Michigan built a 27-13 halftime lead behind the running and passing of Devin Gardner and held off a comeback attempt by Notre Dame to defeat the Irish 41-30 on Saturday night before a Michigan Stadium record crowd of over 115,000. Gardner threw four touchdown passes and ran for another score, while Jeremy Gallon had 184 receiving yards and three touchdowns. Notre Dame twice closed to within seven points in the second half, but Gardner’s ability to gain key first downs at inopportune moments proved to be the difference.
The offenses dominated play throughout the evening, but the Wolverines were far more balanced. Tommy Rees threw 53 passes and 314 yards for the Irish, who managed only 105 yards on just 18 rushing attempts. Michigan gained 166 yards on 39 carries while Gardner hit 21 of his 33 tosses for 294 yards.
Notre Dame was sluggish at the start and quickly fell behind 10-0 as Gallon hauled in a pass over the middle, broke two tackles and dashed into the end zone from 61 yards. Rees heated up to bring back the visitors, who tied the game at ten early in the second quarter when Kyle Brindza drilled a 44 yard field goal. The Wolverines crept back to take a 20-13 lead shortly before halftime when disaster struck the Irish. Rees threw a floater off his back foot under pressure and Michigan’s Blake Countess intercepted to set up another Gardner to Gallon score.
Following intermission, a long drive by Notre Dame closed the gap to 27-20 with five minutes left in the third quarter. Tight end Troy Niklas caught the ball on a crossing route and dove into the end zone to complete a 21-yard play. The Irish refused a holding penalty on the next Wolverine series to set up a third and eight at the Michigan 24. Gardner scrambled for nine yards and a key first down, then tossed yet another touchdown pass to Gallon just four plays later to put his team up by two scores.
Once again, Notre Dame came marching back, but the drive stalled on a failed fourth down pass in the red zone. Gardner made his first and only mistake on the next series, however, as he attempted a desperation throw from his end zone with Irish players hanging onto him. Stephon Tuitt picked off the wounded duck in the end zone to bring Notre Dame within 34-27 at the 12:06 mark. The Irish got a break when a timeout by Michigan to challenge the score with the replay official negated a missed extra point attempt. After Tuitt’s score was upheld, Brindza booted it through for the seven point deficit.
Notre Dame got the ball back near midfield moments later after a poor Wolverine punt, but could manage only a field goal to trail by 34-30 with 9:15 remaining. Fitz Toussaint broke the hearts and backs of Notre Dame on the next series with a 22 yard run and a 26 yard reception to bring Michigan into scoring territory. The Irish were then victimized by two third down pass interference penalties to keep the drive alive, and Gardner converted with a four yard toss to Drew Dileo for the clinching score with 4:18 left. Rees had one more drive left in him, but Countess grabbed a deflected pass in the end zone to secure the win.
The Irish appeared to have success running the ball, but the inability of the defense to contain Gardner kept them in a continuous hole. The difference in the game was his ability to escape pressure and make positive plays, while Rees was not effective when forced to move in the pocket and throw on the run.
Let’s review the pregame questions regarding the keys to the outcome.
Which team will be able to run most effectively? Notre Dame ran it well at times, but not often enough. Michigan and Gardner were ahead throughout and were able to out the Irish by a significant margin.
Will weak special teams and a balky kicking game cost the Irish a victory? Special teams performed well throughout. Brindza nailed all of his chances and George Atkinson chipped in with a respectable kickoff return.
Which quarterback will throw the ball into the wrong hands? Both threw interceptions that resulted in scores for the opponent, but Gardner did not make a mistake the rest of the night.
Can Notre Dame’s defensive pursuit contain Gardner? Ummm, that would be a definitive “No”.
Will Rees be able to continue his downfield passing success against a much better secondary? Tommy made some good throws, but Michigan would not let the Irish receivers get behind them for long gains. The three fourth quarter drives for Notre Dame ended on two incompletions and an interception.
