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Michigan Wolverines football faces stern test against No. 8 Wisconsin Badgers

By The Sports Xchange

Michigan has looked unstoppable on offense this season.

Then again, the lineup of opponents has been pretty tame as the Wolverines averaged 52 points -- fourth nationally -- through four consecutive victories.

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But the schedule becomes much more arduous when No. 4 Michigan hosts No. 8 Wisconsin in a Big Ten slugfest on Saturday.

Wolverines coach Jim Harbaugh took one look at the Badgers (4-0, 1-0) on film and had an immediate reaction.

"Big team," Harbaugh said. "I'm wondering if the field is going to be wide enough."

Traveling up and down the field might be the bigger concern for Michigan (4-0, 1-0) as Wisconsin ranks seventh nationally in scoring defense (11.8 points per game) and 12th in total defense (277.0 yards per game).

The Badgers also are fresh off a dominating 30-6 road victory over Michigan State -- a contest in which they forced four turnovers and held the Spartans to 75 rushing yards.

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Wisconsin's overall performance this season made it clear to Harbaugh that the showdown is going to be a major challenge for his squad.

"We're going to have to be at our best to be successful against Wisconsin," Harbaugh said.

The Wolverines are coming off a 49-10 dismantling of Penn State and have exceeded 40 points in each of the first four games in a season for the initial time since 1947. The 208 points scored is the most a Michigan team has ever scored over the first four contests.

Standout linebacker Jabrill Peppers figures to play a bigger role on offense -- at his urging -- after touching the ball just twice (rushes of 17 and 7 yards) through the first four games.

"He's made it clear he wants to do as much as possible," Harbaugh said. "That isn't in question. There's no question that all of our coaches, special teams, offense and defense, they're like a bull with their paw in the ground, they want Jabrill involved."

NOTES, QUOTES, PLAYERS TO WATCH

--QB Wilton Speight has avoided mistakes and owns an impressive 9-to-1 touchdown-to-interception ratio through four games. The sophomore has completed 63.2 percent of his passes for 875 yards after going 21-of-34 for 189 yards against Penn State. Speight has fared well against light-to-medium competition and has a major opportunity to prove he is for real with the tough defense of No. 8 Wisconsin next on the slate.

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--RB De'Veon Smith has regained his form after being hampered by a rib injury earlier this season. The senior had 107 yards on just 12 rushes against Penn State for his sixth career 100-yard outing. Smith, who has 14 career rushing touchdowns, leads Michigan with 259 rushing yards and boasts an impressive 6.6 average.

--OLB Jabrill Peppers ranks second on the Wolverines in tackles (33) and has stapled himself as one of the nation's top players. The sophomore had a 53-yard punt return against Penn State to raise his season average to a Big Ten-leading 22.7. Peppers figures to have an increased offensive role against Wisconsin as Michigan continues to utilize him in as many ways as possible.

--CB Jourdan Lewis is back from a three-game injury absence due to back, quadriceps and hamstring ailments. The senior All-American only had two tackles and one pass break-up against Penn State but pronounced himself healthy and said he's ready to move forward. "I can say I'm at 100-percent, I just have to trust my body," Lewis said. "It was very hard (sitting out), especially in that Colorado game when I knew (the Wolverines) needed me a little bit. I definitely wanted to be back out there in all those games to experience those wins with those guys. It was definitely hard, but I knew what I had to do to get 100 percent."

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