Notre Dame lost in the final seconds to Michigan last Saturday night, 35-31. The first night game at Michigan Stadium was a thriller as it went back and forth in the 4th quarter. The first three quarters were dominated by the Notre Dame Fighting Irish as they led 24-7 going into the final quarter. Then Michigan Wolverine quarterback, Denard Robinson, caught on fire (figuratively of course) and decimated the Irish secondary. Robinson finished the night with 338 passing yards and four touchdowns; two of those touchdowns came in the final 1:30 of the game
What I liked about the game
Defensive front- The front seven, meaning the linebackers and defensive line, of Notre Dame played with a lot of strength and skill throughout the game. They held Denard Robinson to a lot of short yard runs and got a couple of sacks. In the first half of the game Michigan had nothing going on offense. I’m not sure what happened after halftime but the defensive front lost their edge over Michigan’s offensive line, but still made some good plays.
Receivers- This unit made a complete turnaround of what they did last week. The Notre Dame receivers all made great plays and were the key to the Irish offense. Michael Floyd had another spectacular game with more than 100 receiving yards. Theo Riddick had six catches and two touchdowns and took a lot of pressure off Floyd. T.J. Jones and tight end Tyler Eifert also had catches that showed just how much talent there is on the offense.
Balance on offense- This was one of my keys to winning the game. At halftime Notre Dame had run 41 plays, 22 of those were passes, 18 were runs. That’s a little pass heavy but that’s where the strength is at on offense. In the 2nd half Notre Dame called 16 runs and 14 passes (before the final Irish drive that was all passes and led to a touchdown). There was balance on offense, but there didn’t need to be. The Irish needed to continue passing throughout the third and fourth quarters. Sure they had the lead, but it’s not like they were up by 21 or more points. Until you have a huge lead like that there is no reason to play conservatively, which is what it felt like the Irish were doing.
Again, a round of applause goes to Irish running back, Cierre Wood, who had another fantastic game. There were just too many fumbles and lack of consistent runs in the fourth quarter to make me like all of the Irish running game.
What I didn’t like about the game
Defensive secondary- This would be the cornerbacks and safeties, although there wasn’t anything safe last night. These guys were decimated the entire night. On the Wolverines last two drives in the closing minutes of the game, Robinson led their offense down the field twice, passing to whomever he wanted whenever he wanted. Everybody knew that the Wolverines were gonna pass; there wasn’t enough time to call any run plays. There were also numerous long passes in the first half that could have resulted in Michigan touchdowns had the ball not been overthrown or dropped by receivers. Something has to change, whether it’s with the defensive coordinator or defensive backs coach.
On the plus side, this unit did get three interceptions.
Turnovers- Five, there were five turnovers last night. That’s TEN turnovers in two games. Seriously, how hard is it to keep control of the ball? Notre Dame is losing these games on their own. Could you imagine if they dropped that number down to three turnovers a game? They would have won both of their games. There were two interceptions by Rees, a fumble by Rees, a fumble by Cierre Wood, and another one that I don’t recall.
Play calling in the second half- As I mentioned, Notre Dame actually passed the ball more than they ran the ball in the second half, which is a good thing. The runs though came on crucial third downs when a pass would have been a better call. On every third and short the Irish ran the ball and got stuffed. It was so obvious that they were gonna run that the Wolverines blitzed just about everyone on their defense. Irish quarterback Tommy Rees has to see this and call an audible, or as he did earlier in the game, fake the audible call and still run it.
In the second half they also used a two tight-end set. I am completely confused and shocked on why anybody thought that would be a good idea. Bring in one tight-end and make the other defense think you’re gonna pass. Two tight-ends on the field is the biggest indication that you’re going to run than anything else.
My patience with Notre Dame Football is growing shorter and shorter with every disappointing loss and disappointing season. I am sick of going through “rebuilding years” and “motivational losses”. I want to experience the same joy and happiness that other fans enjoy when their teams win big games. Notre Dame has not beaten a Top #25 team in years and that’s a shame. How long can you continue to say “This is Notre Dame. We can’t lose forever; we have a rich tradition; etc.” This is the 21st Century, and Notre Dame Football is losing relevance every year.
The Fighting Irish take on the Michigan State Spartans next Saturday.
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