What Brent Musburger drinking game will take the sting out of a loss for the losing team’s fans? It appeared that Brent was already in fine form by the opening kickoff, and he even managed to confuse Gardner with Denard Robinson. The big winner on the night had to be Eminem, who visited with Kirk and Brent after a halftime musical performance. That dude was three sheets to the wind.
It’s back to work for Notre Dame, who must prepare for another road trip next week by fixing a porous defense. There is sufficient time and talent on board to get this season back on a path for success, but the frustration of this loss will continue to sting for quite a while.
SpecialK says:
Nasty. Very Nasty. Kelly has no balance on offense and didn’t even try any of our freshman running backs or any surprise plays. I feel that he may not be the man for this job. This team is too soft.
SpecialK says:
Once Malik Zaire gets healthy I feel we must play him some to give him some experience. At this point I don’t rely on Golson until he’s a confirmed starter and back on the team. We have to get our young qb prepared in case Golson doesn’t come back
SpecialK says:
I feel Kelly is too predictable in all phases of our game.
Chuckle says:
All through the preceding week I had the same feeling of impending doom as it felt the week before the game with Alabama. Both times the feelings were corroborated. It comers with the territory, so, back to the task at hand.
DJ says:
the frustration of this loss will continue to sting for quite a while.
Quite the understatement. This was coaching malpractice.
NDBonecrusher says:
Sting it will, John. You were right and I was wrong. At least special teams were much improved. The D baffles me. At times they looked so stingy against the run, but on that first Gallon touchdown they looked like the Keystone Cops bungling into each other. Shoulda, woulda, coulda…didn’t.
Irish Fan says:
Most dissappoined in Diaco. No comparison to last year’s D. And Nix!!???.Who is he? Just saying…
Tony Lynam says:
He was getting held all night long with no help from the zebras.
Scott says:
Absolutely. A few times, I watched Michigan players pull him to the ground after he blew them up… not once was it called. At least twice he was on his way to Gardner and was held.
Ryan Smith says:
I had to watch the entire first half from my cell while attending my cousin’s wedding. So thankful for Justin.tv. I’ve never submitted a comment on one of these boards and usually don’t like to overreact but…I just have 2 questions that have been eating at me for the last oh, I don’t know, eight hours or so. Hopefully someone can help me understand.
1.) I realize we got down early but why do we abandon the run so quickly? We have 5 RB’s that seem more than capable. When they get the chance to prove what they can do, they more than come through. Line up and run the damn ball. It seems like we can’t decide who we are. Either commit to 40+ carries each game and control the clock or pick -up the pace and lets see some of this tempo that our HC has been known for his entire career. We seem to be settling for the middle ground and it is not effective.
2.) Where is this “SEC caliber” front seven I keep hearing about? Lets not kid ourselves. While they are better than what we have become accustomed to over the last 20 years, they are not dominant. Temple ran rough shot for an entire half and Michigan scored 41. That would not happen to a good SEC defense.
I understand we lost our starting QB, the best TE in the country and Manti over the off season and maybe my expectations were a little too high. However, I thought we would be relying on a ball control, punishing ground game, an experienced QB and a great defense to win 10-11 games. After the first two games, anyone who thinks any part of that last sentence will come to fruition this season is kidding themselves.
BKBLOWS says:
ND has had a better team for 3 years and have lost 2 of 3. Our coaches got their lunch handed to them. ND could have run the ball all night, shoved it down Michigan’s throat and won by 14 if we had better coaches.
Tony Lynam says:
Totally agree!
Scott says:
I wondered what happened to the run, myself. Carlisle was running all over Michigan’s front seven. Why not let him continue? Dumb move by the staff to abandon the run.
Ghost of Joe Moore says:
I have never understood commentators comments that Tommy has poise in the pocket. It has dawned on me that this kid is scared to death when any remote pass rush gets near him. He responds by over throwing or throwing the ball out of bounds. I saw one well thrown ball by Rees last night but the vast majority of throws were behind the receivers or he had receivers climbing a ladder to get them leaving them exposed to defenders who laid the wood to them. The Irish never stretched the field early on which is always a mistake in my opinion. Not one long ball to Chris Brown inexplicably all night long.
