By Frank Haynes, College Football Senior Editor

GAME NOTES: After a one-week hiatus from the AP Top-25, the Michigan Wolverines are back in and take their No. 21 ranking into Saturday's Big Ten Conference clash against the visiting Minnesota Golden Gophers. Glen Mason's Gophers went into last week's bout at Penn State feeling mighty good about their chances of challenging for the Big Ten title, but the Nittany Lions proved to be the superior team on that day, whipping the Gophers by the final of 44-14. It was Minnesota's first loss of the season after winning their first four game by an average of 27.3 points. As for Michigan, its chances of running the table in conference were doused with a 23-20 loss at Wisconsin a couple of weeks ago, the team's second setback of the season. However, Lloyd Carr's troops responded in a big way last weekend, slipping past No. 11 Michigan State in East Lansing, 34-31, in overtime. The Wolverines have the good fortune of playing five of their first seven games in Ann Arbor. The all- time series between these two rivals leans heavily in favor of Michigan, 67-23-3, and the Wolverines have won the last 16 meetings, and 13 consecutive at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines' 67 wins over the Gophers are the most over any opponent, and this series, which is played for the "Little Brown Jug" (the nation's oldest trophy game), dates all the way back to 1903.

Coming into last week's tilt at Penn State, the Minnesota offense set the benchmark for rushing the football, averaging in the neighborhood of 300 ypg. The Nittany Lions, however, stood their ground time and time again, holding Heisman hopeful RB Laurence Maroney to a season-low 48 yards on 16 carries, the team as a whole to just 113 yards on 32 totes. With the run game bottled up, it was up to QB Bryan Cupito to bring his team back from a 20-0 deficit in the first half, and it just wasn't meant to be as he completed 16-of-28 pass attempts for 174 yards, one TD and one INT. Putting the debacle in Happy Valley behind them won't be easy, but it is necessary in order to get in the right frame of mind to battle the Wolverines on their own field. To this point in the season, Maroney continues to lead the Big Ten in rushing, averaging 149.2 ypg. He has reached the end zone six times and Minnesota as a team is putting up 39.8 ppg on the strength of 26 TDs. Cupito is a 56.3 percent passer, having thrown for 1,069 yards, nine TDs and six INTs.

The Minnesota defense had all kinds of trouble last week against Penn State, giving up 539 yards of total offense, including 364 on the ground. The Gophers were battered up and down the field, spending more than 35 minutes on defense and not recording a single turnover. John Pawielski led all defenders with a game-high 12 tackles, while John Shevlin finished with 10. Jamal Harris broke up four passes and tallied six stops on the day, but the UM defense was back on its heels all game long and must find a way to regroup or it could be more of the same this week. Through five games, the Gophers are allowing 24.0 ppg on 397.0 total ypg. Turnovers have played an important role in the unit's overall success this season, as 10 miscues by the opposition have resulted in plenty of opportunities for the Minnesota offense to work on a short field. Take away the last game and the Gophers logged those turnovers in just four games, and they will need to force the action against a Michigan squad that ranks first in the conference in turnover margin (+4).

Led by super sophomore RB Mike Hart, the Michigan offense turned in an impressive performance in last week's overtime win at Michigan State. Hart, who had been hobbled by a leg injury earlier in the campaign, rushed for 218 yards and a TD, helping the Wolverines amass 488 yards of total offense on the day. Hart, who has rushed for a team-best 339 yards and two scores this season, also surpassed the 200-yard mark in last year's win over the Spartans. Quarterback Chad Henne completed 26-of-35 passes for 256 yards and three scores, hitting WR Jason Avant 10 times (a career high) for 98 yards and one TD. Fellow wideout Carl Tabb had a career game as well, logging five catches for 35 yards. As a team, Michigan is averaging 30.4 ppg behind 241.8 passing ypg and another 185.8 ypg on the ground this season. As mentioned above, the Wolverines have done a solid job in the turnover department, coughing the ball up just seven times in five games, only three of which have been INTs by Henne, who at the moment is completing 57.7 percent of his throws with 11 TDs.

The Wolverines forced three turnovers last week against MSU, including a pair of interceptions by Willis Barringer and a fumble recovery by David Harris. Brandent Englemon collected a career-best 13 tackles to lead the Michigan stance, while Harris and Barringer added six stops apiece. Prescott Burgess finished with seven tackles, as the Wolverines gave up 455 total yards but held the Spartans to just 3-of-5 on red-zone scoring chances. Through five games, Grant Mason leads the Maize and Blue with 39 total stops, nine more than his closest teammate (Burgess). As a collective unit, the UM defense has registered 39 TFLs, of which 11 have been sacks, while coming up with 23 PBUs and eight forced fumbles. Defending the pass has been the Wolverines' strong suit thus far, allowing just 177.6 ypg to rank second in the Big Ten. Their effort against the run has yielded 128.6 ypg, ranking the club sixth.

Minnesota is likely to be reeling big time following this contest, as the "Big House" is no place to try and regain your composure after having your head handed to you the week before. Still, the Gophers are a talented team and well coached so it remains to be seen exactly how they'll react to the pressure. That said, Michigan is the better team here and with the added advantage of playing at home, the Wolverines should improve to 2-1 in conference with a solid win.

Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Michigan 38, Minnesota 21