It’s hard to imagine that four weeks have passed in a jiffy of a high-flying college football season; we are keen to relish every bit of what week 5 has in store. But it’s what it is. A pair of Big Ten rivals, Michigan and Minnesota, will look to settle the score in a fiery match-up this Saturday. The Wolverines gained up some bonus confidence in a nail-biting 27-24 win over USC and will look to take it to the 2-0 in Big Ten play, whereas the Golden Gophers want to get back to the winning streak, sustaining a 31-14 loss to Iowa. However, it seems the weather conditions will say the last word in deciding the direction of the game flow.

Hurricane Helene is already causing chaos in a large part of the country, including Florida, Georgia, and the Carolinas. After a shattering landfall, the monster category storm is now moving toward the coast of Georgia with an insane speed of 70 mph, putting a host of college football games on hold. The case of Michigan vs Minnesota, which is set to emanate from the Michigan stadium this weekend, is likely to experience at least a trail of the storm even if not obtain any severe impact. As the tail ends effects of the devastating Hurricane in Michigan, overnight showers kept affecting the area since 6 p.m. on Friday. Strong and heavy winds all around might drift any tiny loose object away from one’s rooftop, but the severity remains moderate, with no severe damage reported so far.

On Saturday noon, when the Big 10 battle will get underway, the temperature will be around 22 degrees Celsius with slight rainfall. You better carry raincoats and an umbrella to avoid any hustle. Also, the weather will be warm, so be prepared for a pretty humid watch experience. However, only a stellar showdown will compensate for the Weatherly discomfort.

What to expect from the Wolverines’ week 5 performance?

There are a few pointers on which the Wolverines will have their focus to keep their winning momentum heading to the meat of the conference battle. ‘‘For us, we’re just going to try to keep people off balance in any way possible, but if we have to run the ball to win the game, that’s what we’ll do. We’ve proved that formula has worked, and we’ll do whatever we have to do to win,” said, coach Sherrone Moore on Monday.

From the previous performances, it is clear that the Wolverines are pretty desperate with running the ball first, second, and third, which is no doubt a significant task in the game, but sometimes the hurry makes the opponent take the run away easily. So, to ensure more safety, more emphasis on the passing game can do wonders. In the last game, as defensive coordinator Wink Martindale noted, there were some massive communication issues within the team. They missed out on making some crucial plays due to the lack of harmony. If they can mend up these hiccups this week, a win might be inevitable.

If you want to know about other nitty-gritty of college football, you can refer to our ES Think Tank interview with Doug Sanders, founder of Sanders Sports and Entertainment.