Notre Dame vs. Michigan: Tale of the Tape

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Michigan Wolverines will add another chapter to their long-standing, non-conference rivalry this weekend when the two meet in South Bend. Michigan lost its opener for the second straight season, falling to Utah by a 25-23 final and ruining the debut of head coach Rich Rodriguez in the process. Fortunately for the Wolverines, they were able to bounce back with a 16-6 triumph over Miami-Ohio last weekend. Michigan will be idle next weekend and will open the Big Ten portion of its schedule on September 27th against Wisconsin. As for Notre Dame, it hopes to bounce back strong after an embarrassing 2007 season in which the team won just three contests and was blown out on many Saturdays. Things did not look promising last weekend in the season opener against San Diego State, but a rally enabled the Irish to capture a 21-13 victory. This bout marks the first of three straight outings against members of the Big Ten Conference, as Notre Dame will face Michigan State and Purdue the next two weeks. Michigan owns a 20-14-1 series lead over Notre Dame, including a 38-0 romp over the Fighting Irish last season.

Michigan only managed 15 first downs and 281 total yards against Miami-Ohio last weekend. More than half of those yards came on the team's two long touchdown drives, and the offense was awfully quiet for much of the contest. The ground attack was productive, accounting for 178 yards and two touchdowns while churning out 5.1 ypc. Sam McGuffie got the majority of the carries, and he posted 74 yards on 17 attempts. Michael Shaw only carried the ball twice, but runs of 30 and 15 yards proved his explosiveness. Both quarterbacks, Steven Threet and Nick Sheridan, saw action, and Threet had a rushing score. Both Threet and Sheridan attempted 19 passes against Utah in the opener, and it appears that Rodriguez plans to use both signal callers until one emerges as the more capable leader.

Give most of the credit for last week's win over Miami-Ohio to the Michigan defense, as the Wolverines permitted just six points on a pair of field goals. Both of those field goals for Miami-Ohio capped off long drives that spanned 72 yards in 10 plays and 60 yards in 13 plays. The fact that the Wolverines were able to tighten up and force a field goal attempt rather than surrender a touchdown when the RedHawks neared the goal line was impressive. Miami finished with just 47 rushing yards on 32 attempts, and the RedHawks averaged a mere 8.9 yards per pass completion. Rodriguez has reason to be proud of his defense, which allowed 305 passing yards to Utah in the opener. Still, the run defense was sensational in that contest was well, holding the Utes to a staggeringly low 36 yards on 43 attempts. Clearly, six sacks totaling 39 lost yards helped the cause.

Through the first 50 minutes of the game against San Diego State, Notre Dame had a grand total of seven points and appeared to be on its way to another embarrassing loss. Fortunately, sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen proved to be clutch, tossing a pair of fourth-quarter touchdown passes. The final strike came with just over two minutes remaining, a six-yard toss to David Grimes. Clausen, a blue chip recruit who took his lumps last season, was 21-of-34 for 237 yards and three touchdowns. While he did throw a pair of interceptions, one was clearly the fault of Duval Kamara, who failed to make an easy catch. Golden Tate tallied six catches for 93 yards and a score to help Notre Dame. Despite missing three games with an elbow injury in '07, Clausen threw for 1,254 yards, which trails only Brady Quinn on the school's record books for a freshman QB. He certainly has the talent to put up big numbers here in 2008.

San Diego State attempted a staggering total of 59 passes against Notre Dame compared to just 15 running plays. The Fighting Irish allowed a mere 29 passes to be completed for an average of fewer than 10 yards per connection. Most impressive of all for the ND defense is that it blanked the Aztecs over the final 23 minutes of the contest, paving the way for Clausen to lead the comeback effort. Kyle McCarthy was outstanding for the defense, as he posted 14 total tackles, including 10 of the solo variety. Last season, Notre Dame ranked second nationally in pass defense.

Expect this game to be rather low scoring, as we give a narrow edge to the Irish based on home field advantage, Irish receivers vs. Wolverine secondary, and the intangibles. Michigan still didn't look all that impressive from week one to week two. The glass is half full for Notre Dame, as they will protect the ball better and establish the running game early to set up their passing game.

Notre Dame 21
Michigan 17

Michigan Injury Report
Running back Carlos Brown (9/7, shoulder) is probable
Wide receiver Greg Mathews (9/7, right ankle) is questionable
Guard Mark Huyge (9/7, high ankle sprain) is doubtful
Guard Cory Zirbel (9/3, knee surgery) is out indefinitely.
Wide receiver Terrance Robinson (9/7, knee) is questionable

Notre Dame Injury Report
Safety Jashaad Gaines (9/7, personal) is questionable
Cornerback Darrin Walls (8/27, personal) will miss the fall semester
Tight end Mike Ragone (8/23, left knee surgery) will miss the entire season.
Running back James Aldridge (9/7, personal/legal) is questionable

Team Leaders
Receptions: UM Odoms (8), ND Tate (6)
Rec. Yards: UM Odoms (64), ND Tate (93)
Rushing Atts: UM McGuffee (25), ND Allen (17)
Rushing Yds: UM McGuffee (82), ND Allen (59)
Pass Atts: UM Threet (32), ND Clausen (34)
Pass Comp: UM Sheridan (15), ND Clausen (21)
Pass Yards: UM Sheridan (138), ND Clausen (237)
Comp %: UM Sheridan (62.5), ND Clausen (61.8)
TD passes: UM Threet & Sheridan (1), ND Clausen (3)
INTs: UM Sheridan (1), ND Clausen (2)