I felt after watching last week, the Temple game was a tell tale sign of things to come. Same ole Tommy Rees and it is clear the defense is no where near as good as they were last year. Horrifically poor tackling and no where near as many bone crushing hits as displayed by the 2012 squad. I thought the defense had great pressure on Gardner for most of the first half but got to give Gardner credit though, he responded well with pin point passes and forced the D to lay back a bit. I thought if the pressure had continued, the secondary would make adjustments and get some eventual turnovers but that didn’t happen.
I am interested to hear BK’s thoughts, perhaps a bit more rust here by his estimation. I am not so sure. Golson’s bone headed move has really cost this teams chances this year as had he played, it would have been a different outcome. It will be frustrating to say the least watching Tommy run the offense and that may have been offset a bit had this D showed any signs of being dominant once again but that simply isn’t the case this year. I am hoping for 8-4 but realistically can see 5 losses this year.
Go Irish – screw Michigan.
Jim Kress says:
Rees is in 2011 form and the much vaunted “Defense” is a sieve.
It’s going to be a long 8-4 or 7-5 season – if we’re lucky.
irishhawk50 says:
Gardner defeated Notre Dame. He managed to just escape by a fraction of a second numerous times and make a play. The ND defense kept the Irish constantly in a hole and always trying to fight back. I think the running game would have been very effective if they were able to stay close. They fought well and came up a little short. The questionable pass interference call hurt. Also I was not sure because I only saw the replay briefly of the second interception at the goal line, but I think Amir was interfered with on that play. Anyway, the run defense was good but at the end of the night Gardner was the difference maker.
Tom says:
The “D” was far from what I expected, but the Irish were still in it until those 2 interference calls. The first was really a bad call IMHO, and had it not been called the game may well have turned out differently.
Ron Tibbs says:
It’s hard to control a scrambling QB…. if you don’t practice against one…sorry this one might be on Golson.
Rich says:
Very sad, I have been ND fan for many,many years but I guess I will never see ND come back to compete with the big boys. Last year looks like a fantasy, this year the truth is closer. Rees is smart guy, and tries, but he is just not up to a first string job. BK is beginning to look like Bob Davey! With that schedule ahead I guess we should hope for 7-5 or 6-6.
Cassidy says:
“our SEC caliber front 7” that’s supposed to be the best in the nation needs to quit reading the papers and watching sports center. they look slow and uninspired.. on offense well Michigan’s Gardner showed us what we are.sorely lacking a mobile QB. Tommy had chances to pick up yards with his legs but either he forced a throw into coverage or threw it away..
Scott says:
Really? Tuitt looks slow? Sure, he took a couple of bad angles at times last night, but, he hussled and we were all commenting on his speed for as big as he is. As for Nix, he was being held much of the night.
other_guy says:
. . . can’t set the edge on defense. Opponents are making ND defense run, run, and run! Not conducive for Nix, Day, and Tuitt.
BUProf says:
There’s a whole lot of football left this year, and we’ll show up each and every game. Our D will get better and our offense is fine. I trust BK implicitly! Go Irish – Beat Purdue!!!
Dave88 says:
So once again ND stands for no defense. Gardner is an exceptional athlete, but as is too often the case, ND plays poorly and allows opposing quarterbacks to fill up the stat sheet and have a career night. The Michigan O dictated the tempo all night and kept Diaco and the D confused and on their heels. Tommy’s interception deep in their own territory before halftime turned out to be the difference, but even if that hadn’t happened ND would have given Michigan another gift in the second half.
Notre Dame’s offense was pretty good, but stalled inside the 20 several times. This is really getting old and Kelly & Martin were supposed to fix this problem during the off season.
