but Gardner was intercepted on the first play. With 3:37 remaining, Northwestern forced Michigan to use its time outs and set up 4th-and-1 from theMichigan 41. Colter was stopped by James Ross just short of the 40, but the measurement awarded the Wildcats a first down and it appeared all of Michigan’s hopes were dashed. NW kept running the ball to work the clock and Michigan forced the punt with 25 seconds remaining, setting up the end-of-game drama that unfolded.

Michigan kept its hopes of winning the Legends division alive while dashing Northwestern’s. For the Wildcats, it was a familiar refrain: blowing late-game leads as they have done so often this year.

Michigan hosts Iowa next week in what will be Denard Robinson’s final game in the Big House. It remains to be seen whether he will be able to play. Brady Hoke said he’s still day-to-day. But as Denard has been on the sideline, the legend of Devin Gardner continues to grow. However, Gardner dismissed any notion of replacing Denard in Michigan’s lineup.

“This is Denard’s team and it’s always going to be Denard’s team until he’s gone,” Gardner said. “He’s done way too much for two games to change that.”

Three games remain in the regular season and Michigan must win all of them to stay in the Big Ten title hunt. And just like last week, the Wolverines might have to do it without Denard Robinson. All week, Brady Hoke has been coy about Denard’s status. When asked about Denard’s status on Thursday morning, Hoke said, “We’ve got a plan in place and we’ve been running through it all week.” When asked again, he replied simply, “I don’t know. The plan is to go out and win a football game.”

Michigan did win a football game last week without Denard thanks to a solid performance by Devin Gardner and the receiving corps stepping up. But this week’s opponent, Northwestern, is a better team than Minnesota.

Northwestern enters at 7-2 overall and 3-2 in the Big Ten. Pat Fitzgerald’s squad holds onto extremely slim Big Ten championship hopes, needing to win out and get a lot of help, so the Wildcats will be fighting for their season. The two losses were at Penn State (39-28) and against nebraska (29-28). In that Nebraska game, Northwestern blew a 12 point lead in the fourth quarter. The seven teams Northwestern has beaten have a combined record of 25-38. So is the 7-2 record indicative of a solid squad, or is it more of a reflection of an incredibly weak schedule? Let’s take a look.

When Northwestern has the ball

Quarterback Kain Colter is a version of Denard Robinson that also plays other positions. Sophomore Trevor Siemian started a handful of games at quarterback to allow Colter to play receiver, but Colter has taken back the quarterback job. He has completed 62-of-89 passes for 517 yards, three touchdowns, and two interceptions. But he’s even more dangerous with his feet. He’s the second leading rusher on the team with 622 yards and 11 touchdowns on 114 attempts.

What’s even more dangerous is his backfield mate Venric Mark who is the Big Ten’s second leading rusher in terms of yards per game (119.7). He has eclipsed 100 yards in six of the nine games, including each of the past three. He had 182 yards against Minnesota and 162 yards on 16 carries against Iowa two weeks ago. He’s only 5’8″ but works perfectly in the zone read offense.

The receiving corps doesn’t have a standout, but has several players that contribute. Seven different players have double digit receptions and six of those have over 100 yards. The leading receiver, Tony Jones, hails from Grand Blanc, Mich. and was high school teammates with Justice Hayes and an AAU basketball teammate with Gardner. Oh, and his cousin is Thomas Rawls. He’ll be looking to impress his home state, but the Wildcat passing game isn’t one to be overly concerned with.

Venric Mark and Kain Colter form a dangerous backfield duo

The offensive line is experienced, led by center Brandon Vitabile and seniors Brian Mulroe and Pat Ward on the left side. They have helped pave the way for the Big Ten’s third best rushing offense. They’ve also allowed just 12 sacks, which is second best only to Michigan’s 10. However, a lot of that is a result of the lack of a passing game.

Northwestern runs a zone read offense that aims to get the playmakers – Colter and Mark – to the edge where they can beat cornerbacks and outside linebackers in space. It’s a fast-paced offense that rarely huddles and will sometimes split Colter out wide with Siemian behind center. Similar to last season’s matchup, the Wildcat offense will probably have some success early in the game before Greg Mattison adjusts.

When Michigan has the ball

Northwestern’s defense is slightly above average at stopping the run, but last in the conference against the pass. As mentioned in yesterday’s Friend vs Foe, both Penn State and Nebraska were able to put up gaudy numbers through the air in their wins over NW. In the season opener, Syracuse’s Ryan Nassib threw for 482 yards on 66 attempts.

