Michigan Football: 5 reasons Wolverines will beat Wisconsin

Karran Higdon and Ben Mason will pace power running game

As I said earlier, the Wolverines have really struggled to run the football against good teams. However, the Wolverines come in with the sixth-best run offense in the Big Ten, with 199 yards per game.

Michigan Wolverines

Wisconsin, which is usually stout against the run, ranks sixth in the conference in run defense, allowing 130 yards per game.  Maryland had a higher ranked run defense than Wisconsin and Michigan still produced 171 yards and 4.3 yards per carry. Karan Higdon also notched his fourth-consecutive 100-yard game.

If he can get to 100 Saturday night, Michigan should win. After all, UM is 9-0 all-time when Higdon gets 100 yards rushing or more. But in addition to Higdon, Ben Mason has been a dynamic short-yardage runner since the start of Big Ten play and having him earn tough yards, touchdowns and first downs will be essential.

In the last three weeks, he has 13 rushes for 35 yards, as well as four touchdowns. It’s also contributed to Michigan converting 49 percent of its third downs. Mason has also helped the Wolverines solve some of their issues around the goal line, which has also haunted UM in big games.

Michigan hasn’t run the ball well in big games, but this time, it feels different and if the Wolverines can establish some semblance of a running game, it will win the game.