Five keys to a Wisconsin victory over Michigan on Saturday

Head Coach Paul Chryst and the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers will be back in action Saturday against Jim Harbaugh and the 1-2 Michigan Wolverines, a game date that will mark 22 days after their Week 1 contest against Illinois.

The last few weeks in Madison have not been easy, as the team opened the season with a dominant 45-7 victory Illinois, experienced a COVID-19 outbreak within the program, saw two of their games canceled and had to wait until just recently to return to the field for normal preparation.

It’s finally game week, though, and the Badgers’ upcoming battle against the Wolverines is a captivating one on many levels.

First, the Badgers:

The team will likely be without key contributors due to the Big Ten’s COVID-19 protocol. Those players, or how many there are, are not known. They did look utterly dominant in Week 1, though, but that could have been just what comes with playing Illinois.

Now, the Wolverines:

Harbaugh’s team sits at 1-2 on the season after disappointing losses against Michigan State and Indiana. They don’t have the talent to compete with Ohio State in the Big Ten East, but this year is shaping up to be yet another letdown for Michigan fans after Harbaugh came to the program with sky-high aspirations.

Then there’s the battle of young quarterbacks in Graham Mertz (hopefully) and Joe Milton, the Wolverines being the team that enters the game with a dominant rushing attack and Harbaugh’s squad losing arguably their best defensive player.

It is shaping up to be an interesting, interesting game.

So, without further ado, here are five keys to a Wisconsin victory on Saturday:

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