Michigan and Northwestern football game today: TV channel live stream schedule

It’s the Northwestern Wildcats versus Michigan football in a top-20 matchup featuring a pair of the Big Ten’s best defensive units.

But it wasn’t just what happened in Ann Arbor that staked Michigan’s claim as the Big Ten’s best team.

These may be mere footnotes by the end of the season, as the No. 18 Wolverines made a definitive statement Saturday, whipping No. 13 Northwestern, 38-0, at Michigan Stadium before and announced attendance of 110,452.

Yes, that’s a conference which includes defending champion Ohio State and top-five Michigan State. Northwestern is 5-0 for the first time since 2012 after blasting Minnesota 27-0 on Saturday.

A 38-0 victory over Northwestern means Michigan has outscored its last three opponents by a combined score of 97-0. I do not think Penn State is good, although the defense can be sturdy enough, and this one will be played in front of 100,000 Nittany Lions fans.

Even more impressive than the Michigan run defense was the pass defense, which prevented any big plays from really catching the Wolverines off guard.

Kenny Allen kicked a 47-yard field goal to stake Michigan to a 31-0 lead in the third quarter.

Northwester’s defense has given up only three touchdowns in five games and the team continues to trend to competing in low scoring games this season.

On the outside though, however, was where the talent differential was most noticeable, especially on what all but clinched the game in the second quarter. Quarterback Clayton Thorson was 14-of-18 passing for 128 yards through the air.

Just as Northwestern’s offense looks to struggle, so does Michigan’s.

The Wolverines have blanked consecutive opponents, rank first in third-down defense and second in points allowed under Jim Harbaugh.

Michigan was the first team this season able to take advantage of Northwestern’s mistakes. Real tests will come as we enter conference play, as Michigan hosts Northwestern and Michigan State in the next two weeks. They should have an easy time against a much weaker Northwestern offense, but that’s why they play the game.

When it comes to returns, sophomore defensive back Jabrill Peppers has yet to take a punt for a touchdown – though he has almost broken one or two – but his consistent hands and fearlessness in fair-catch situations has saved Michigan crucial yardage. The spread then dipped to 7.5 points early in the week before making a surprising jump up to 10 points on Friday and holding there. Linebacker Anthony Walker, who leads the team with 44 tackles, has been a revelation for the Wildcats as he’s recorded 8.5 tackles for loss and also returned a fumble for a touchdown to put the game out of reach against the Golden Gophers. We can’t look over the fact that the SEC will always have those few teams that loom large over college football, but I can’t be the only one that is noticing the Big Ten teams winning out every week. It should be a classic Big Ten battle, and could tell us a lot about both teams.