FACTS & STATS: Site: Ryan Field (47,130) -- Evanston, Illinois. Television: Big Ten Network. Home Record: Michigan 2-2, Northwestern 2-1. Away Record: Michigan 0-0, Northwestern 0-1. Neutral Record: Michigan 0-0, Northwestern 0-0. Conference Record: Michigan 1-0, Northwestern 0-1. Series Record: Michigan leads, 51-14-2.

GAME NOTES: Fresh off their upset win over 10th-ranked Penn State, the Michigan Wolverines take their show on the road for the first time this season with a date against the Northwestern Wildcats at Ryan Field in Evanston, Illinois. Ranked fifth in the AP poll heading into the campaign, Michigan was promptly dropped from the rankings following a season-opening loss to Appalachian State and then looked even worse against Oregon seven days later. On September 15th, the Wolverines began their march back to respectability with a 38-0 thrashing of Notre Dame, before slipping by the Nittany Lions last weekend, 14-9, marking the ninth straight win for Michigan over Penn State. As for the Wildcats, they defeated Northeastern and Nevada in back-to-back outings to kick off the campaign, but then the team fell flat versus Duke (20-14), a team that at the time had the longest losing streak in the nation. Last Saturday, Northwestern opened its conference slate against eighth-ranked Ohio State and was promptly blasted by the Buckeyes on the road in a 58-7 decision. In a series that began back in 1892, Michigan holds a commanding lead over the Wildcats with a mark of 51-14-2. The Wolverines, who are 18-7 in road games, have won four straight and seven of the last eight encounters. Last year Michigan captured a 17-3 win at home versus Northwestern.

Subbing for an injured Chad Henne, Ryan Mallett got the start against the Nittany Lions last weekend and finished the day 16-of-29 passing for 170 yards, adding a rushing score on five attempts. Carrying the majority of the load for the Wolverines in the absence of Henne was running back Mike Hart who set a new career high in rushing attempts with 44, resulting in 153 yards to mark his third straight 100-yard effort against PSU and the 23rd such game of his career, establishing a new Michigan record for running backs. A pounding dynamo who has 877 carries in his career for the Wolverines, Hart needs just 53 yards this weekend to move into second place on the team's all-time rushing list, given that he has 4,334 yards to his credit currently. With Henne on the pine and Mallett being thrust into the starting lineup as a freshman, it should come as little surprise that the passing attack for the Wolverines is last in the conference and 107th among the 119 FBS programs with a pass efficiency rating of only 104.47. Hart is the key to the UM offensive unit, and he is currently ranked first in the Big Ten and second in the nation with an average of 163.8 ypg on the ground.

When the Wolverines needed it most, the defense stepped up and did the job versus Penn State last weekend. The Nittany Lions were limited to only 25 minutes of possession and converted a mere 5-of-15 on third down. Had Michigan not registered a pair of crucial fumble recoveries, the outcome of the contest could have taken a dramatic turn. Not only did Jamar Adams come up with a team- high eight tackles for the home team in the Big House, he also accounted for five pass breakups. Brandon Graham managed only three total stops on the afternoon, but with half of those going down as sacks and him coming away with a forced fumble and one recovery, he had an outstanding effort all around. After four games Graham has a total of just eight tackles for the team, and yet he is among the nation's leaders with five sacks, to go along with his two forced fumbles. Also getting a strong push into the opponent's backfield thus far is Shawn Crable who has made a third of his 27 tackles behind the line of scrimmage. TFLs is also a strong suit for the squad, ranking 15th in the country with eight per outing.

By the time Northwestern put its first points on the board against the Buckeyes last Saturday, the team trailed by 45 points. Even worse, it wasn't the offense that scored for the Wildcats it was the special teams on a 99-yard kickoff return for a touchdown to open the second half. The Wildcats generated a grand total of 120 yards of offense on 66 plays, eventually coming up with zero rushing yards on 33 attempts. C.J. Bacher barely survived in the pocket for the squad, hitting 17-of-32 for 120 yards, while being sacked five times and picked off twice in the losing effort. Eric Peterman posted six catches for 61 yards as the only bright spot for the offense. Peterman leads the team with 16 catches for 194 yards, but he has yet to get into the end zone, something that Ross Lane (14 receptions, 179 yards) has done twice. Bacher is completing just under 58 percent of his pass attempts for 958 yards, but has the same number of picks (four) as he does throwing touchdowns thus far. Since putting up a hefty 36 points against Nevada in the second game of the season, the Wildcats have come up with only 21 points versus Duke and Ohio State combined.

OSU needed just 70 seconds to make it into the end zone last Saturday and was ahead 14-0 three and a half minutes into the first frame, leaving the Wildcats clutching at straws. The Buckeyes ran four fewer plays than the visitors and yet the host squad still rang up almost 400 yards of total offense for an average of close to six and a half yards per play. Adam Kadela recorded a game- high 12 tackles for the Wildcats, matching John Gill (six stops) with a pair of TFLs. Gill also registered the lone sack of the game for Northwestern, a team that is currently second-to-last in the Big Ten and tied for 111th in the nation with .75 sacks per outing. The pass efficiency defense for the group took a severe beating against Ohio State, ballooning to a mark of 160.9 to rank last in the conference and 114th in the nation after four games. In terms of scoring defense (27.3 ppg) and total defense (376.5 ypg) the unit is 10th in the league. Currently tied for third in the Big Ten, Kadela is averaging nine and a half tackles per game, while Kevin Mims accounts for two of the team's four sacks.

With Hart leading the charge and Mallett doing just enough not to ruin the chances for the Wolverines, Michigan should have this meeting in the bag. Now the only question is by how many points will the visitors take the victory.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Michigan 31, Northwestern 10