Tale Of The Tape: Sizing Up Michigan And Northwestern

Michigan Wolverines football will take on Northwestern Saturday afternoon at The Big House.

Here, we've set the stage for each aspect of the matchup between the Wolverines and Wildcats, with a statistical and analytical breakdown, and give our take on who has the advantage in each area.

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Here are some stats and analytics on Michigan's passing offense and Northwestern's pass defense, followed by our analysis.

Analysis: Northwestern's pass defense marks are fairly good in some areas, but it's important to note that some opponents had so much success against the run that they didn't have to air it out at a high rate. The Wildcats have only defended against 191 pass attempts on the season.

The Wildcats' pass rush hasn't gotten home enough, and the coverage on the back end has been adequate but hasn't been coming up with the big plays (interceptions, etc.).

Michigan's passing game hasn't been the featured aspect of the offense, but it's been efficient when called upon. Redshirt freshman signal-caller Cade McNamara has taken one sack and launched one interception in six games, and sometimes not making a big mistake is as good as connecting on a big play. His 8.3 yards per attempt rank 34th in the country, and that's throwing to a group of receivers who are still trying to find their way without junior Ronnie Bell.

Advantage: Michigan

Here are some stats and analytics on Michigan's potent rushing offense and Northwestern's run defense, followed by our analysis.

Analysis: Michigan has compiled more than 100 rushing yards in all six games, 200-plus in four tilts and better than 300 in three contests. The Wolverines rank seventh nationally with 246.5 rushing yards per game.

Conversely, Northwestern is one of the worst rushing defenses in the country and ranks last in the Big Ten. Michigan State ran for 326 yards on Northwestern, Duke racked up 208 yards and Nebraska mounted a whopping 427 yards and seven touchdowns. While the Wildcats only yielded 63 yards to Rutgers last week, the Scarlet Knights aren't a strong team and that appears to be the outlier.

Advantage: Michigan

Here are some stats and analytics on Northwestern's pass game and Michigan's pass defense, followed by our take.

Analysis: Led by junior defensive end Aidan Hutchinson, Michigan's pass rush has been one of the sport's best, while Northwestern has struggled to protect the passer. Hutchinson and redshirt freshman outside linebacker David Ojabo have 44 pressures and 10 sacks between the two of them, and will be a force to be reckoned with.

Credit sophomore quarterback Ryan Hilinski for taking over the starting job after senior Hunter Johnson, who threw four interceptions in three games, had a rough start to the season. Hilinski hasn't thrown an interception, but is only completing 57.6 percent of his passes, with not many downfield threats to target.

Advantage: Michigan

Here are some stats and analytics on Northwestern's rushing game and Michigan's run defense, followed by our analysis.

Analysis: Rushing might be the strength of Northwestern's offense, but it's still not very strong. Sophomore running back Evan Hull is 28th in the country with 93.7 rushing yards per game, but a closer look suggests that he's beaten up on lighter opponents and struggled against tough ones, with 342 of his 562 yards coming against Indiana State and Ohio.

The Wolverines tout the nation's top run defense, tied with Georgia per PFF, and while that might be a bit deceiving, they've been more than solid against the run. The defensive tackle play has improved, with redshirt freshman Mazi Smith and sophomore Christopher Hinton eating up blockers, allowing for the linebackers — led by redshirt junior Josh Ross, the team's leading tackler — to clean up.

Advantage: Michigan

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