Michigan football: 4 key things to watch for against Iowa

Intangibles

For all the justified tension over Harbaugh’s inability to win road games or games in which the Wolverines are underdogs, the one thing his teams have consistently done is beat up on teams with lesser talent.

Iowa falls into that category. While the Hawkeyes are certainly a more cohesive team than Michigan at this point in the year, the Wolverines have the talent to assert themselves if they get the chance, especially at home. They’ve shown this, for example, by going 4-0 at home against Penn State and Wisconsin the last three years.

The same could have been said about the Wisconsin game, but the home-field advantage did not favor Michigan then. It will now, and taking into account a Homecoming atmosphere, this is the type of game that the Wolverines have dominated in recent years.

Furthermore, Michigan knows that its back is straight up against the wall. A loss to the Hawkeyes would knock them out of the College Football Playoff race and probably the Big Ten race as well. The defeat to the Badgers kept all of the Wolverines’ dreams intact, but they will walk onto the field Saturday knowing that they’ll have to play their best to keep them alive. That’s as strong as any intangible factor.