Michigan football has a tough road task ahead this weekend against the Wisconsin Badgers. Here are three reasons the Wolverines can steal a win.
The Michigan football team entered the season with high expectations, as usual under Jim Harbaugh, but is already seeing that early faith wither away. Michigan is an underdog this weekend on the road against the Wisconsin Badgers in what is a bit of a surprise to me. Apparently the two games Wisconsin has played are that much more impressive than Michigan’s. Of course, home-field advantage is taken into account for that too, which favors the Badgers.
The last two times these teams faced off against each other they were very, very different. Two seasons ago Michigan was struggling and went to Madison to play a then-undefeated Wisconsin team. The Badgers were better and played like the better team to stay undefeated.
Last year, the Wolverines were rolling when a struggling Badgers team traveled over to Ann Arbor and the Wolverines rightfully knocked the snot out of the visiting team. It was nothing more than a blip on the way to 10 straight wins during the middle of the season for Michigan.
This year, things are different. The two teams are much more closely matched despite Wisconsin having a 70 percent chance to win, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index.
The Wolverines are still totally capable of winning this game Saturday. If they did, it wouldn’t surprise even Wisconsin fans. It would only technically be an upset because Vegas has the Badgers favored, and not for any other reason.
Michigan can’t expect to walk to victory though. It’ll still have to play a good game and earn the win. The Badgers have shown no signs that they will roll over for the Wolverines. It won’t be anything like last year.
So what will it take for Michigan to win? Glad you asked. Here are three reasons the Wolverines can beat the Badgers this Saturday.