Michigan Was Great, But Notre Dame Has No Reason To Hang Their Heads

As most of my readers know, the most conflicted day of the year for me is when Michigan and Notre Dame play each other. I really am a fan of both Notre Dame and Michigan. That of course sometimes gets my loyalty tested from both sides. I have come to expect it.

As a kid this was always my favorite game to start the college football season. Being from an Irish family from Michigan, the room was always split with rooting interests. I myself never could pick a side. I loved the traditions of both programs and remembered many great games.

In recent years the game has had different feels to it with the two programs both having up and down times. After the first game in which both the Wolverines and Irish won impressively, my excitement for this game was at an all time high. Suddenly it felt like a big game again.

Going into the game, I felt that Notre Dame would win. I felt their experience would give them the edge despite playing on the road. I was hoping Michigan would have a respectable showing but I thought that I would really be disappointed in Notre Dame if they didn't win.

Well, Michigan won and I am not even a little disappointed in Notre Dame. The reality is that Michigan is back and Rich Rodriguez has that program ready to contend for a Big Ten title a lot faster than most people expected. A big part of that is true freshman Tate Forcier who was just awesome. Brandon Minor looks ready to have a big year.

On the other side, Notre Dame also played great in a losing effort. I was very happy with the way they were able to come back from being down 11 in the 4th quarter. That is a sign of maturity. Jimmy Clausen will have a big year and is loaded with weapons like Golden Tate, Michael Floyd, Armando Allen, and Kyle Rudolph.

This game was really what college football is all about. Players for both teams really played hard for their respective coaches. Both Rodriguez and Charlie Weis should be proud of their teams.

I was thinking last night that I would really be annoyed if I saw any ariticles today calling for Weis to be fired. Unfortunately I did see a few. To me that is just crazy. In no way is Weis to blame for this loss. His team fought hard and Michigan was better than expected. The Big House is one of the toughest places to win and they were so close to doing it in this great game.

It is too bad that this was a regular season game. If this were a BCS bowl, we may be talking about an ESPY for game of the year.

After a game like this, I think there will be a lot to cheer for in both Ann Arbor and South Bend. I expect Michigan to contend for the Big Ten and Notre Dame will bounce back big against Michigan State.