After beating rivals Michigan State last weekend, the University of Michigan Wolverines look ahead to a difficult task against Indiana.

Both teams are 3-0 in the Big Ten Universities Conference, and while Indiana can’t go on to the playoffs due to eligibility infractions from last season, they can still have the best record in the conference, and that’s what they will be shooting for.

Michigan Head Coach Brandon Sparks expects it to be a tough game.

“It’s a big game but so was Michigan State - that’s a rivalry game with a lot of emotion, and sometimes you can play with a little bit too much emotion,” said Sparks. “I think the Michigan State game was a good mental test for us to be able to handle an emotional game.”

There’s emotion through the week, too, as the Michigan players push for a starting spot. Sparks doesn’t like his starters to get complacent and there’s a to of competition for places.

“We’ve got some strong freshmen, some good athletes, and we’ll see a lot of those guys,” Sparks said.

Leading the way for Michigan is Joel Conzelmann, who has played well in all aspects but especially as a kicker. He is 12-15 with conversions and 5-5 in penalties.

“He’s made some really smart plays, as well,” said Sparks, including jumping for the ball as it was near the tryline and then touching it down in-goal, understanding that taking the ball in mid-air meant his team would get a 22-meter dropout, not a five-meter scrum.

“Those are the sorts of plays you hope a player thinks to do, but in the heat of the moment it’s hard to expect,” said Sparks.

Squoyah Burke-Combs, a product of the Dexter HS program, and freshman Guy Burke have emerged as contributors this fall, while, Chening Duker has been scoring tries for the Wolverines.

Indiana still looks to Jake Hidalgo to get over the tryline - he has five tries so far - while Teddy Terezis and Tyler Graham have also been finishing well.

This is the biggest game in a busy Big Ten schedule. Wisconsin’s game with Nebraska is a no-o as the Cornhuskers were unable to commit to the Big Ten schedule. All Nebraska games are listed as 20-0 bonus-point forfeits.

Ohio State hopes to continue their surge at Prude, and Minnesota, stung by a big loss at OSU last week, takes on 1-2 Iowa in Iowa.