Northwestern vs. Michigan 2012: Game time, TV schedule, odds and more

The Michigan Wolverines play host to the No. 24 Northwestern Wildcats on Saturday afternoon, as the Wolverines look to improve to 5-1 in Big Ten play.

Despite Northwestern's ranking, the Wolverines come into the game as 11-point favorites over the Wildcats.

After starting the season 5-0, Northwestern has alternated wins and losses in its last five games, and enter Saturday's game against Michigan with a 7-2 record.

Michigan enters Saturday's date against Northwestern tied with Nebraska with a 4-1 record atop the Big Ten Legends division. By virtue of beating Michigan earlier this season, Nebraska holds the tiebreaker over Michigan.

Northwestern carries a 3-2 Big 10 record into the game, and trails Michigan by a full game in the Legends division. If Northwestern wins, they'll move past Michigan in the Big 10 standings, as the two schools would have the same record, but again, Michigan would lose the tiebreaker.

If Michigan is going to come away with a win on Saturday, they'll have to be sure to shut down Northwestern's rushing attack, which ranks 13th in the country. Led by Venric Mark, the Wildcats average 236.4 yards per game on the ground. Mark has carried the ball 166 times this season, rushing for 1,072 yards and nine touchdowns.

Kickoff is scheduled for 12 p.m. ET. Televised coverage can be found on ESPN.