Kelly is now 1-3 vs. Michigan and 0-2 (Alabama, Michigan) in ND’s last two “big” games. I hope he doubles down on improving the 2013 Irish and spends less time talking and dreaming about which NFL teams will come calling for his services after this season.
john says:
Most of what went wrong has been mentioned. One glaring mistake has not. The call by Kelly to decline the holding penalty which would’ve placed the ball on the 14. In my opinion, you must take the penalty. By doing so, you make the play calling more conservative and you put more pressure on the offense to not make a mistake close to their own goal line. As it turned out, on the 3rd down play, Gardner ran for the lst down. Kelly should’ve made the call that would’ve given the Irish the BEST chance to stop Michigan at that point in the game
irish rifle says:
Gardner played much better than I anticipated and was the key factor in the outcome of the game. The fact of the matter is that when two evenly matched teams play, the team with the two-dimensional QB will defeat the team with the one-dimensional QB most of the time, and in many ways, that was the story of this game.
Irish first series of the game set the tone. Ran for six or seven yards on first down and then started passing. Resulted in a three and out. Should have established the run from the outset. Michigan never proved that they could stop the run but the Irish were constantly playing from behind and abandoned the running game.
A few big plays determined the outcome. The first Rees’ interception, the two ridiculous pass interference calls in the 4th quarter that led to the last Michigan touchdown rather than a turnover or a field goal, and a poor decision by the Kelly to decline an offensive holding call when Michigan had the ball on their own 24, opting for the 3rd and 8 rather than 2nd and 18. Re that last situation, Gardner promptly ran for nine yards and a first down. Could have easily been a three and out. Agree with the poster who said that it appeared that Carlisle was interfered with on Rees’ second interception, particularly given the two calls against ND, although it was probably academic at that stage of the game given the score and time remaining.
I actually thought the D line played fairly well. Bottled up the running game and had good pressure on Gardner. The linebackers played decently but not great. The problem was in the secondary. Even there, however, Gardner must be given credit, as he fitted the ball in a number of times when the coverage was tight. Bad tackling throughout was also a major factor.
Irish must re-group and become much better. An early season loss is not the end of the world…
mjhollerich says:
My compliments to John Vannie for the composure it must have taken to write that measured assessment. You coulda been a sportswrituh.
Sean says:
Maybe it’s Diaco that is over rated. He has shown us nothing tis year.
topgome says:
The reason ND couldn’t throw long was that the Michigan safeties were lined up 20 yards deep. They were daring ND to run the ball and of course we didn’t. This is stunning to me. We average over 5 yards a carry and only attempt 18 carries. Holtz would have been drooling at Michigan’s defensive alignment. To be outcoached by a couple of buffoons like Hoke and Mattison is infuriating.
Ted Kazmar says:
If the field officials yesterday were truly from the ACC, ND and its fans are going to be in for major heartbreaks. We can see from yesterday’s game that the officials are going to favor ND’s opponents especially in those 5 ACC games. I predict ND will never and I do mean never beat a top ACC team.
brendenomalley says:
Tuitt is spending a lot of money right now.
For years the most nauseating feeling being an Irish fan has been when we have our opponents in 3rd and long. Its like first down. Last night was no different. We were marginal and they used us.
I was perhaps most disappointed in the secondary. They played very well last year for the most part, but look very suspect now. 8-4 is likely and a trip to the Pocono Velvet Mattress Bowl on December 10th.
flirish says:
Kelly is not a big time coach. He abandons the run way to early. He refused to develop the younger talented freshman running backs who by all reports can be game changers and his overall preparation for big games is dismal and has been since day one at ND.
Rees an have all the numbers he wants but he is focused on only one receiver and cant manage the game in crucial situations. they were a total embarrassment last night. disgusting performance
CoachingScared says:
Kelly is not a big time coach because he has been coaching scared, probably from day 1 but certainly since after the Tulsa debacle, now that he’s coaching on the biggest of states with the brightest of lights. Teams often reflect the personalities of their head coaches and this team does not ever look as cconfident and aggressive as it should. The players take their cues from their head coach, and for all his big, slick talk, Kelly coaches like he is afraid of his own shadow — which is why he tends to hand on a silver platter the starting jobs to the most experienced players (not the ones with the most talent and bigget upside), has forced us to suffer through a “bend-but-don’t-break” D for years, and (the last 2 years) he went with the punt returner with the best hands, not one with a chance of getting more than half a yard. Last night, it consisted of the usual problem of handing the starting jobs to less talented players, but also of starting off the first 2 drives with vanilla playcalling, resulting in us immediately falling behind by 2 scores and having to play catch-up the whole game.
