Michigan Football: 5 predictions for Wolverines against Northwestern

Winning the turnover battle…again

The turnover battle is the most telling stat in football. The team that wins that battle, usually wins the game and the Wolverines have won it every time this season or at least haven’t lost it.

That’s been a huge part of this Michigan team’s success and it’s two-fold. Cade McNamara and the offense have been great with ball security. McNamara may not be the elite five-star guy, but he’s been the best in the country at avoiding sacks and turnovers.

It has paid off.

And the defense is starting to get takeaways too. Michigan got three against Wisconsin and two at Nebraska and they all proved critical in those wins.

And while Northwestern quarterback Ryan Hilinski hasn’t thrown an interception this season in 99 attempts, he’s going to face the best pass rush and defense he’s seen all season on Saturday.

Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo are getting pressure at a ridiculous rate and essentially, Hutchinson can’t be blocked by one guy. It takes a team effort to try and keep him at bay, leaving the door open for Ojabo to dominate.

The interior pass rush is coming on too — Chris Hinton and Mazi Smith have both taken huge leaps this year and Mike Morris is also overlooked but is effective pushing the pocket.

Michigan will get after Hilinski and that will lead to his first interception of the season.