Fighting Irish Beat Rival Michigan
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
"We still don't feel like we have the respect," Irish sophomore linebacker Brian Smith said. "So that was an emphasis this week - trying to get that respect."[[In-content Ad]]Notre Dame's darkest moment during a dark 3-9 campaign in 2007 may have been a 38-0 loss at Michigan.
This year, a 21-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the game led to a 35-17 victory over the Michigan Wolverines, helping this year's edition of the Irish wipe away some of the bitter taste left after last year's visit to the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"It feels great," Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. "I was talking with a bunch of the guys before the game. I said, 'Remember what we felt like last year after this game. That's never going to happen again.' We came out on offense, defense, special teams and played a great game."
Offensively, Clausen played well, but didn't really have to play great.
Completing 10 of 21 passes, Clausen threw two interceptions, but highlight passes came on a 60-yard catch and run from sophomore Golden Tate, as well as a 48-yard touchdown bomb to Tate at the 4:51 mark in the first quarter, giving Notre Dame a 21-0 lead at the time.
"It was going to be bombs away," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said of the offensive scheme. "That was the game plan going in. We had more, we just didn't get to them. It was bombs away, because we have a lot of respect for the Michigan's front. We felt that if we nickeled and dimed them all day, it could be tough sledding."
The offensive mentality gave Clausen the go-ahead to fling it down field, and also let the young quarterback know where he stands in the coach's eyes.
"It's great knowing he has confidence in me and that he has confidence in the offensive line and receivers," Clausen said. "To come out of the gate throwing bombs. We were going to do that from the beginning of the game and the coaches were confident in us."
A year after the Wolverines breached the Irish offensive line like after-Thanksgiving shoppers on a department store, sacking Clausen seven times, the quarterback never touched the ground at Notre Dame Stadium.
"They're doing much better in pass protection, although Jimmy did get us out of a couple of situations," Weis said of the ND offensive line. "He rolled out, and he's learning. He's growing up. He's throwing the ball away instead of doing something stupid, which he may have done last year."
After two games, the same offensive line that surrendered an NCAA record 58 sacks in 2007, is still waiting for a defense to get to Clausen. With that kind of protection, Notre Dame is at 2-0, but that doesn't mean the sports pundits are going to be quick to say the Irish are back.
"Now it will be, 'Well, they beat Michigan and they're a team that's going through transition. Now, let's see what they do against Michigan State,'" Weis said. "Every week, it's the same old story. As far as our team and our students and for our alums and our fans, today was a big win."
The win was a big win, however, it was against a rebuilding Wolverines team that sits at 1-2, having lost to Utah in the first week of the year.
"We're going to keep doing what we're doing," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I'm going to look at the tapes, but I can tell you, a lot of (the turnovers) were unforced errors. Maybe it's inexperience. Who knows? I don't think we're that far off. We've just got to play better."
On the rainy afternoon, Michigan put the ball on the ground seven times, losing four of the fumbles.
Michigan's initial fumble came on the opening kickoff, which it recovered, but the same couldn't be said for a lateral pass at the 12:42 mark in the first.
Following the backward pass, Smith pounced on the ball at the Michigan 11-yard line, setting up a 2-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Robert Hughes.
"We put ourselves in a tremendous hole with turnovers," Rodriguez said. "Turnovers will hurt you anytime, but the ones that are really discouraging, are the ones I call unforced errors. There wasn't anyone knocking the ball out or stripping the ball out. It's just dropping the ball."
The Wolverines' second lost fumble came just six seconds after the ND score when they once again fumbled the kick off, only this time Notre Dame senior Mike Anello, a former walk-on, was there for the recovery.
After two games, Anello has made his presence felt, hustling on punt and kick-off coverage, forcing at least two fumbles against Michigan.
"After last week, when he gained cult hero status, particularly in our locker room, you wouldn't think he'd get opportunities to make plays," Weis said. "I'm not sure, but I think he caused three fumbles, or at least a couple of fumbles. Every time I turn around, he's around the ball. Sign me up. Give me a team with a bunch of Mike Anellos on special teams, that run like that and show that heart. And he doesn't just have heart - he's a playmaker."
