Notre Dame at Michigan: Saturday Night Game Preview

Saturday, September 10th

8:00 PM ET on ESPN

Michigan

The Wolverines should feel fresh coming off a rain-shortened game against MAC foe Western Michigan.  The defense looked alright at times, and suspect at others.  They were able to make adjustments that threw quarterback Alex Carder off his game, allowing them to create two defensive scores to extend their lead before the game was called.

Offensively, the Wolverines don’t look quite as explosive as they did a year ago, but seemed to find success running the ball with players not name Denard Robinson.  It will be vital for the Wolverines to continue that success, and keep Robinson on the field for the entire season.

Michigan is up against a tough opponent in Notre Dame, and will need a championship effort from their defense.  They have had success scoring on Notre Dame in the last couple of years, but should fear the explosive skill players that the Irish will field this year.  Notre Dame will not look as sloppy as last week against South Florida, when they turned the ball over five times.

Players to Watch: QB Denard Robinson, RB Michael Shaw, DT Mike Martin, LB Brandon Herron

Notre Dame

Irish supporters were far from happy with what they saw from their team last week.  Notre Dame moved the ball, but were sloppy in the turnover department, allowing South Florida to come into South Bend and steal a game that the Irish dominated.

This week, Tommy Rees will get the nod as the starting quarterback, as Brian Kelly hopes to find someone who will take care of the ball.  The defense that Notre Dame will face this week is not as good as South Florida’s, but should not be taken lightly.  The Wolverines were all over the quarterback last year in South Bend, and will look to repeat that performance Saturday night.

Defensively, the Irish were solid in Week 1, holding the Bulls to under 300 yards of offense.  They will need an even better effort this week as they go up against Michigan’s Denard Robinson.  Robinson ran all over the Notre Dame defense last year, and may need to do the same this year for the Wolverines to keep up with what should be a potent Irish attack.

Players to watch: QB Tommy Rees, RB Cierre Wood, WR Michael Floyd, LB Manti Te’o

For analysis and picks on this game and the other big games of the week, visit Saturdays in the Fall.

Follow Erik Underwood on Twitter at http://twitter.com/#!/ErikUnderwood