92er says:
Look at the upside. We now know that Kelly has at least five more years to figure this out. So we’ve got that going for us.
al horney says:
I agree with all references to Kelly’s abandoning the run; that would have potentially changed the outcome. Its funny how in a big game, changing one thing can cause a major change in the other team, too. I don’t agree that the defense played poorly; the coaches failed to make the right adjustments I feel. There was at times fine defensive play, speed and aggressiveness. I think we got out coached and failed to use the strengths of this team. When you fail to adjust, use your strengths; you lose. I think this team can win this year. Oh, the pass interference calls were cheap ones for sure—effected the outcome.
Felipe says:
All I heard Musberger say last night was “Al Borges, Al Borges, Al Borges”. That should’ve been my drinking game. Pro-style offense? Michigan still employs a Throw it Up and pray style offense and we can never stop it. Ugh.
Drasail2 says:
Michigan was fired up, played exceptionally well early and left us reeling on defense as an able adept Gardner gashed us like “shoelace” plus. I utterly loathe that operation in Ann Arbor but come on nation. That program is resurgent, Hoke no Joke. Look ahead Leps. USC is in serious disarray and BYU is?
I’m sending a thank you note to Manti Teo and looking forward to moving ahaid in the win column after we get done with Purdue.
Mugs (class of 1982) says:
Actually, I thought the Irish played fairly well last night. We simply got beat by a solid team that played better than we did. Devin Gardner had an absolutely fantastic game and made it almost impossible for our defensive backs to break up his pin-point passes. We were never beaten badly and committed few penalties. Turnovers were not a problem, except for an exceptional read by the Michigan defensive back who made the interception on Reese in the first half. That play hurt, but don’t blame Tommy for the loss. I thought he played well and I stick by my assessment that he will be very effective the rest of the season.
Yes, we abandoned the running game. But aren’t you excited for the potential it demonstrates for the rest of the season? We put ourselves in a hole early, being 10 points down before we could blink and that’s why we didn’t run the ball more. Still, the signs are there for an exceptional season. I don’t see another team on our schedule that we can’t, and shouldn’t beat. On top of that, the two pass interference calls in the fourth quarter were abysmal. Really poor judgement and just plain guesswork on the Field Judge’s part. Does anyone think that the game (and possibly the outcome) would have been different had those calls not been made?
Take heart Notre Dame fans, we have a very good team! Last year we got all the breaks and won a bunch of close games. You can’t expect an undefeated season and national championship every season. Clearly we are deeper and more talented than we have been in years. Brian Kelly is an excellent coach and has the long-term interests of this program in mind. Additionally, the players played with the class and dignity we hope for from our team. Notre Dame will win at least 10 games this season and an accomplishment like that should be sufficient for any die-hard fan.
al horney says:
Excellent synopsis. Pretty much accurate. Sometimes you get beat; sometimes you take a couple bad calls; sometimes you miss an opportunity. These are kids, remember.
31sorin says:
Being down ten points in the first quarter is no reason to abandon the run. Throwing 53 passes when you’re averaging 5.0 yards per run is unforgivable. TR checked out of runs too often. His fault or coaches?
