Five Players To Watch: Michigan Football vs. Wisconsin

No. 14-ranked Michigan Wolverines football (4-0, 1-0 Big Ten) is set to take on Wisconsin (1-2, 0-1) Saturday afternoon in Madison.

Here are five players to keep an eye on, and why.

RELATED: Previewing Michigan vs. Wisconsin With A Badger Insider

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While it's unfair to say the game rests in McNamara's hands, all eyes will be on him Saturday afternoon. The Badgers have the nation's No. 1 rushing defense, allowing 23 yards per game, meaning the Wolverines will likely have to throw more than the 16.3 times they're averaging per contest this season.

If McNamara, who has completed 33 of 53 passes for 534 yards and three scores, can execute and not turn it over — he has never thrown an interception in his career — the Maize and Blue will have a great shot of coming out on top.

Bruss has shined on an offensive line that has not, and he's been especially good when it comes to pass blocking, with a team-leading 83.3 PFF grade in that category. According to PFF, he has allowed two quarterback hurries and one hit on the signal-caller.

Bruss and senior left tackle Tyler Beach — who has really struggled this season — will have to be on high alert for Michigan junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, who will move around the formation and wreak havoc.

Rutgers ran a lot of stunts on the defensive line, including tilting its nose guard at a 45 degree angle and trying to blow up the A-gap. Vastardis has been fantastic for most of the season, but he had trouble firing off the ball against those stunts against the Scarlet Knights, posting a 49.7 overall PFF grade, his worst mark of the campaign the the lowest among starting linemen.

We hear so much from players how much the offensive line feeds off of the captain's energy and how he plays, so he'll need to step up in this one against potentially the strongest defensive line the Wolverines will face all year.

While he had a relatively quiet game against Notre Dame last week (four tackles), Sanborn is a force in the middle of the Badger defense. And he's extremely disruptive, with five of his 11 tackles coming behind the line of scrimmage.

Sanborn flows down hill and makes plays, so the Wolverines' offensive line has to be able to hold the line of scrimmage and get to the second level — otherwise Sanborn's name will be called quite a bit.

Michigan's rushing offense versus the Badgers' rushing defense will be strength on strength, and it's up to Vastardis and Sanborn, respectively, to rally their groups and lead the way.

Sanborn also makes an impact while rushing the passer, recording nine quarterback pressures on 45 pass-rushing snaps, per PFF.

Ross left last week's game with a "stinger injury," but was described by head coach Jim Harbaugh as "probable" on Monday and is expected to play Saturday. Ross was begging to return against the Scarlet Knights last week, but the medical professionals wouldn't clear him, and it would be hard to picture him missing this one. The fifth-year player and team's leading tackler (29) has taken the next step in his game this season.

He's not only important to have in there because of his production, which includes 3.5 tackles for loss, but he's the leader of the entire defense, communicating before every play and making sure everybody's in the right spot. Defensive line coach Shaun Nua said this week that when Ross left the game, the communication lacked on all three levels of the defense. Now, that shouldn't be the case, and Nua insisted they're working to improve that, but it's telling nonetheless.

Even a Ross playing at 90 percent or so would be a big boost for the Maize and Blue.

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