Michigan vs. Notre Dame: Wolverines Run Game Key to Victory over Fighting Irish

The Michigan Wolverines put on an offensive demo against an Appalachian State Mountaineers team that was woefully outmatched on both sides of the ball.

This week will be different, going up against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. 

Their program is ranked 16th in the nation and put on a similarly impressive showing in Week 2, defeating Rice 48-17. In that game, senior quarterback Everett Golson threw for two touchdowns and ran for three more, showcasing his ability both in the running and passing game.

The rivalry has historically produced a number of close games and dramatic finishes, in which the Wolverines have a 24-16 advantage.

Considering this is the last time the two teams will play each other for the foreseeable future (since Notre Dame has exercised its option to discontinue the rivalry) and that the Fighting Irish left Ann Arbor last year after coming up short 41-30, they're going to be extremely motivated.

The "Chicken Dance" song should still be fresh in their minds.

The Wolverines also come into Notre Dame stadium with an abysmal road record under head coach Brady Hoke, going 6-8 away from Michigan Stadium.

If the Wolverines are going to buck that trend, they'll need to continue doing what they did last week against Appalachian State: Run the football.

Michigan's Rushing Attack

Senior QB Devin Gardner threw only 14 passes, but completed 13 of them for three touchdowns to wide receiver Devin Funchess against Appalachian State. But what made Michigan's offense so strong was the sophomore rushing tandem of Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith.

The two running backs combined for 285 rushing yards and three touchdowns.

	Carries	Yards	TDs
Derrick Green	15	170	1
De'Veon Smith	8	115	2

In total, the Wolverines put up 350 yards on the ground with 210 passing yards to complement. With such a strong tandem at running back, coach Hoke would do well to build his game plan around those two players and establish the running game as early as possible against Notre Dame.

Freeing Up the Passing Game

Once the running of Smith and Green has impacted head coach Brian Kelly's defensive game plan for the Fighting Irish, the Wolverines will have an opportunity to use play action and get Funchess open down the field.

Despite the fact that Notre Dame is going to be without cornerback KeiVarae Russell, it is still a far more skilled and versatile secondary than what Funchess and Gardner were dealing with when they played Appalachian State.

Tony Ding/Associated Press

On the interior, Notre Dame will also be without defensive end Ishaq Williams and linebacker Kendall Moore, making them more vulnerable to the running game.

The Wolverines will need to exploit that weakness before they let Gardner start chucking the ball down the field.

But if the success of their rushing attack continues, freeing up the passing game will be a quick process.

Sticking with the Rushing Attack

Even though the yards per attempt will be lower, the Wolverines should keep handing the ball off to their playmakers. The same rushing attack that allowed them to dominate an over-matched Appalachian State squad should allow them to keep pace with Notre Dame.

It'll also give them the opportunity to keep an already fractured Fighting Irish defense on the field with a possession-based game plan.

If they can keep the score close, the play of Gardner and Funchess will be enough to outscore a tired Fighting Irish defense in the second half of the game.

Bobby Kittleberger writes about fantasy football for The FF White Papers. You can get in touch with him via Twitter.