Anello's recovery set up another Notre Dame touchdown, its second in 53 seconds, on way to a 21-0 first quarter lead.
Michigan did fight back to get within 28-17 late in the third quarter, but couldn't completely overcome the early hole it dug itself.
"It was a nightmare, but I told the team we have too many things going for us that maybe the outside public doesn't see - the work ethic and the commitment," Rodriguez said. "We have tremendous support from the school, from our fans and we have a great staff."
Even with the lead, the Notre Dame faithful still couldn't get too comfortable, as Michigan had the ball to start the fourth quarter.
However, all those in attendance, as well as those at home, could give a big exhale after Smith all but ended the game by recovering a fumble by Michigan quarterback Steven Threet, returning it 35 yards to the end zone, upping the lead to 35-17.
"I was thinking jump on it and recover it, but then in my peripherals, there was no one around," Smith said. "People said it was a good scoop, because it was wet outside and the gloves were wet and the ball was wet. But we work the drill at least once a week."
The scoop helped show that Notre Dame had improved over last year, which isn't saying too much, but improvement is improvement.
"It's nice for us to step up against a top opponent, at home after a question mark game last week," Weis said. "We definitely showed up against a good opponent. It's pretty sweet."
"We had a bunch of guys who wanted to step up and say, 'Notre Dame's not some garbage school where everyone can just crap on all the time,'," Weis said.
The Irish will get another shot at showing how they've progressed Saturday at Michigan State, when the game gets under way at 3:30 p.m.
But for the Notre Dame players, they feel they should already have some respect.
"It shows that a lot of people in the locker room, and now a lot of people outside of the locker room, believe and can see a good team," Smith said. "People always have question marks, even after San Diego State last week. But we knew we were a good team and we came out here and fought hard. And we came out of here victorious."
"We still don't feel like we have the respect," Irish sophomore linebacker Brian Smith said. "So that was an emphasis this week - trying to get that respect."[[In-content Ad]]Notre Dame's darkest moment during a dark 3-9 campaign in 2007 may have been a 38-0 loss at Michigan.
This year, a 21-0 lead within the first 10 minutes of the game led to a 35-17 victory over the Michigan Wolverines, helping this year's edition of the Irish wipe away some of the bitter taste left after last year's visit to the Big House in Ann Arbor, Mich.
"It feels great," Notre Dame sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen said. "I was talking with a bunch of the guys before the game. I said, 'Remember what we felt like last year after this game. That's never going to happen again.' We came out on offense, defense, special teams and played a great game."
Offensively, Clausen played well, but didn't really have to play great.
Completing 10 of 21 passes, Clausen threw two interceptions, but highlight passes came on a 60-yard catch and run from sophomore Golden Tate, as well as a 48-yard touchdown bomb to Tate at the 4:51 mark in the first quarter, giving Notre Dame a 21-0 lead at the time.
"It was going to be bombs away," Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis said of the offensive scheme. "That was the game plan going in. We had more, we just didn't get to them. It was bombs away, because we have a lot of respect for the Michigan's front. We felt that if we nickeled and dimed them all day, it could be tough sledding."
The offensive mentality gave Clausen the go-ahead to fling it down field, and also let the young quarterback know where he stands in the coach's eyes.
"It's great knowing he has confidence in me and that he has confidence in the offensive line and receivers," Clausen said. "To come out of the gate throwing bombs. We were going to do that from the beginning of the game and the coaches were confident in us."
A year after the Wolverines breached the Irish offensive line like after-Thanksgiving shoppers on a department store, sacking Clausen seven times, the quarterback never touched the ground at Notre Dame Stadium.
"They're doing much better in pass protection, although Jimmy did get us out of a couple of situations," Weis said of the ND offensive line. "He rolled out, and he's learning. He's growing up. He's throwing the ball away instead of doing something stupid, which he may have done last year."
