Notre Dame Football: Michigan Leaves the Irish for Dead in a Stunner

Lou Holtz once said, “You are never as good as everyone tells you when you win, and you’re never as bad as they say you are when you lose.” 

After last week’s debacle vs. South Florida, message boards, chat rooms, and major media analysts discussed the death of the 2011 Notre Dame Football season. 

My favorite story was by Greg Couch, who admittedly covers tennis and golf and gleefully reported that Notre Dame got their “butts kicked by South Florida.”  After Saturday night’s meltdown in the Big House, what can Notre Dame possibly have left in the tank?

First-Half Analysis: Notre Dame led 17-7

The Irish took a comfortable 17-7 lead into the break that in all likelihood should have been much larger.  The Irish had a total yardage advantage of 268-92 at the break. 

However, after scoring with relative ease on their first two possessions the problems of last week began to resurface. 

Tommy Rees got much love for poise and decision-making by the Notre Dame faithful after replacing Dayne Crist.  However, his two first half interceptions likely cost the Irish a minimum of 10 points. 

The first interception changed momentum, by setting up a struggling Michigan offense on the Notre Dame side of the 50.  The Wolverines quickly cashed this opportunity in to draw to 14-7. 

The second interception of the half by Rees at a minimum cost the Irish a field goal opportunity.  In addition to costly turnovers, the Irish burned all three of their timeouts early in the first half and appeared disorganized on the sideline. 

Finally, five first-half penalties, including a personal foul, were a repeat of the undisciplined play that we saw during the opener against South Florida.  It was not until late in the first half when David Ruffer increased the margin to 10 that I breathed a sigh of relief. 

A continued bright spot for the Irish was the play of the defense as they basically held Denard Robinson in check during the first half.

End of Third Quarter: Notre Dame led 24-7

Following yet another turnover deep in Michigan territory, Tommy Rees engineered  a seven-play, 71-yard drive to give the Irish a 24-7 lead. 

However, Robinson turned in his longest play of the night when he turned a certain sack into a 77-yard pass completion.  

Robinson also had a 39-yard run in the third quarter; however, stout Irish defense, inconsistent passing and an interception from Zeke Motta prevented the Wolverines from doing further damage.  

The quarter would end with the Michigan a yard away from cutting the lead to 10 despite being completely dominated in every statistical category.

End of Game: Michigan wins 35-31

Michigan got the first gift of the fourth quarter when on a third-and-goal from the Notre Dame 1, they picked up their own fumble and cut the lead to 24-14.  The Irish would follow the Michigan score by mishandling the kickoff and starting their drive at their own 10. 

Following a quick three-and-out, Ben Turk’s 25-yard punt, his third of the night less than 30 yards, set Michigan up on the Irish 40. 

The Wolverines would quickly make it 24-21 as Robinson hit Jeremy Gallon for a 14 yard touchdown pass over Gary Gray, who is increasingly looking like a liability on the Irish defense. 

The Irish again showed poor game management as they were forced to burn their second timeout with over eight minutes left in the fourth quarter.   Later the Irish added a fourth turnover when Rees fumbled inside the 10 with 6:14 remaining. 

After a Michigan holding penalty, Robinson completed a long bomb to midfield and following an undisciplined late hit, Michigan would be presented with a first-and-10 at the Irish 30. 

Robert Blanton would halt this drive one play later as the Irish came up with their third interception of the day. 

Following another three-and-out by Notre Dame, Michigan would take over with 2:16 remaining.

It would take the Wolverines just 1:14 to take their first lead of day 28-24. 

That set the stage for Tommy Rees to lead an apparent miracle game-winning drive.  Rees would need just 42 seconds to put the Irish back in front when he culminated a 60-yard drive with a 29-yard TD pass to Theo Riddick. 

Unfortunately, Denard Robinson would use a 64-yard bomb following a Notre Dame coverage break down to set the Wolverines up deep in Notre Dame territory. 

On the next play, Robinson would victimize Gary Gray for the third time of the day for the winning touchdown pass with two seconds left.

Heading to Michigan State

At 0-2, this team is dead in the water.  The supposedly vaunted Notre Dame defense fell apart in the fourth quarter as Denard Robinson scorched them for 28 points. 

On the day Robinson racked up 446 total yards and was dominant in the fourth quarter.  Brian Kelly’s Fighting Irish are a poorly managed team that frequently commits turnovers and costly penalties. 

In addition, despite what we’ve heard about an excellent defense, it is obvious this is a typical Notre Dame defense of recent years that lacks play makers and has a penchant for giving up big plays at the worst possible times. 

Gary Gray, who was touted as an NFL prospect, has been awful.  Special Teams are equally poor.  The Irish have virtually no return game and perhaps one of the worst punters in major college football. 

Offensively Tommy Rees showed moxie and nearly authored a miracle finish however, with three total turnovers (two in the red zone) he is just as responsible for this loss as anyone. 

This team is skittish in nature from the disorganization on the sideline to the inability to finish off inferior teams. 

Michigan is a team that while better, is still going to struggle in the Big 10.  The Irish are going to struggle to qualify for a bowl game as eight wins is likely the best-case scenario going forward in yet another already disappointing season.