Besides the uniforms and the pregame entrance, there are very few similarities between today's Michigan football team and the one run under legendary coach Bo Schembechler.

But there are a few ways in which the old coach’s voice is still heard through the football building that is named after him.

In the book “Bo’s Lasting Lessons,” Schembechler said, “I didn’t care if you were a sophomore or a senior, a walk-on or an All-American … if you played your position the way I wanted you to play it, you’d start. That simple.”

Current coach Rich Rodriguez, a former walk-on at West Virginia, has started two walk-ons — safety Jordan Kovacs and linebacker Kevin Leach — over scholarship players this season. And the similarities don’t end there.

Schembechler often kept a fluid depth chart, moving players up based on the week’s practice. Rodriguez has done the same with Kovacs and Leach this season, giving the two nine combined starts.

Due to a decimated secondary and junior Troy Woolfolk’s return to cornerback from safety, Kovacs’s starting job may be secure for the rest of the season. But Leach, who has started the last two games in place of the team’s active leader in career tackles, Obi Ezeh, the future is a lot less certain.

Leach was brought in at middle linebacker for the Illinois and Purdue games because his quickness and athleticism were a good match against the spread-based offenses. The switch came a week after Ezeh was burned on a 60-yard touchdown pass from Penn State quarterback Daryll Clark to tight end Andrew Quarless.

And Rodriguez has been impressed with the redshirt sophomore. Leach even graded out higher than any other defensive player when the coaches broke down the film of the Illinois game.

But the Wisconsin offense, which Michigan will square off against this weekend, is a different monster altogether.

“Wisconsin’s style is a little different than a lot of teams," Rodriguez said in his Tuesday teleconference. "But they make no bones about it: They’ve got a huge offensive line and tight ends and backs, and they’re going to come right down and impose their will on you and try to control the game with their run game and do enough in the passing game with bootlegs and stuff to keep you honest.”

A more traditional smashmouth team, the Badgers’ starting offensive line is enormous, weighing in at an average of more than 321 pounds — 55 pounds more than the average starter on the Michigan defensive line.

In addition, Wisconsin’s John Clay, a bruising downhill running back, is one of the Big Ten’s largest backs at 248 pounds. He leads the Big Ten in rushing and is one of just 25 players in the country who is averaging more than 100 yards per game on the ground.

“He doesn't lose yards,” Rodriguez said. “You've got to tackle him. He’s not going to fall down. You’d better get a lot of people around him. It's hard for one guy, as big as he is, strong, fast. You know, the O-line, tight ends, are monsters. They're huge. We're a small team anyway, defensively particularly. So that's a lot of concerns for us.”

The smallish Leach, at six-foot, 200 pounds, may not be effective against the Badgers potent ground game, and Ezeh’s strengths may play more into the Wisconsin attack.

“Kevin's about 200 pounds, where Obi is 230, so there's a natural difference in speed and those things, there,” Rodriguez said yesterday. “Kevin's a physical guy, and Obi can run pretty well. For us, I don't think our scheme has been finalized yet. I would expect both of those guys playing quite a bit.

“We don't know yet (who will start). We won't know yet defensively at a couple positions until probably Friday.”

With their sheer size, the Badgers have dominated and worn down teams all season. They currently rank fifth nationally — and first in the Big Ten — in time of possession, controlling the clock for more than 30 minutes a game.

For the Wolverines, who rank 118th out of 120 Football Bowl Subdivision teams in that category, finding the right scheme and the right personnel to slow down Clay is the key to whether they can find that elusive, bowl-clinching sixth win this weekend.

“They’re going to try to control the game,” Rodriguez said.