No. 2 Michigan Faces Toughest Road Test Yet At Iowa
The Associated Press
No. 2 Michigan (9-0, 6-0 Big Ten, No. 3 CFP) at Iowa (5-4, 3-3), 8 p.m. (ABC).
Line: Michigan by 21½
Series Record: Michigan leads 41-14-4
WHAT'S AT STAKE
Michigan can still make the playoffs if it loses at Iowa by winning out and becoming Big Ten champions. For the Hawkeyes, an upset would go a long way toward redeeming a lost season.
KEY MATCHUP
Michigan DB/LB Jabrill Peppers vs. Iowa's offense. The Hawkeyes have fallen into a rut, and Peppers is as good as they come. Iowa could try to open up its struggling offense in hopes of pulling off a stunner, but Peppers is so talented and versatile that that might be tough to accomplish. Peppers has led a defense that has allowed eight points or less in four of its last five games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Wisconsin: QB Wilton Speight. He's had an All-Big Ten type season, with 15 TDs against just three picks. But teams with hopes of winning championships need quarterbacks who can win on the road, and this will be Speight's biggest challenge yet.
Iowa: The offensive line. The Hawkeyes have built their identity in part on its historically good offensive line. But that unit's consistency has been challenged by injuries, and Michigan's front seven is among the best in the country.
FACTS & FIGURES
Michigan has lost its last three games in Iowa City. The last quarterback to beat Michigan at Kinnick Stadium was Jake Rudock — who transferred to the Wolverines for the 2015 season. Rudock threw for 239 yards as Iowa outlasted Michigan 24-21 in 2013. ...Iowa coach Kirk Ferentz was an assistant coach in Baltimore in 1998 when Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh was its quarterback. "Our players had great respect for him," Ferentz said. ...Michigan beat Rutgers on the road 78-0. Iowa beat the Scarlet Knights on the road 14-7.
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