Michigan State's Johnny Adams, left, and Trenton Robinson hone in on a fourth MSU interception after Michigan's Roy Roundtree couldn't pull in a long pass during a 34-17 loss last season at Michigan Stadium. Eliminating turnovers is one of three keys to the game for Michigan.

AnnArbor.com file photo

Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson said he hasn't watched tape from last year's game against Michigan State.

Not that he really has to. The wounds remain fresh.

The Spartans threw several blitz packages at Robinson last year, and he did not handle the pressure well. He threw three interceptions, rushed for fewer than 100 yards for the first time all season and the Wolverines lost 34-17 to Michigan State at Michigan Stadium.

The key to victory this year for 11th-ranked Michigan (6-0, 2-0 Big Ten) when it plays 23rd-ranked Michigan State (4-1, 1-0) on Saturday rests, as it almost always does, in the hands — and feet — of its junior quarterback.

"This is why you come to the University of Michigan," Robinson said this week. "For games like this, to be in this position."

There has been one distinct variable that has determined victory in this rivalry, and that's the rushing game, as 38 of the past 41 winners have outgained the other on the ground. This would seem to be a built-in advantage for the Wolverines, who rank seventh in the country in rushing.

That starts with Robinson, who leads the Big Ten with 120.0 yards per game on the ground.

But this year's matchup has a little different make-up, as Michigan State now features the nation's No. 1 defense, and it's going to look to do the same thing it did last year: Force Robinson to the air, and confuse him when he's there.

He threw three interceptions last season, which proved to be the difference in the game.

"We had too many turnovers," Robinson said. "We just got to come out better than that. We got to come out executing and ready to play."

That is the biggest key to Michigan ending its three-game losing streak to the Spartans. For as well as they can rush the football, the Wolverines cannot afford to give away possessions or field position against the top defense in the country.

Last week's win against Northwestern provided a tidy capsule of this good Denard/bad Denard dichotomy. In the first half, Robinson threw three interceptions as Michigan fell behind 24-14. In the second half, he threw zero and the Wolverines scored 28 unanswered points.

He remains the key, and whether Michigan wins will be a function of how much he has the ball in his hands.

Of course, the flip side of that is the Wolverines' defense needs to get stops.

"When you have an offense like we have, you have to get the ball in D-Rob’s hands," Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison said this week.

"That’s kind of what you keep thinking a lot of times when you’re making your calls on defense — ‘Let’s try to get the ball back to him’ — because our offense? I’m certainly glad we’re not playing against our offense.”

In this game, that starts up front — especially if the Wolverines are to win the all-important rushing battle. Last year, Michigan State's stable of three backs — Le'Veon Bell, Edwin Baker and Larry Caper — ran for a combined 262 yards.

This year, the Wolverines think they have an answer to stopping the Spartans' running game.

“That’s what a great defense is built on,” Mattison said. “You can measure a defense on how they stop the run, in my mind. We’ll get challenged. That’s what it’s going to be. They can throw it, too. It’s not like we can put 10 guys up there (on the line). This is going to be another test.”

It'll be Michigan's biggest test of the year, but one it can pass if it wins that rushing battle and hangs onto the football.

Kyle Meinke covers Michigan football for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2588, by email at kylemeinke@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @kmeinke.