BY ANDY BAGGOT
MADISON, Wis. — You need only one hand to count the number of Wisconsin football coaches who have a Big Ten Conference victory at Michigan on their resume.
The list goes back 92 years and includes Bret Bielema (2010), Barry Alvarez (1994), Milt Bruhn (1959, '62), Clarence Spears (1934) and Glen Thistlethwaite (1928).
Paul Chryst will try to join them Saturday night when UW (1-0) faces the Wolverines (1-2) for the 37th time at Michigan Stadium.
Chryst was the offensive coordinator for the Badgers in 2010, helping engineer a 48-28 triumph, so he has sense of the challenge even though the 107,601-seat "Big House" will be devoid of fans due to the coronavirus pandemic and the Wolverines have lost two straight.
This will be the ninth time Chryst has faced Michigan on the road on behalf of his alma mater. He was 0-2 as a player (1985, '87), 0-1 as an assistant (2002), 1-2 as offensive coordinator ('06, '08, '10) and 0-2 as head coach (2016, '18).
Here are five more things to know:
Next On The List
Wisconsin redshirt freshman quarterback Graham Mertz equaled the single-game school standard with five touchdown passes in his starting debut vs. Illinois on Oct. 23. Now he has his sights set on the two-game record of nine set in 2003 by Jim Sorgi. A senior, Sorgi had four TD passes vs. Minnesota and followed that up with a record-tying five vs. Michigan State. Sorgi, currently the No. 9 career passer in school history, finished the year with 17 touchdown throws.
On The Run
You have to go back to the first half of the 2016 season to find the last time the Badgers went three straight games without a 100-yard rushing performance. They didn't have one against Georgia State, Michigan State or Michigan. At present, UW failed to crack that 100-yard barrier in the Rose Bowl loss to Oregon to close out 2019 (Jonathan Taylor had 94 yards on 21 carries) and continued that trend in the 45-7 win over Illinois to open 2020 (Garrett Groshek had 70 on 13 tries).
Vein Of Consistency
Junior tight end Jake Ferguson had a career-best seven catches for 72 yards and three touchdowns in the victory over Illinois, making him the ninth player in program history with at least three TD receptions in one game. He also extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one reception to 28. That matches the seventh-longest current streak among Football Bowl Subdivision players.
Not A Surprise
The Badgers have held opponents without an offensive touchdown 13 times since defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard joined the coaching staff in 2016. The only TD for Illinois in the opener came via a fumble recovery.
Measuring Sticks
Wisconsin has finished in the top 10 nationally in time of possession on eight occasions since 2009 — including No. 1 in 2019, '16 and '09 — so it's telling when an opponent dominates this category after a game. En route to home wins over the Badgers during the Chryst Era, the Wolverines had the ball for 35 minutes, 41 seconds during a 14-7 win in 2016 and 37:01 in a 38-13 victory in 2018. Michigan also forced a combined five takeaways while turning the ball over once.
