The No. 12 Notre Dame Fighting Irish (1-0) stuck it to the No. 14 Michigan Wolverines (0-1) beating them 24-17 in South Bend, Indiana on Saturday night.
Shea Patterson went 20-for-30 for 227 yards in his first start for Michigan. Karan Higdon had 21 carries for 72 yards and a touchdown. The Fighting Irish got started early with a seven-play, 75 yard touchdown drive to start the game. They then marched 95 yards on the next drive to make it a 14-0 ball game. Michigan would add a field goal to start the second quarter. However, Notre Dame answered right back with a touchdown to make it 21-3. On the next kickoff, Ambry Thomas took it 99 yards for a touchdown, their first of the game. In the second half, Shea Patterson got the maize and blue deep into opponent territory before going three and out. When the team lined up for a field goal, the snap went high and the Wolverines turned it over on downs. They would then waste an interception and punt it on their next drive. Patterson would leave the game for a few played due to cramps in his calf. In his place, Dylan McCaffrey led the Wolverines into opponent territory but turned the ball over on downs. Once Patterson came back, he led the team on an 80-yard drive capped off by a Karan Higdon touchdown run to make it a one possession game with 2:18 left in the game. Michigan had a chance to come back and tie the game. However, Patterson fumbled the ball at midfield and Notre Dame recovered, locking up a big win to start their season. Usually a strength, Michigan's defense looked exposed against a Notre Dame offense that got a lot of big plays off. The secondary in particular continued to allow plays that kept the momentum on Notre Dame's side. The front seven also continued to leave running lanes open for Wimbush. The offense did look better with Patterson under center and Higdon was a reliable running back throughout the game. However, the play calling didn't seem to have any urgency. Deep vertical passing plays weren't really called until Michigan was already over 10 yards away from gaining a first down. Thankfully, it's only game one and there's still a lot of football left to be played in 2018. The maize and blue will look for their first win of the year next Saturday, Sep. 8 when they head home to face Western Michigan.
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For years they battled each other annually as two of the best programs in college football. They've combined for 1,828 wins, 22 national titles and 112 first-round draft picks. The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry was one of the most exciting in college football. However, it was put on hiatus so that Notre Dame could schedule more games against ACC opponents. The teams last played in 2014, when the Fighting Irish won a resounding 37-0 over Michigan. Much to the delight of college football fans, the rivalry between the two blue bloods will continue when the two teams play at Notre Dame Stadium to open up the 2018 season. It will be part of a home-and-home series between the two teams. Both Michigan and Notre Dame are still among the better teams in the country. However, they're no as close to competing for a national title as they once were. Winning this matchup will have big implications on whether or not they'll be able to do that this year. Opponent Overview The Fighting Irish, ranked No. 12 in the preseason AP Poll, return starting quarterback Brandon Wimbush, who threw for 1,876 yards and 16 touchdowns while running for 803 yards and 14 touchdowns. However, Notre Dame lost a lot outside of him. Their leading running back-Josh Adams-and receiver-Equanimeous St. Brown-from last year have since graduated along with Quenton Nelson and Mike McGlichey, two offensive lineman taken in the first round of last year's draft. Expect Dexter Williams and Tony Jones Jr. to take most of the reps in the backfield. On the perimeter, Chase Claypool, Miles Boykin and Alize Mack will be some of Wimbush's preferred targets. Notre Dame comes off a 10-3 season in 2017. Their only losses were at home against SEC Champion Georgia, and on the road against No. 7 Miami and No. 21 Stanford. Players to Watch Rashan Gary-The projected first round pick is dealing with a minor injury but should be able to play against Notre Dame. He'll have to create pressure against an offensive line that isn;t what it was last year, but still has a lot of talent. Gary will also need to create pressure and force Wimbush to make more mistakes. Shea Patterson-Patterson has long been heralded as the offensive playmaker Jim Harbaugh's been lacking since he took over as head coach in 2014. His skills make him a threat to run and prove him to be a skilled passer. However, he'll need to keep the interceptions to a minimum. The Receivers-Whether it's Grant Perry, Sean McKeon, Zach Gentry or Donovan Peoples-Jones, someone from this unit needs to step up. The core only had nine total touchdowns and 2,226 yards, 106th in all of college football. With Tarik Black also out for this game and perhaps more to follow, this group of players will be hard pressed to make some noise. The two teams square off Saturday, Sep. 1 at 7:30 p.m. on NBC. James Murphy 8/28/18 A Rivalry Renewed: Previewing Michigan Vs. Notre Dame |
AuthorBeat writer for Michigan Wolverines football and basketball, Ithaca College '20 Archives
November 2018
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