By Colin Riley for FloTrack

This Sunday, the Big Ten Cross Country Championships return to Chicago for the first time since 1976. Northwestern will host the 2015 edition at the Sydney Marovitz Golf Course, located near Montrose Harbor between Lake Shore Drive and the shore of Lake Michigan. The men’s 8K goes off at 10:45am, while the women’s field follows at 11:45am.

Wolverines Hunting Badgers

Regardless if you’re a dedicated passenger on the ‘Badger Tough’ train, you’ve jumped on the Michigan bandwagon this season or you’re somewhere in between, there’s no denying that the men's race at Big Tens will live up to the hype. And unlike past years when conference powerhouse Wisconsin has steamrolled the competition to win by a large margin, the team champion in 2015 will win by less than 20 points. Now here’s the kicker: will that team hail from Ann Arbor or Madison?

Incidentally enough, googling “Badger vs Wolverine” didn’t answer my question and only served to distract me on YouTube for longer than I care to admit...but I digress. Let’s break down the two favorites.

The Wisconsin Badgers boast the best 1-2 punch in the Big Ten in Malachy Schrobilgen and Morgan McDonald, who respectively took 5th and 10th on their home course two weeks ago. But after McDonald crossed the finish line, the Badgers looked vulnerable. Russell Sandvold chugged in a full 35 seconds later, while Big Ten 1500m champion Joe Hardy, the expected third man for the Badgers, finished over a minute behind Schrobilgen and McDonald. They scored 241 points more than Michigan, only good enough for 17th place. Simply put, that ain’t gonna cut it. Go ahead and blame injuries, sickness, big race jitters, the Louisville jogfest, or something else entirely: this isn’t a positive move forward heading into championship season.

Related: Malachy Schrobilgen thinks Wisconsin is still a podium contender team

Recapping the race, Coach Mick Byrne was the first to say that his team ran poorly. However, both Byrne and Schrobilgen have indicated that the team will bounce back and do everything in their power to defend their title from last year, the first since Indiana broke the long-running Wisconsin streak in 2013. In an interview with uwbadgers.com, Byrne shared, “absolutely 100% we’re going to run our top freshman [2014 NXN and Foot Locker runner-up Olin Hacker]. He also told the press, “[Big Tens] is a different beast. You can see your competition, you know a lot of the individuals [...] it looks like Michigan is certainly in the driver's seat.” Nevertheless, if Schrobilgen and McDonald snag very low sticks, Hardy runs to his potential, and the still-untested Hacker finishes in the top 20, there’s no telling what Wisconsin could pull off. After all, they always run their best with a Big Ten title on the line.

But the No. 5 Wolverines, fresh off a third-place finish at Wisco, benefit from something in their arsenal that Wisconsin simply doesn’t have right now: momentum. In this week's Workout Wednesday, team captains Mason Ferlic and Ben Flanagan discussed the mindset that has driven the Wolverines’ success all season. “We’ve had a lot of guys working five years, grinding every day, waiting for that big reward,” Ferlic shared. When asked if they could secure their first team title in nearly two decades, Flanagan said, “It’s gonna take a lot to win it but we’ve got the pieces, we’ve got the confidence, and we’re gonna rely on that to ultimately accomplish our goals there.” Both Ferlic and Coach Kevin Sullivan extrapolated on Wisconsin’s role as the favorite this weekend. Sully admitted, “We’re the underdogs coming in but I like that role.” Ferlic had more confrontational words, saying, “We don’t lose sleep over Wisconsin [...] we’re not gonna get hung up by one team in Madison that’s making headlines by jogging races [...] when we step on the line and race them, we’ll see who’s the better team.” Nonetheless, Michigan will have to do their talking with their legs. After Ferlic, their pack of Flanagan, Connor Mora, Aaron Baumgarten, Nick Renberg, August Pappas, and Tony Smoragiewicz has the ability to finish within 15 seconds of each other. But this is cross country, and it's all about performing on the day.

Related: Watch Newest FloFilms Trailer - INSIDE: Michigan

Michigan State and Indiana should vie for third place, with Purdue and Illinois close behind. MSU’s 15 second spread at Wisco impressed me, but one has to wonder what could happen if All-American Caleb Rhynard can regain his previous form (he finished as their 6th man). That pack mentality should carry MSU to their highest team finish since they took third in 2001.

Michigan Ladies’ Road Back To The Top

The outcome of the Women’s race on Sunday is not as open-ended as that of the men’s race; the No. 2 Michigan women can and should walk away with the team title. After imploding due to injuries halfway through the 2014 season, one that should have culminated in an NCAA title, the Wolverines are back with a vengeance. Back to their old form, Erin Finn and Shannon Osika, combined with teammates Gina Sereno, Jaimie Phelan, and Anna Pasternak, comprise a formidable top five, second only in the NCAA to the New Mexico juggernaut. After Michigan State’s incredible season last year, the Wolverines have trained all year for a hard-fought battle this weekend. With all the setbacks that the Spartans have faced this season, Michigan’s victory is all but assured. This Sunday will serve as a dry run for Nationals, where this team expects to stand on the podium.

Related: Erin Finn Leads Michigan Women to Pre-Nationals Victory

MSU, Penn State, and Minnesota will battle for second and third place. A run from a healthy Rachele Schulist would give the Spartans a nice boost and combined with Alexis Wiersma, who has developed into a premier runner in the conference, could break up Finn and Osika. However, with the loss of three seniors to graduation and All-American Lindsay Clark to injury, the Spartans simply don’t have the firepower to challenge Michigan this year. Penn State’s Tori Gerlach and Minnesota’s Liz Berkholtz will lead their teams with hopes of taking down the defending national champions. Wisconsin’s Sarah Disanza will not join them in the front pack, as she has elected to redshirt this season.

Final Predictions

Men: Ferlic pushes the pace midway through the race, but Schrobilgen’s formidable kick over grass carries him to his third consecutive Big Ten individual title. McDonald, Purdue’s Matt McClintock, and Illinois’s Dylan LaFond round out the top five. The Badgers show significant improvement but can’t counter the Wolverines’ pack running, which carries them to their first Big Ten team title since 1998.

Women: Finn runs away from the field. If she races, Schulist runs conservatively with the front pack but Osika outkicks her for second. Wiersma takes fourth and Gerlach finishes fifth. Michigan sweeps the team titles for the first time since 1993 and MSU manages a second place finish in front of Penn State.