Tom D. says:
What I found most absurd were the silly predictions of an easy ND win. That totally disregarded the history of the series and our history in Michigan Stadium. No reasonable person could have thought that. My concern is that you can have 6 or 7 strong defensive players but their efforts are negated by the 4 or 5 who are slow and don’t fly to the ball. And will somebody please explain to me why, for many years, our defensive backs steadfastly refuse to turn and see the ball coming even when they are already in the endzone (if it’s not coming then when do they think the ball will arrive?). Slow linebackers were an issue last year and still are. We can be a really good team, although a loss to the Skunkbears precludes the possibility of a “big” season. Let’s have more intensity and play hard from the start. One final comment: Check the UM schedule and the ND schedule and tell me who the “chicken” is!
mpsND'72 says:
A few notes: 1) Your Eminem comment was on the mark; probably one of the night’s “high”lights; 2) TR did not lose the game. However, there are other QB’s that might have won it, e.g., Golson, Manziel and Northwestern’s two QB’s, Colter and Siemian (this is a team to watch); 3) Last year’s team caught all the breaks and had that intangible “something” that made it special; camaraderie and strong leadership; 4) What can you say about the defense? Well, going back to the Alabama game in January, the D has given up 30 points/game – just a “fun statistic,” but, nonetheless, a statistic; 5) At least there won’t be any wishful thinking and false hope that the Notre Dame Football Program is back to its historic level of greatness this year – not so, not yet.
flirish says:
anyone who feels the refs had something to do with the outcome is sorely mistaken. Yes there was one bad interference call –the second call was a good and obvious call. So we had a bad call but we also got lucky with the first touchdown pass–a bad through to a bad receiver and a lucky bounce. when we needed our defense to make one stop in the 4th quarter they couldnt do it. Bad coaching, bad game planning, bad preparation and no real half time adjustments to stop the QB by ND coaching staff. Michigan is not that good a team. there schedule is a cake walk until November so they will run off 7 wins now but by the end of November you will realize that they are not that great of a team.
TimmyIrish says:
There’s no easy way to lose to UM, but I don’t know how much more painful it could be; nonetheless, it seems to get worse every season. Not a lot to cheer about. The defense had flashes of excellent play, but these were consistently bookended by complete breakdowns. Rough night. I think I need therapy…
tmb says:
It wasn’t the largest crowd ever to watch a college game. 123,000 watched ND beat USC at Soldier Field in 1927.
John Vannie says:
Did you count them? They must have been midgets.
zeke1883 says:
What about the horrible time management just before the half. We had timeouts, and let at LEAST 30 seconds or more just tick off the clock while Kelly is stumbling around yelling at people. May have been able to at least get a FG attempt if you manage the time properly.
The scene of Kelly on the sideline, screaming the F bomb at about 3 players, with his red face just brought back memories of 2 years ago before the “refined” Kelly showed up last year.
Hope Kelly keeps his mouth shut this week about Purdue, and doesn’t give them anything to get pumped up about.
Aaron says:
Can’t turn the ball over and and take costly penalties and except to win games!!!!
Dave w says:
Looked to me like Michigan kept stacking the box with eight guys up front daring us to throw. Our defense was terrible. I thought b.k.said our d was going to be better. Didn’t see it. Officials were horrible. We better get it together quick or its going to be a long season.
NDBonecrusher says:
Mugs I love the optimism–really I do! But I don’t see how this team wins 10 this year. Not without a more focused running attack that does not put the game on TR’s shoulders and some serious soul searching by the defense. I would love to be wrong of course. Well, I was wrong about Vannie’s prediction so perhaps I’ll be wrong about yours as well. Go Irish Beat Boilers!
Xizor says:
It wasn’t the largest crowd ever to see a college football game. I would think this site would know that. ND vs USC twice @ what is now Soldier Field in 1927 & 29 drew 120,000+. For some reason these records are tossed aside simply because the NCAA didn’t exist then. Oh well.
