It’s tough to project how the Iowa-Michigan Big Ten showdown might play out in Ann Arbor on Saturday.

According to research at ESPN Stats & Info, the two teams have split the 11 games they’ve played when both programs were ranked in the AP Top 25 poll, going 5-5-1. As the road team, the Hawkeyes have gone 3-3-1.

While these numbers don’t exactly give us a ton of insight into what may or may not happen this weekend, let’s hope we get a fantastic Big Ten clash with a great ending.

Life is seemingly good again for Jim Harbaugh and the Wolverines following their shutout win over Rutgers last week. Granted, the Wolverines took care of a team that ended up firing its head coach the next day, but the offense looked much better with coordinator Josh Gattis running the unit from the sideline. The first-year OC moved down after being in the coaches’ booth for the team’s first three contests.

Gattis explained his decision this week in an interview with 97.1 The Ticket.

“The biggest thing that led to the decision was just being able to support the kids,” Gattis told the ‘Jamie and Stoney’ show. “Obviously through the first three weeks, we faced some tough adversity that we kind of put ourselves in through turnovers. So, you feel a little disconnected when you’re in the booth because there’s nothing you can say to the guys.

“There’s nothing you can do, really, to stop that adversity from happening or being able to change the momentum on the sideline.”

Luckily for the Wolverines, there wasn’t much adversity against the Scarlet Knights.

Gattis has been on the field throughout his coaching career and has, of course, been calling plays in practice from the sideline, so it was only natural for him to make the move.

Coincidence or not, the Michigan offense looked sharper than at any other point of the season. The Wolverines committed just one turnover, recorded 476 total yards and seven touchdowns against Rutgers. Again, it was Rutgers. But perhaps the natural rapport with and proximity to Gattis helped a unit that had been plagued by turnovers and penalties.

Perhaps most striking was the play of quarterback Shea Patterson, who looked like the player Wolverine fans expected him to be in 2019. He played his best game of the season against the Scarlet Knights, going 17-of-23 passing for a season-high 276 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He rushed for three more scores and showed the accuracy that had been inconsistent early in the year.

The question now is whether the Wolverines can carry that performance over when the competition gets much more difficult with Iowa arriving in Ann Arbor.

The Wolverines need to get more out of their rushing attack, as they are averaging under four yards per carry. They undoubtedly will have to establish the run against a stout Hawkeyes front, which will open things up for Patterson and the passing attack, which received a boost last week with the return of Donovan Peoples-Jones.

Defensively, Don Brown’s unit will have to rattle Hawkeyes senior quarterback Nate Stanley, who has yet to throw an interception this season, and slow big-play threats Ihmir Smith-Marsette and Tyrone Tracy Jr. Additionally, the Hawkeyes are averaging 5.2 yards per carry and are expecting all-Big Ten tackle Alaric Jackson to return after getting knocked out of the season opener. If Iowa runs the ball anywhere close to how Wisconsin was able to a few weeks ago, Michigan will be in serious trouble.

Harbaugh is in no danger of losing his job, of course. But this is college football, a world in which everything is amplified. The loss to Wisconsin was bad, but it can be forgotten (for a day at least) if Michigan can take care of a really good ranked, undefeated and tough Iowa squad. The game is at home, and it’s one that Harbaugh is expected to win at this point in his tenure.

More big games loom, like the one on the road against Penn State in a couple of weeks. And, of course, there are showdowns against Notre Dame and Ohio State. Wolverine brass and fans will expect wins in those big games, too. But, first thing’s first. Michigan must beat Iowa. Because if the Wolverines lose…

…If they get punished as they did against the Badgers…

Well, no need to think negatively right now if you’re a Michigan fan. Just hope that the offense continues to make strides and the team plays up to the lofty expectations.

“We’ve just got to keep progressing,” Gattis told 97.1 The Ticket. “We’ve got to take the same approach that we took last week, making the Rutgers game the most important game for us — the most important thing on our mind — and focus on eliminating the mistakes.”

And go out and beat Iowa to quiet those critics.