This Saturday at Michigan Stadium the Northwestern Wildcats have a chance to win eight games in the regular season for the first time since 2000, their last Big 10 championship. However, for the Wolverines, this season has been all but roses. After losing to Purdue, Michigan and first-year head coach Rich Rodriguez (the biggest douche bag who does not wear a sweater vest) are assured of their first losing season since 1967. Even with all of its disappointment, Michigan is coming off a victory the once-Cinderella team of the conference, the Minnesota Golden Gophers, winning by a comfortable margin in the Metrodome.

In terms of the injury report, the Wolverines and Wildcats find themselves mired in similar situations. Michigan quarterback Steven Threet is out for Saturday’s contest, suffering from what have been described as concussion-like symptoms. The Michigan signal-caller went down with a head injury in the final quarter of Michigan’s loss to Purdue and sat out last week’s victory. Redshirt sophomore Nick “no relation to the road” Sheridan will get the start for the second straight game. Sheridan completed 18 of 30 passes with one TD and no interceptions in their 29-6 upset of Minnesota.

At running back, Brandon Minor will most likely sit out this game for Michigan after suffering a shoulder injury. Freshmen Sam McGuffie, who has been up and down this season, and Michael Shaw, who has 23 carries for 157 yards on the season, will likely carry the load in the Michigan backfield.

As for the Cats, the vagueness surrounding the condition of quarterback CJ Bacher has continued. Pat Fitzgerald has assured the media that Bacher’s hamstring is improving and will regain the starting spot when he is fully healthy, but at the very least expect Mike Kafka to see most of the snaps on Saturday. At tailback, injuries continue to plague the Cats. Second string option Omar Conteh is now out for the season, leaving Fitzgerald no choice but to insert the third option, Stephen Simmons, into the starting role for the second week in a row.

To beat Michigan at the Big House for the first time since 1995, Northwestern offensive coordinator Mick McCall will need to open up the playbook, especially if Mike Kafka takes most of the snaps this weekend. While Kafka beat the Gophers almost solely with his ability to make plays with his feet, it will likely take a more multidimensional attack to take down the Wolverines. Although Kafka was not given many opportunities to beat the Buckeyes with his arm, he played solidly the few times he did drop back to pass. Look for NU to throw short passes to senior receiver Eric Peterman, taking advantage of Peterman’s ability to turn gain yards after the catch.

On the defensive side of the ball, pressure will remain the key to the Wildcat defense. Despite his desire to run the spread, Rich Rodriguez’s current team features more of a pocket-passing style. NU had considerable success pressuring Buckeyes’ quarterback Terrelle Pryor last week, but Pryor’s athleticism and their inability to get stops on 3rd down killed NU against Ohio State. Without Vince Browne, look for Corey Wootton to continue to lead the way in trying to pressure the less-athletic Sheridan.

Prediction: Having already missed out on a bowl, the Wolverines have nothing to play for and the atmosphere at the Big House should be fairly negative. NU, on the other hand, knows that a win at Michigan would probably ensure an invitation to a better bowl than the Motor City Bowl (no offense, Detroit) such as the Alamo or Champs Sports Bowl. True, Northwestern will not be able to rely on the running game for the second consecutive week, but against a weaker Wolverines defense Kafka will have some success to turn broken plays into big gains. The NU coaching staff will allow him to show that he actually can throw the ball. Look for the defense to be motivated after an embarrassing performance against the Buckeyes and return to the form they showed earlier in the season. I predict that Northwetsern will return to Evanston with a 26-14 win over the Wolverines and we can all start making our plane reservations to Orlando.