After two games, the same offensive line that surrendered an NCAA record 58 sacks in 2007, is still waiting for a defense to get to Clausen. With that kind of protection, Notre Dame is at 2-0, but that doesn't mean the sports pundits are going to be quick to say the Irish are back.
"Now it will be, 'Well, they beat Michigan and they're a team that's going through transition. Now, let's see what they do against Michigan State,'" Weis said. "Every week, it's the same old story. As far as our team and our students and for our alums and our fans, today was a big win."
The win was a big win, however, it was against a rebuilding Wolverines team that sits at 1-2, having lost to Utah in the first week of the year.
"We're going to keep doing what we're doing," Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said. "I'm going to look at the tapes, but I can tell you, a lot of (the turnovers) were unforced errors. Maybe it's inexperience. Who knows? I don't think we're that far off. We've just got to play better."
On the rainy afternoon, Michigan put the ball on the ground seven times, losing four of the fumbles.
Michigan's initial fumble came on the opening kickoff, which it recovered, but the same couldn't be said for a lateral pass at the 12:42 mark in the first.
Following the backward pass, Smith pounced on the ball at the Michigan 11-yard line, setting up a 2-yard rushing touchdown by sophomore Robert Hughes.
"We put ourselves in a tremendous hole with turnovers," Rodriguez said. "Turnovers will hurt you anytime, but the ones that are really discouraging, are the ones I call unforced errors. There wasn't anyone knocking the ball out or stripping the ball out. It's just dropping the ball."
The Wolverines' second lost fumble came just six seconds after the ND score when they once again fumbled the kick off, only this time Notre Dame senior Mike Anello, a former walk-on, was there for the recovery.
After two games, Anello has made his presence felt, hustling on punt and kick-off coverage, forcing at least two fumbles against Michigan.
"After last week, when he gained cult hero status, particularly in our locker room, you wouldn't think he'd get opportunities to make plays," Weis said. "I'm not sure, but I think he caused three fumbles, or at least a couple of fumbles. Every time I turn around, he's around the ball. Sign me up. Give me a team with a bunch of Mike Anellos on special teams, that run like that and show that heart. And he doesn't just have heart - he's a playmaker."
Anello's recovery set up another Notre Dame touchdown, its second in 53 seconds, on way to a 21-0 first quarter lead.
Michigan did fight back to get within 28-17 late in the third quarter, but couldn't completely overcome the early hole it dug itself.
"It was a nightmare, but I told the team we have too many things going for us that maybe the outside public doesn't see - the work ethic and the commitment," Rodriguez said. "We have tremendous support from the school, from our fans and we have a great staff."
Even with the lead, the Notre Dame faithful still couldn't get too comfortable, as Michigan had the ball to start the fourth quarter.
However, all those in attendance, as well as those at home, could give a big exhale after Smith all but ended the game by recovering a fumble by Michigan quarterback Steven Threet, returning it 35 yards to the end zone, upping the lead to 35-17.
"I was thinking jump on it and recover it, but then in my peripherals, there was no one around," Smith said. "People said it was a good scoop, because it was wet outside and the gloves were wet and the ball was wet. But we work the drill at least once a week."
The scoop helped show that Notre Dame had improved over last year, which isn't saying too much, but improvement is improvement.
"It's nice for us to step up against a top opponent, at home after a question mark game last week," Weis said. "We definitely showed up against a good opponent. It's pretty sweet."
"We had a bunch of guys who wanted to step up and say, 'Notre Dame's not some garbage school where everyone can just crap on all the time,'," Weis said.
The Irish will get another shot at showing how they've progressed Saturday at Michigan State, when the game gets under way at 3:30 p.m.
But for the Notre Dame players, they feel they should already have some respect.
"It shows that a lot of people in the locker room, and now a lot of people outside of the locker room, believe and can see a good team," Smith said. "People always have question marks, even after San Diego State last week. But we knew we were a good team and we came out here and fought hard. And we came out of here victorious."
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