GAME NOTES: Expect a physical Big Ten battle from start to finish this weekend, as the Wisconsin Badgers play host to the struggling Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan has lost its last three games and five of the last six since a promising 4-0 start to the campaign. Last weekend, the Wolverines dropped a 38-36 decision to Purdue, their third loss of six or fewer points. Michigan needs one more victory to earn bowl eligibility, and considering that Wisconsin and Ohio State are the only two games left on the schedule, there seems to be a realistic chance that coach Rich Rodriguez and his troops will miss out on the postseason for the second straight year.

As for Wisconsin, it improved to 7-2 overall, including 4-2 in Big Ten play, which a closer-than-expected, 31-28 victory over Indiana last weekend. The Badgers are one game back of the leaders in the conference standings. Still, the remaining schedule is quite favorable, and it is quite possible that Wisconsin will finish the regular season with a 10-2 mark.

Michigan owns a commanding 49-12-1 series advantage over Wisconsin, which includes a 27-25 upset of the Badgers last season.

Michigan led Purdue by a 24-10 score at halftime last weekend, but the Wolverines struggled offensively in the second half. For the game, they finished with an impressive total of 36 points and 427 total yards, numbers normally good enough to earn victory for a squad. Quarterback Tate Forcier completed 15-of-24 passes for 212 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Forcier also rushed for a score, while Brandon Minor had three rushing touchdowns and 154 yards on just 19 carries. Roy Roundtree led the receivers with 10 catches for 126 yards and a touchdown.

"You score 36 points you ought to be able to win it," stated coach Rodriguez. "Again we had opportunities missed there as well. Offensively we had some execution issues. We can't do that and expect to win."

Defensively, Michigan struggled mightily against Purdue, allowing the Boilermakers to post 494 yards en route to 38 points last weekend. The Wolverines allowed 367 passing yards in the clash, and while they did come up with a pair of interceptions, they allowed two scores through the air and three more on the ground.

"What hurts you is the cheap touchdowns," said Rodriguez. "They're uncontested. If [Purdue] makes great plays, that's one thing, but to just let guys get behind you or let guys get wide open or a couple times we blew coverage."

Michigan is scoring 32.0 ppg this season while gaining 404.0 total ypg. The Wolverines have done most of their damage on the ground, as 27 of the 39 offensive touchdowns have been of the rushing variety. They are gaining 4.8 yards per rushing attempt and average 208.3 ypg on the ground. Carlos Brown leads the team with 478 rushing yards, while Minor, who is just two yards behind Brown, is tops with eight touchdowns. Forcier has three rushing touchdowns to his credit, and he has completed 56.2 percent of his passes for 1,636 yards and 10 touchdowns with five interceptions.

Opponents are scoring 26.4 ppg against Michigan, which is allowing 393.3 total ypg. The Wolverines are surrendering 4.3 yards per rush and 12.1 yards per pass completion, so there is some room for improvement against both means of attack. Stevie Brown leads the defense with 64 total tackles, including 8.0 TFLs. Brandon Graham has a staggering total of 17 TFLs to his credit, including 6.5 sacks, and Donovan Warren has registered four interceptions.

Several players on the offensive side of the ball played well for Wisconsin in the narrow victory over Indiana last weekend. John Clay, a sophomore tailback, gained 134 yards and a touchdown on just 15 rushing attempts before leaving with a concussion. His status for this weekend remains unknown. Freshman runner Montee Ball added 115 yards and two scores on 27 carries, and wideout Nick Toon hauled in five receptions for 123 yards. As for quarterback Scott Tolzien, he connected on 11-of-20 passes for 194 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

"I thought our guys, during the course of the week, prepared the right way," said head coach Bret Bielema after the win. "I had a feeling that this was going to be one of those where it was a four quarter game and we would have to hang on and do what we did."

Wisconsin played well against the run last weekend, limiting Indiana to 63 yards on 26 attempts. Unfortunately, 323 passing yards were surrendered, and three passing scores were allowed.

"Their quarterback was on, they saw some things in the deep dig game," said Bielema. "I know we tried to emphasize not giving up the deep ball, and then we gave up some intermediate digs. I thought our pass rush was good, but we obviously need to apply more pressure and get more guys rolling through there."

Wisconsin is averaging 29.6 ppg this season to go along with 403.7 total ypg. The Badgers have scored 21 of their 31 offensive touchdowns on the ground, and they are rushing for 205.7 ypg at a clip of 4.6 yards per carry. Clay has run for 973 yards and 11 touchdowns, and he will be missed if he can't go this weekend. Tolzien has completed 61.8 percent of his passes for 1,717 yards and 10 touchdowns against eight interceptions, and Toon has made 37 grabs for 535 yards.

Wisconsin has limited its opponents to 22.4 ppg and 312.1 total ypg this season, solid numbers that were obviously inflated a bit last week. The Badgers have given up twice as many passing touchdowns (14) as rushing scores, and they are yielding 13.9 yards per pass completion compared to just 3.1 yards per rush. Keep an eye on O'Brien Schofield, as he has already posted 18.5 TFLs, including 7.5 sacks.

Wisconsin will get the job done at home this weekend, but expect Michigan to keep things close in what should be a low-scoring affair.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Wisconsin 17, Michigan 13