Five Players To Watch: Michigan Wolverines vs. Wisconsin Badgers

Michigan Wolverines football (1-2) is set to host the No. 13 Wisconsin Badgers (1-0) on Saturday night at 7:30 p.m. on ABC.

Here's five players to keep an eye on come kickoff in the primetime showdown:

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Mertz tested positive for COVID-19 on Oct. 25, but is expected to play after having to miss 21 days due to the Big Ten's stringent protocols. All eyes will be on his status leading up to kickoff.

Mertz was set to begin the season as senior signal-caller Jack Coan's backup, but an injury to Coan made him the No. 1 guy at the position, and he impressed in the opener against Illinois, completing 20-of-21 pass attempts for 248 yards and five scores. With his stellar starting debut, he became the third FBS player over the last 25 seasons with five passing touchdowns and a 95 percent completion percentage in a game.

He is up against a reeling U-M secondary that is giving up 287.3 yards per game through the air and has allowed 10 passing plays for 30 yards or more.

Paye hasn't notched a sack since recording two in the opener at Minnesota, but he's still been extremely efficient, checking in as the seventh-most productive pass rusher in college football (minimum 100 pass rushes) according to PFF’s pass rushing productivity formula, which combines sacks, hit and hurries relative to how many times they rush the passer. In three games, Paye has four quarterback hits and 13 hurries to go along with his two sacks.

He's also contributed to U-M's run defense, which has held stout, allowing only 124.3 yards per game on the ground (31st in the country). Paye has 12 total tackles on the season, including four for loss.

Sanborn made three stops in a blowout win over Illinois and is the anchor of a strong Badger defense. He was the team's leading returning tackler coming into the season, after making 80 tackles, including nine for loss, 5.5 sacks, three interceptions, three pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery in 2019.

Wisconsin's defense, led by Sanborn, allowed Illinois to muster up just 218 yards of total offense and a dismal 4.6 yards per play.

The team's leading receiver in 2019, Bell was adequate through the first two weeks of this season (eight receptions, 120 yards), but had his first big game of the year against Indiana, notching six receptions for 149 yards and a score. Specifically, Bell had a massive second half, reeling in four catches for 123 yards, including his 21-yard touchdown.

Bell has been redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton's favorite target thus far, with Bell being responsible for a team-leading 14 of Milton's 65 completions and 11 of those going for first downs.

After accumulating over 400 yards receiving in each of the past two seasons, Ferguson began 2020 with a bang, grabbing seven balls for 72 yards and three touchdowns in the opener.

Last week, U-M allowed Indiana tight end Peyton Hendershot to tally four receptions for 31 yards and a touchdown, with redshirt sophomore viper Michael Barrett and redshirt sophomore linebacker Ben VanSumeren struggling in coverage and guarding him on each of his six targets. Wisconsin may look to exploit U-M's recent struggles in defending tight ends.

Ferguson is especially a big threat in the red zone, with all three of his touchdowns this season coming inside the opposition's 20-yard line.

• Michigan redshirt sophomore quarterback Joe Milton — The Floridian has completed 61 percent of his passes for 869 yards, four touchdowns and two interceptions so far in his first season as a college starter.

• Wisconsin fifth-year senior running back Garrett Groshek — He is the team's starting running back, and ran 13 times for 70 yards while adding four receptions for 29 yards against Illinois. He ran four times for 40 yards in last year's win over U-M.

• Michigan sophomore safety Daxton Hill — Opponents are completing less than half (45.5 percent) of their passes thrown his way. He and Paye have been the most consistent forces on the U-M defense, with Hill having 17 tackles and one pass breakup on the year.

• Wisconsin fifth-year senior safety Collin Wilder — He had a team-leading four tackles in the win over Illinois and had the team's top PFF coverage grade (74.1) out of players that were in on more than 10 snaps.

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