Mike Coffey says:
I think it’s more likely those records aren’t considered because they’re also not verifiable. Turnstile counts weren’t known for their accuracy back in those days.
xizor says:
Mike,
Doesn’t mean the estimates were that far off. The stadium had capacity of well over 125,000. Check out the MICHIGAN Stadium Wikipedia site http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michigan_Stadium
under Attendance records. They seem to admit even low estimates would be higher.
rockne1977 says:
For all the critics, this was a team loss. Two turnovers (the first INT was a killer) and two PI calls at a very inopportune time were key differences. Nothing as bad as it ever seems and this team will continue to improve.
bocceman2 says:
BK has lost 3 out 4 year years to not that good Michigan teams (they have not nor will they this year win a Big 10 Championship), gets blown out by Alabama just like most Big 10 teams get blown out by the SEC, flirts with the Eagles, can’t hang on to prize recruits and gets an extended contract by “Jumpin” Jack Swarbick all the while Charlie Weiss is still cashin’ in. The soap opera that is ND football is getting hard to take anymore.
Brian says:
If our lads cannot cover or tackle we will lose a bunch of games this year.
MichiganMan1995 says:
Classic battle in a classic series that I, for one, am sorry to see end. My observations on the game:
1) I understand why posters think BK habitually seems to abandon the run too early. However, I am not certain that this is the case. BK plays with a pass-to-set-up-the-run scheme, and he like to go deep early and often. Opposing DC’s know this, and as Mattison did last night, are willing to give the run in an effort to keep the ball “inside and in front of the defense.” IMO, it seems like the run is really working well, but it’s only because the defenses are playing nickle to prevent the “big play.” In last three ND v UM games, with Kelly as coach, when ND goes short yardage, i.e., Michigan knows they’re going to run, ND hasn’t been very successful, IIRC. ND’s offense under Kelly is scary good, like in the beginning of the 2011 game, when they spread you out, make you think they’re going to pass, and then gash you up inside.
2) Tommy Rees is very good for 95% of the game, but the 5% where he’s not so good, has cost them both the 2011 and 2013 games.
3) ND’s DL is scary good, especially against the run. However, it seemed to me that their game plan utilized too much pinning their ears back and rushing Gardner with their hair on fire, and not enough containment.
4) Gardner is everything that Michigan fans hoped Denard Robinson would become, and he still has another year of eligibility left. He is a great kid that has waited his turn, switched position, and has worked his butt of to improve his game. As well as he played last night, with the exception of that horrible decision that resulted in an INT, he still has a long way to go in refining his game.
5) Please don’t complain about the officiating. BOTH the Pass Interference calls were legit. Watch the DVR of those plays. The first one (the one that seems to have upset people the most) the ball was in the air, the ND DB pushed Gallon out of bounds, and stepped in front of the pass. Close, but there was contact while the ball was in the air. The second one was obvious — he held him off the line, continued to hold him while the ball was in the air, and had a fist full or jersey when the ball arrived. Further, unless the referee called out the wrong player, there was a phantom call that stopping a Michigan drive, as well as several horse-collar and facemasking no calls on Fitz. Lastly, and I know it’s not the fault of the readers of this site, but there was no music blaring as ND was calling out signals, nor whistles coming from the stands. All-in-all, it was a pretty well played game.
5) Final take, I think the people commenting that BK isn’t that great of a coach, and got out coach are correct. Personally, I think he’s a ego-maniac who has no business coaching young men, especially at a great traditional college football program like ND. ND is going to get talent because its ND. But, as the attrition of recruits should evidence — especially when contrasted by how recruits seem to be doing the opposite at Michigan and OSU — that there is something wrong with the guy. I think he’s got some good tactics and schemes, but he’s not worthy of being the coach of a program like ND’s.
Sorry this is so long, and again I am sorry to see the rivalry fade away. Hopefully the powers that be will work it out and it can renewed as it is one of this Michigan Man’s all time favorites.
See you in South Bend in ’14, hope you end the season with one loss, and Go Blue!
Irishone says:
I didn’t even read this article however, I have only 1 thing to say.
Every time Amir Carlisle touches the ball he is a shoestring tackle away from breaking it for 80 yards. He literally ran through, over and around the Michigan defense at the beginning of the 3rd quarter only to be not heard from again. WHY??? Brian, please give him the ball more.
Lars says:
I miss Manti.