Michigan’s home streak appears to be in jeopardy

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP) — Michigan has won 22 Big Ten home openers in a row.

That streak seems to be in jeopardy.

The Wolverines (1-2) play host to the ninth-ranked Wisconsin Badgers (3-0) and are underdogs by almost a touchdown following off weeks for both teams.

Even though Michigan is off to a rough start in Rich Rodriguez’s debut season, he is looking forward to seeing how his team competes with a clean slate in the conference.

“It starts off 0-0,” he said Monday. “I’m anxious to see how we compete against this football team.”

Defensive tackle Terrance Taylor is also excited to find out how he and his teammates bounce back after losing 35-17 at Notre Dame.

“If we’re not dwelling on that game anymore, we’ll improve our chances,” Taylor said. “If we didn’t let that go or are still thinking about losing to Utah at home, it’s going to hurt us because Wisconsin is really good.”

The Badgers opened the season with easy wins at home against Akron and Marshall, then escaped with a 13-10 win at Fresno State.

“There’s no weaknesses,” Rodriguez said after evaluating the Badgers on film. “It’s a big, physical team. A typical Wisconsin team. They’re going to run the ball right at you.”