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Three Things to Watch during Michigan's Bye Week

The Michigan Wolverines are heading into their bye for week nine, getting thirteen days off before their matchup against the Purdue Boilermakers. Michigan will have plenty of time to make adjustments and reorganize themselves, looking to find improvements on their undefeated season.

Let's take a look at some major storylines to watch during Michigan's bye week, including team health, sign stealing and a week nine game that you do not want to miss.

The Alleged Sign Stealing Scandal

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This feels somewhat easy but it has to be mentioned. I am not going to sit here and write about any rumors or details being published because they are just that, rumors, and I have no inside information to conjecture about on here.

That said, interesting developments and bits of information are coming out every day. It is obviously worth following along because we are continuing to here something new, although it is most likely coming from the NCAA's side of things (which feels a bit cheap considering Michigan cannot comment publicly).

Still, this situation could very easily stay unresolved for quite some time.

Health of the Running Back Room (and the team)

Michigan's health in the running back room has been pretty up and down this season as it relates to depth pieces. Across the board the team looks very healthy, but Kalel Mullings and Cole Cabana both missed the Michigan State game and have also both been battling injuries and missing time in the first half of the season.

As the secondary got healthy the deeper into the schedule that the Wolverines have gone, running back depth has begun to thin out just a touch. This bye week will be a great opportunity for these two guys to get healthy.

Considering how well he has performed with his more limited touches, Michigan will most definitely be wanting Mullings available down the stretch of the season for short-yardage situations

Wisconsin vs #3 Ohio State

The prime time 7:30 p.m. window for Saturday night's slate is Wisconsin versus Ohio State in Madison, WI. The Buckeyes are obviously riding the high of their home win against No. seven ranked Penn State, while Wisconsin gritted out a game against Illinois following a crushing loss to Iowa.

Camp Randall Stadium should be rocking as backup quarterback turned starter Braedyn Locke is coming off of leading his team to 18 unanswered points in their 25-21 fourth quarter comeback win over the Fighting Illini.

Ohio State's vaunted defense held PSU's Drew Allar to a 43% completion percentage on 42 attempts, throwing for only 191 yards. Locke is a true freshman and will need to avoid turnovers to keep his team in the game.

This could be a let down matchup if the Buckeyes do not stay even keeled, so watch out for the ball control offense and home field advantage of Wisconsin to make this game closer for a lot longer than you might have expected. This game will go a long way in determining who finishes where in the Big Ten East and West divisions.

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