The Wolverine Now

tion.com, said. "They've done a little bit better than people thought. "They're catching Michigan when Mich- igan is down. If they do beat Michigan, they're 5-1 with one more win needed for bowl eligibility, which is going to be tough to come by. If they lose then they need two wins in their final six games, and those will definitely not be easy to come by, so this is a huge game against Michigan." Flood hired a new offensive coordinator and promoted a new defensive coordina- tor for this fall, and the results have been encouraging so far. Offensive guru Ralph Friedgen, the former Maryland head coach, came out of retirement, and the change has already paid huge dividends with a more potent and balanced offense. Nearly every major statistical category has significantly improved under the longtime mentor. The same is true of former special teams coordinator Joe Rossi on the other side of the ball, where the Knights are tied for first in the nation with 21 sacks. The run defense was fourth nationally a year ago but has taken a slight step back, while the pass defense — which allowed more pass- What: Michigan at Rutgers When: Oct. 4 • 7 p.m. ET Radio-TV: The Big Ten Network will televise the game nationally. The game can be heard on the Michigan Sports Network (950 AM in the Detroit area, as well as the Armed Services Radio, Sirius channel 119 and XM channel 195) with former U-M teammates Dan Dierdorf and Jim Brandstatter, and sideline re- porter Doug Karsch. Coaches: Michigan: Brady Hoke (28- 15, fourth season). Rutgers: Kyle Flood (19-12, third season). History: First meeting. Rutgers notes: The Scarlet Knights have opened 4-1, with their lone loss coming by three points to Penn State … They have outscored their other oppo- nents by a combined 141-93, but those schools combine for a record of 6-14 this fall … 2014 marked Rutgers' first unbeaten non-conference slate since 2009, and the third in school history … Redshirt junior running back Paul James, who was named first-team All- AAC last year, rushed for 363 yards and averaged 5.8 yards per attempt through the first four games, but was lost for the year with a torn ACL in the 31-24 win over Navy … Senior safety Jonathan Aiken, who was already filling in for an injured starter (Delon Stephenson, who is listed as questionable for Saturday), will be suspended for the first half Sat- urday after he was ejected in the third quarter last week for targeting. GAME FACTS

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