Breaking Down Every Phase Of This Weekend's Wisconsin/Michigan Game

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We take a closer look at every specific phase of this weekend's Wisconsin/Michigan game, and reveal which team has the edge in every area.

The story surrounding Michigan's running game this year has been senior running back Karan Higdon. He has been on a tear all season long, rushing for 103 yards or more in four of the team's last five games (he missed the Sept. 15 SMU contest with injury).

As a result, his statistics now stand as some of the Big Ten's best.

Higdon's 116.4 yards per outing are the second most in the league, and his five rushing touchdowns are tied for fourth most.

The senior has also taken on more of a workhorse mentality with junior Chris Evans out with injury, racking up 55 combined carries the last two weeks.

Position coach Jay Harbaugh revealed on Wednesday, though, that he fully expects Evans to return this weekend.

In his absence, junior Tru Wilson has actually surpassed him as the team's second leading rusher, with 188 yards.

"Wilson comes in with an effort that should be contagious to everyone else," former Michigan All-Big Ten offensive lineman Doug Skene said on Chris Balas' Tuesday podcast. "When you see him play with his effort and desire, it has to have an effect — the coaches should point him out to the whole team and tell everyone to play that way. You can't have enough guys like him.

"I'll take he and [sophomore fullback] Ben Mason any day of the week with the upside they have in pass blocking — can you imagine what they'll look like once they learn the system better?"

The Michigan offensive line, however, has still struggled to consistently create holes for the running backs, but has done a good job of not allowing tackles for loss.

The unit is only yielding 4.6 per game, which is tied for 24th best nationally.

On the flip side, Wisconsin has been horrendous at getting into opposing backfields.

The Badgers are only averaging five tackles for loss per outing, which is tied for 102nd in college football.

Granted, injuries have hit the team's front seven hard, but the unit was not great even when their top contributors were healthy.

Redshirt freshmen Kayden Lyles and Matt Henningson (in place of injured redshirt sophomore Isaiahh Loudermilk) will likely get the starts at the defensive end spots, while senior nose tackle Olive Sagapolu will start in the middle of the Badgers' 3-4 alignment.

With Loudermilk out, Wisconsin is incredibly thin on the defensive line, and may only rotate in two additional bodies in freshman Bryson Williams and redshirt junior David Pfaff.

"They haven’t been able to generate much of a pass rush so far this season," BadgerBlitz.com insider John Veldhuis said on Thursday. "Their young defensive line hasn’t controlled the running game or the line of scrimmage as well as they have over the last few years, setting up easier third-down conversions for opponents.

"I think these are issues that will take time to sort out, so there doesn’t seem to be a quick fix coming down the pipeline."

Fifth-year seniors T.J. Edwards and Ryan Connelly have been mainstays in the Badger linebacking crew and will get the starting nods, along with redshirt juniors Zack Baun and Tyler Johnson. Fifth-year senior Andrew Van Ginkel (who knocked then-redshirt freshman quarterback Brandon Peters out of last year's game) has been banged up, but will more than likely play.

Redshirt junior Chris Orr and redshirt sophomore Christian Bell may also see action, especially if Van Ginkel is limited.

The Badgers rank 43rd nationally in rushing yards allowed per game (130.2), and although that's obviously not bad, it's not typical of a Wisconsin defense.

The group is also allowing 4.4 yards per carry, which ranks 81st. In fact, Wisconsin has allowed its last three opponents (Nebraska, Iowa and BYU) to all average at least 4.6 yards per carry.

This, however, is an incredibly tough phase to call.

Advantage: Michigan