For Iowa football coach Kirk Ferentz, like nearly every coach facing Michigan in conference this season, the goal is to keep up with sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson.

But after Michigan State held him to 86 yards rushing — his lowest total of the season — the formula is out there to stop him. And since Iowa boasts the second-best rush defense in the nation, it could be the season’s toughest test for the speedy signal caller.

Ferentz isn't so sure, though.

“We run OK on defense,” Ferentz told reporters during his weekly news conference. “I wouldn’t describe us as slow. But we don’t have anybody (with Robinson’s) speed.”

The Iowa coach likened Robinson’s style to a similar Big Ten dual-threat quarterback, Indiana's Antwaan Randle-El, who now plays receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"When Indiana had Randle-El, they ran a unique attack. And if you've got a player like that, you're smart to do that," Ferentz said. "My guess is that Michigan will do that for a long time."

The Hawkeyes, however, have one of the Big Ten’s most dynamic defensive talents in defensive end Adrian Clayborn, who tallies nearly one sack every game. Clayborn should pose the most serious threat on the pass rush Michigan has seen this season, likely forcing the Wolverines to double team him. That could open up opportunities for the rest of Iowa’s skilled defensive line.

Wolverine redshirt sophomore guard Patrick Omameh acknowledged that the front four is very talented but not necessarily that difficult to figure out.

"They're a sound defense,” Omameh said last Monday. “They won't throw a lot of different things at you, but they're really good at what they do."

That battle in the trenches on both sides of the ball could make the difference.

Iowa’s offense isn’t necessarily the most powerful in the Big Ten, middling in most offensive categories. But battle-tested senior quarterback Ricky Stanzi could very well tear apart a Michigan defense that has been thrown into the fire.

Rodriguez said Wednesday, however, that he could rotate more guys on defense in hopes that someone steps up and more players stay fresh.

“We've actually been talking about playing more guys defensively all year," Rodriguez said. "In the last ball game, we played quite a few in the secondary and a few guys up front, but we didn't rotate a lot of guys at linebacker and that's something we have to look at more often this week."

After struggling to play “gap-sound football,” as defensive end Ryan Van Bergen described it last week, the Wolverines will need to stop the running game on first and second downs if they have any hope of forcing Stanzi into making bad decisions.

But Stanzi improved greatly in the mistake-making department — only throwing two interceptions so far and completing almost 68 percent of his passes — while Michigan’s defense has been predicated by big-play mistakes. Just last week, the Wolverines gave up three long touchdowns to the Spartans, something that can’t happen if they hope to keep Iowa’s offense, full of talent at receiver, under wraps.

Coming off of a tough loss, Iowa may not be Michigan’s ideal head-to-head matchup, but the Wolverines are determined to prove that their mistake-filled game against the Spartans last week is behind them.

"I think we'll learn a lot," Rodriguez said. "A lot of what we’re learning, we already kind of knew. ... We know there's going to be some growing pains. We just have to minimize them the best we can."