Three Northwestern Wildcats to watch against Michigan this weekend

Michigan needs a win on Saturday over Northwestern to become bowl eligible. Here are the top three guys the Wolverines will need to scheme against in order to ensure they’ll be bowling in December:

We’re in for a doozy of a defensive performance on Saturday as the Michigan Wolverines host the Northwestern Wildcats for the final home game of the season for Michigan in 2024. Coming off a bye week, the Wolverines are rested up after losing four of their last five games. Now, they are staring at the brink of elimination from bowl eligibility with games at home against Northwestern this week and on the road at Ohio State to wrap the season.

If the Wolverines want to play a 13th game this season, Saturday’s contest is all but a must-win for the program in Sherrone Moore’s first year as head coach. The same can be said about Northwestern, attempting to be bowl-eligible for the second consecutive season. They must win their final two games to get there, facing Michigan this week and hosting Illinois the following.

There’s certainly a lot on the line for both programs as Michigan attempts to stave off a sub-.500 season despite winning a national title earlier this year, and Northwestern is fighting for its life down the stretch. If the Wildcats are going to win this game, they’ll need their best players to make plays. Here are the three that stand out as potential game-changers on Saturday.

WR Bryce Kirtz

Northwestern’s passing offense is only slightly better than Michigan’s coming into the season’s final two games. While former Wolverines A.J. Henning has the most receptions and is the most targeted player on the team, what is maybe more concerning for Michigan’s sake is the explosiveness of Bryce Kirtz.

Without Will Johnson the last several weeks, the Michigan defense has suffered from poor play in its secondary. Inexperience players like Jyaire Hill (who has been hurt this year), Aamir Hall, and Zeke Berry have struggled in larger roles that they may not have been relied upon if not for the injuries to Johnson and Rod Moore.

Kirtz is exactly the deep-threat player who can change this ballgame. Northwestern is far from an explosive team, but the six-foot senior wideout has provided most of the large plays through the air for the Wildcats. Many of them have come in the last few weeks as his role has expanded.

The Northwestern wideout has over 90 yards in three of the Wildcat’s last four games. In two of those contests, Kirtz has receptions of 45-plus yards, making his season average almost 15 yards per reception. If he hadn’t missed almost a month of games due to an injury, he would likely be the team’s leading receiver.

If quarterback Jack Lausch can connect with him, Northwestern could put points on the board more quickly, which is exactly what the Wolverines want to avoid in this contest.

LB Mac Uihlein

Northwestern is well-known this season for slowing down opponents on the ground. The Wildcats have the No. 33 run defense in college football despite playing a strong Big Ten schedule already.

Part of their success comes from two solid linebackers: Xander Mueller and Mac Uihlein. Mueller had 110 tackles last season, tied for fourth in the conference. But, the Northwestern captain has missed significant portions of the last four games, and his status for Saturday’s contest is still up in the air.

In his stead, Uihlein has performed admirably. He had seven tackles against Wisconsin followed by a double-digit tackle performance against Iowa the next week. With the Mueller injury, Uihlein now leads the team in tackles.

Michigan’s offensive line has been ok this season, but it is far from the dominant unit that the program had under Jim Harbaugh. At the same time, the running back room is still getting fleshed out. Suddenly, the team’s leading rusher, Kalel Mullings, has fallen out of the coach’s favor. Donovan Edwards and even Benjamin Hall are apparently ahead of Mullings in the depth chart now per the broadcast in the Indiana game.

To win this game, Michigan must find success on the ground, and getting a body on Mac Uihlein will be a priority to open up those run lanes further. Uihlein may have a stat-padding game even if the Wolverines win on the ground, but he’s no doubt a focal point heading into this one.

DB Theran Johnson

Another guy who has missed the last game is expected to return for this weekend’s game, and that’s Theran Johnson. Michigan quarterbacks have been turnover-prone all season, and while Davis Warren has done better at taking care of the football, he has still shown that he’s susceptible to turnover-worthy passes. Johnson is the kind of guy who is going to take advantage of those situations.

In the game against Iowa, the Hawkeyes were driving, and Johnson flipped the game on its head in the second half:

Iowa’s defense and special teams, along with running back Kaleb Johnson, made this game ugly by the end, scoring 37 unanswered points in what turned into a blowout win in Iowa City. However, that is not a likely scenario for Michigan in this contest given the way it has played this season.

Likely, Johnson will likely be the man in coverage against Colston Loveland, Michigan’s only proven pass-catcher. That means he’s going to get an opportunity to make a substantial difference in the outcome of this game. The Wildcats like to put him in the box to assist in the run game, so he can make an impact on several different levels of the field. A win likely means a bad day for Johnson and the Northwestern secondary.