Michigan Football: Everything you need to know about Wisconsin

Michigan football faces what could be their toughest opponent yet with Wisconsin. Here’s what the Badgers bring to the table.

Jim Harbaugh’s record against Wisconsin, since joining Michigan football as the head coach in 2015, sits at 2-1. While the overall record is favorable, Harbaugh hasn’t found success at Camp Randall.

Jim first encountered the Badgers in 2016 at the Big House and the Wolverines came away with the victory in a low scoring affair. The Wolverine defense smothered a struggling Wisconsin offense, holding quarterback Alex Hornibrook to just nine completions. Badger running back Corey Clement‘s 68-yard showing is the second-lowest he posted that year.

For UM, Wilton Speight didn’t disappoint, throwing 32 passes and completing 20 of them. Speight was backed up by a trio of ball carriers that included De’Veon Smith, Ty Isaac, and Chris Evans who combined for 148 yards on the ground.

The following year, Michigan arrived in Madison as a two-loss team and walked away with their third defeat of the season. The fifth-ranked Badgers pummeled the Wolverines 24-10, led by the dynamic running back Jonathan Taylor‘s 132-yards. On the bright side, Hornibrook was again held to just nine completions.

For UM offensively, Harbaugh and Pep Hamilton couldn’t decide who to keep at quarterback all season, and this game was no different. Both Brandon Peters and John O’Korn took the field, and both were unable to throw a touchdown. Nothing clicked in Michigan’s poor, 234-total-yard showing.

When the 12th ranked Badgers came to town in 2018, Michigan smacked Paul Chryst’s squad in the mouth, holding Wisconsin to 13 points while simultaneously decimating the Badger defense with 38 points of their own. Karan Higdon averaged five and a half yards-per-carry, and Shea Patterson completed 14 of his 20 throws for 124 yards. Patterson also carried the ball nine times, averaging ten yards-per-carry.

The Wolverines stingy defense held Hornibrook to just seven completions, picked him off twice; although, Taylor was still able to gain 100 yards on the ground.

Now that we’ve covered the past few encounters, here’s a look at the 2019 Wisconsin Badgers.