Michigan Football: 3 keys to Wolverines beating Northwestern

The Wolverines host Northwestern on Saturday and here are three keys to another Michigan football victory.

After a bye week, Michigan football has two challenges on its plate this week: beating Northwestern and also not looking ahead to Michigan State.

The Spartans are on bye this week and if the Wolverines beat Northwestern, the two teams will be 7-0 when they meet in East Lansing on Oct. 30.

However, first up is Northwestern which is 3-3 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten. Northwestern lost in a blowout fashion to Nebraska and Michigan State. But the Wildcats are fresh off a win over Rutgers last week and they won’t be a pushover.

Michigan is a heavy favorite coming into this matchup and we take a look at three keys for the Wolverines beating Northwestern.

Just show up

With a huge game looming on the schedule and fresh off its own bye week, Michigan football needs to show up focused and ready for Northwestern, otherwise, this could easily become a battle.

Pat Fitzgerald has routinely found ways over the years to overachieve and even though this Northwestern team doesn’t have the look of being a contender in the Big Ten West, a win over sixth-ranked Michigan would be a feather in the cap and turn 2021 into a success.

The Wolverines have more talent across the board than Northwestern. That’s not a question. But if Michigan looks past this team, it could get itself into trouble.

To its credit, this Michigan football team has been incredibly focused and I don’t see the Wolverines overlooking anybody, Northwestern included.