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It’s a daunting task for this Michigan football team to go into Madison and beat Wisconsin, no matter the record the Badgers have.
At the moment, Wisconsin is 1-2, with losses to Penn State and after having squandered a 3-point fourth quarter lead by giving up 28 unanswered points to Notre Dame this past Saturday. But Michigan hasn’t won in Madison since 2001, and the Badgers are sure to be hungry to even their record and get the season back on track.
So, what do the Wolverines need to do to secure a big road win this week? Jim Harbaugh told WXYZ’s Brad Galli what the keys to victory are when the maize and blue hit the road for the first time in 2021.
“Being good on defense — you’ve gotta pack your defense when you go on these road games,” Harbaugh said. “And then offensively, you gotta start fast, you have to not turn the ball over. That’s something that’s gotten us the past couple trips to Madison. I think this team has been doing good at that.
“And then the execution, for four quarters, playing complementary football. Those are the big keys.”
Of course, one of the biggest challenges of going on the road to a place like Wisconsin is dealing with the Camp Randall crowd. It will certainly be a hostile environment, which creates issues for the offense, particularly when it comes to communication.
So, Michigan’s going to simulate in practice this week what that’s like for the players. Thus, if you live on State St. or the surrounding neighborhood, prepare to have some loud noises coming your way during the late afternoon and early evening.
“We may get a few complaints from folks who live in the area on State St.!” Harbaugh said. “You’ll have to bear with us this week! We have to generate some crowd noise.”
INTERVIEW: Jim Harbaugh one-on-one
Talking Michigan's need to improve before Wisconsin, Cade McNamara and the offense, and why U-M neighbors may make noise complaints this week pic.twitter.com/6THgULJUDD
— Brad Galli (@BradGalli) September 27, 2021
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The biggest challenge that Wisconsin poses this year is on the defensive side of the ball. The Badgers allowed just two rushing yards to Notre Dame and are allowing an average of 23 yards per game. It’s the No. 2 defense in the country overall, so if Michigan is going to win, it’ll need to avoid having lapses like it did in the second-half against Rutgers.
At Harbaugh’s weekly press conference on Monday, WolverinesWire asked him why he feels the Badgers are so good on that side of the ball.
“Really stout, really good,” Harbaugh said. “Big, physical, fast. Experienced. Their entire secondary — two sixth-year guys, two fifth-year guys. Guys that have played a lot of football. The linebackers, front. Experienced, solid, physical, athletic defense that knows the scheme and they’re very dialed in.”
The Wolverines and Badgers will kick off at Camp Randall Stadium on Saturday at noon EDT. The game will be broadcast nationally on Fox.
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