The strength of the defense is the linebacking unit. Middle linebacker Damien Proby leads the ‘Cats with 86 tackles. David Nwabuisi is second with 75 and Chi Chi Ariguzo ranks third with 67. They’re a major reason for the success of the run defense, but they’re don’t excel in pass coverage, which is one of the reasons Northwestern has such a weak pass defense.

The line is led by end Tyler Scott who has a Big Ten best seven sacks to go along with 8.5 tackles for loss, leading the team in both categories. The other end is Quentin Williams who has 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss. The guys in the middle are small and don’t make a lot of impact. Brian Arnfelt has three sacks, but Sean McEvilly has one, but that’s about it.

Safety Ibraheim Campbell is the leader of the secondary. He has 67 tackles and loves to come up in run support. The Wildcats have just three interceptions and only one of them is from a defensive back, Nick VanHoose.

The nation’s 108th-ranked pass defense gives up 272.2 yards per game and it’s a good bed Michigan will have success as well.

The other third

Kicker Jeff Budzien has made 11-of-12 this season with a long of 44. His lone miss was over 50 yards, so he’s about as reliable as it gets in the Big Ten this season. He made 6-of-10 last season. Punter Brandon Williams averages 39.9 yards per punt, which ranks eighth in the Big Ten. In the return game, Northwestern is dangerous with Mark averaging 25.1 yards per punt return. He has already returned two four touchdowns this season.

Prediction

Like I said yesterday, I wouldn’t be surprised at all to see Gardner to play tomorrow. Northwestern can be torched through the air and if Denard’s throwing elbow is still at all bothersome, Hoke won’t risk the possibility of Denard playing against Ohio State. Michigan is more of a passing threat with Gardner at the helm and with the aggressiveness of Northwestern’s linebackers, he should be able to find a healthy dose of Jeremy Gallon, Drew Dileo, and Devin Funchess underneath. Regardless of who is behind center, expect a big passing day.

Defensively, Michigan will give up some yards in the first half, adjust and clamp down. It will be tough to slow down Colter and Mark, but with no major passing threat to worry about, Mattison can hone in on the run, and he has the advantage of going up against the same type of offense in practice day in and day out.

It will be close through the first half and into the third quarter, but Michigan will be too much for the Wildcats and will keep its title hopes alive.

Michigan 28 – Northwestern 17

Notes

As Michigan has done every game this season, another player (or set of players) will be given “legends” distinction prior to kickoff. This time, it is the Wistert brothers – Francis, Albert, and Alvin – who all wore number 11 in the 1940s. All three were first team All-Americans. One Michigan player will be awarded the number to go along with the previous numbers that have been given out: 47 to Jake Ryan, 87 to Brandon Moore, and 48 to Desmond Morgan. The Wistert brothers played offensive and defensive tackle, so my guess as to which player will get the honor is Quinton Washington, who has stepped up this season and been good off the field.

Bonus: the brothers’ nicknames were Whitey, Ox, and Moose.

For this week’s edition of Friend vs. Foe, we welcome Philip from the Northwestern blog Lake the Posts.  He will provide his perspective on how or why Northwestern can beat Michigan on Saturday. Remember, this is not an actual game prediction. It is an attempt to describe how or why each team can win from each side of the matchup.

The case for Northwestern

by Philip

If there is one thing you learn from watching Northwestern football it is that anything is possible on any given day. Except a Northwestern blowout win. Those just don’t happen. In Big Ten play this year, the Wildcats have proven that they can play with everyone on their schedule and that they cannot protect a lead in the fourth quarter. But you have to be good enough to build a lead in order to blow it – at least that is what the optimist in me says.

Northwestern had to do something and while the losses to Nebraska and Penn State still wake me up in a cold sweat, NU did some really nice things to get there that any defense has to be prepared to handle. This season has seen the emergence of Northwestern’s run game, something the team has not really had since Tyrell Sutton in 2005.

Venric Mark is this team’s biggest offensive weapon and his attitude has permeated through this rushing attack. He has already hit the 1,000 yard mark and has breakaway speed. Teams don’t punt to him anymore because his likely to break one at any time. He had an 80-yard run against Nebraska and two 50-yard runs against Minnesota. Despite his small size and speed, Mark is not afraid to dish out a hit and run between the tackles. Don’t be surprised to see him burst through a tiny crack between the hashes and burst forward or to get up from a pile and into a defensive lineman’s face. If you do not have your defense locked onto Mark he will score on you and score on you quickly.

