Michigan vs. Notre Dame: 5 Questions Heading into the Big House Showdown

It has been five years since Michigan and Notre Dame have played a meaningful game against each other.  On Saturday, the Wolverines and Fighting Irish square off in the first ever night game at the Big House, desperately hoping to rekindle the magical rivalry that has been absent for the better part of two decades. 

Heading into the showdown, there are five important questions to answer that will help reveal whether both teams can live up to their preseason hype. 

Can Notre Dame put the shocking loss to South Florida behind them?

Head coach Brian Kelly needs to rally his team.  He needs to emphasize that the season is not over with one loss, but a second may prove fatal.  The smartest thing Kelly did was announce that Tommy Rees will start against Michigan. 

Rees is better, and the offense will get a full week of preparation without the QB flip-flopping that often destroys consistency and confidence. 

Kelly also needs to stay poised.  His emotional tirades last Saturday were perfect for a movie but will do little to help his team stay focused when they’re facing adversity during a game.  Kelly should limit the outbursts and concentrate on the next play. 

Can Michigan’s defense stop Notre Dame’s passing attack? 

Torched all of last season, the biggest question coming into the year for the Wolverines was whether the defense would be better.  For Michigan fans, getting worse is difficult to imagine. They gave up 35 points and 451 yards per game last year. 

Compare that to 2006, when the defense gave up 16 points and 268 yards per game.

By gaining 279 yards in three quarters, Western Michigan may have exposed some remaining holes left by the Rodriguez era.  The Broncos are generally a strong offensive team, so it may be a case of the defense working through the kinks of switching to defensive coordinator Greg Mattison’s 4-3 system. 

Regardless, the defense is still a long way from head coach Brady Hoke’s expectations. 

There is no debate that Notre Dame’s offense is substantially better than the Bronco’s offense, and they proved it by lighting up South Florida’s secondary for 391 yards.  The Irish’s inability to score cost them the game, and Michigan can hardly bank on a second straight week of ineptitude. 

The key will be getting the Irish into long thrid-down situations.  If they can manage to keep Notre Dame under 40 percent, the Wolverines will win the game. 

Can Michigan establish a passing attack to compliment their high powered running game?

Michigan did not have to pass the ball against the Broncos because they were running it down their throats, but they’ll have very little chance of winning the big games without a balanced attack. 

Superior defenses will just stack the box and force the Wolverines to beat them through the air, and QB Denard Robinson’s arm is not good enough to win games. 

South Florida had a decent amount of success passing and running, and Robinson is hoping to duplicate it to keep Notre Dame guessing.

On the bright side, Robinson was able to spread it around to a variety of receivers against Western Michigan revealing a deep arsenal that should keep defenses honest.

Can Notre Dame fix the self-inflicted mistakes that haunted them against South Florida?

The Fighting Irish amassed 508 yards in the loss to the Bulls.  No team should lose with that kind of offensive production.  Teams with inferior talent can ill afford to make mental mistakes if they want to win games. 

Against the Bulls, the Notre Dame committed three turnovers, had eight penalties and was an abysmal 4-of-14 on third-down conversions.  A repeat performance on Saturday will lead to another embarrassing loss.

Practices in South Bend this week will focus on eliminating costly errors.  Most important is making sure Rees protects the ball.  Despite his 4-0 record as a starter, Rees has thrown 10 interceptions along with his 14 touchdowns. 

Cut back the turnovers and the Irish will win the game.

If Notre Dame loses, will Kelly’s job be in jeopardy?

In the BCS era, no school has been more impatient with their head coaching situation than Notre Dame.  The Irish have had four head coaches since Lou Holtz stepped down in 1996, and not one has come close to resurrecting the program.

Already feeling uncomfortable about not being a significant player on the national stage, starting 0-2 will do little to stop the Notre Dame faithful from jumping off a cliff. 

Their first call might be to Jesus, but you can expect the second to be to a highly coveted coach who is calling games for ESPN whose dream job is coaching Notre Dame. 

This is not a win or bust game for the Irish, but the importance level is enormous.  Notre Dame has been aimlessly walking through the wilderness since 1993. Every mediocre season increasingly punctures the ego of football’s most pompous fan base, and it gets more difficult to swallow every year. 

They are praying that glory returns to South Bend in 2011. 

Rules can change and conferences can expand, but rivalry games are the backbone of college football. Michigan vs. Notre Dame needs to be important.  There is no excuse for two of the most historically decorated programs to be so weak on the field. 

Both teams are at a crossroads. The winner will demonstrate that they are back, and the loser will have to dig deep to avoid a spiral dive into oblivion.  Michigan prevails 38-35.