That makes Northwestern especially dangerous in the option game. Kain Colter still does some every-backing here and there, but he is most effective when he runs the option with Mark next to him. Just the threat of Colter opens things up for Mark and the threat of Mark opens things up for Colter, who is a very good decisionmaker in the option and extremely slippery when he is out on the perimeter.

On the other side of the ball, the Wildcats defense is improved although still a little weak. The run defense has been solid all year and the defensive line and linebackers have been solid. So long as they are making tackles and not overly winded from an offense that cannot stay on the field. The secondary too is improved even though it continues to give up yards in chunks. But the communications issue and generally the deep passes are not there for opposing teams. Northwestern has long not been a team you can overlook, but now that is really true. There is a reason Northwestern is No. 24 in the BCS.

The key for the Wildcats is staying on the field offensively. That has been the offense’s struggle all year and it has led to disastrous results for Northwestern. Coming off the bye week, I suspect Northwestern will feel comfortable with its gameplan and come out with a lot of confidence in its run game led by Kain Colter, with easy passes mixed in to keep the defense off balance. There may be some Trevor Siemian sightings when Northwestern needs a long pass or Colter needs a breather. If he gets into any kind of rhythm passing, this offense becomes downright scary.

More importantly, if the Wildcats are able to sustain drives, the defense is good enough to hold down just about any offense and give the Cats a chance to win the game. If the Wildcats are unable to score points or sustain drives, the defense could get tired and that makes no lead safe.

The case for Michigan

by Justin

This is a game that concerns me probably more than it should, similar to how I felt entering last season’s matchup. Northwestern is probably a better team right now than it was last season and Michigan is arguably slightly worse. Michigan must win to stay in Big Ten title contention, while Northwestern can also say the same, although the Wildcats’ path to Indianapolis is much more narrow than Michigan’s.

The good thing is Northwestern’s strength – an explosive offense – feeds right into Michigan’s strength – a highly-ranked defense. The Wildcats rank 13th nationally in rush offense, averaging 236.4 yards per game, but just 113th in pass offense. Michigan’s pass defense ranks first in the nation, and likely will remain that way after Saturday, but Greg Mattison has shown the past two years the ability to slow down a one-dimensional offense. Against big, pro-style offenses like Alabama that are equally as dangerous with the run and pass, the defense is vulnerable. But when he can gear up to stop the run, the defense responds.

Kain Colter is a fantastic athlete, but the NW offense is similar to Michigan’s, relying heavily on the zone read, albeit at a faster pace. Mattison has done well to slow down these types of offenses, if not at first, but at least after making adjustments throughout the game.

Northwestern hasn’t yet faced a really good defense this season, and the two good ones it did face, Penn State (26th) and Nebraska (31st), resulted in losses. Penn State limited Northwestern to just 247 total yards (112 rushing), while Nebraska held NW to 180 yards rushing. Both are well below the season average. There’s no reason to think Michigan’s defense can’t do the same.

But where Michigan will win is on the other side of the ball. Northwestern’s total defense ranks 60th nationally and 35th in points allowed per game, giving up almost a touchdown more than Michigan. While the rush defense is respectable, the pass defense gives up 272 yards per game. Matt McGloin torched the Wildcats for 282 and Taylor Martinez did so for 342. This is where I think in this game, given the health of Denard Robinson, Devin Gardner might present the better matchup. It’s kind of blasphemous to say so, and I still think Michigan can win whether Gardner or Denard starts, but Gardner presents a better passing game, especially with Denard’s ailing throwing elbow.

Of course, no one outside of The Fort knows the status right now, so until I hear otherwise, I’m going to assume Denard will be the starter. If so, I believe he can have a game similar to what he did last year against Northwestern (337 yards and two touchdowns passing, 117 yards and two touchdowns rushing) and similar to Martinez’s performance a couple weeks ago.

I have a sneaking suspicion that we will see some Gardner regardless of Denard’s health, but expect a closely contested first half with Michigan pulling away in the second. It won’t be as high scoring ast last year’s meeting in Evanston, but there’s no reason Michigan should lose. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s game preview and staff predictions for a more in depth analysis.