The final scheduled installment of the Notre Dame versus
Michigan rivalry left Irish fans happy as their team defeated the Wolverines
31-0 last Saturday night. The game was close early on, but the Irish pulled
away in the second quarter, and dominated the rest of the game. It was the
first time in the storied series that Notre Dame shutout Michigan, and it was
the first time that the Wolverines were blanked by any opponent in 30 years. As
much as I have enjoyed the many nail-bitters between these two programs throughout
the years, Saturday night felt incredible after last year’s outcome. It saddens
me that this rivalry will be on hiatus, but I’m glad it ended the way that it
did.
Notre Dame didn’t quite have the night I expected
offensively, but they certainly were productive and efficient enough for a
victory. The Irish gained 280 yards of total offense, with 226 coming through
the air. As you can tell, Notre Dame couldn’t get anything going in the running
game with just 54 yards on 31 attempts, but the commitment to the running game
helped open up the passing game. Everett Golson looked sharp once again by
completing 23 of his 34 passing attempts and three touchdowns. Seven different
Irish players had a reception, with Will Fuller (9) and Amir Carlisle (7)
leading the way. Fuller led the Irish with 89 yards on the night, highlighted
by a 24-yard touchdown before halftime, while Carlisle accounted for two
touchdowns and 61 yards. Overall, it was a nice performance for the offense
that benefitted from great field position all night long.
As good as the offense was, Notre Dame’s defense was the
story on Saturday night. I already mentioned the significance of the shutout,
but how they did it was even more inspiring. The Irish defense forced four
turnovers and never allowed the Michigan offense to reach the red zone, not
even once! Notre Dame was able to slow down the Michigan’s rushing attack by
holding the Wolverine’s to 100 yards on 35 carries. An average of 2.9 yards per
carry forced the Wolverine’s into 2nd long and 3rd and
long situations where Devin Gardner struggled. Because of that, Notre Dame was
able to get pressure on Gardner and force him to make some costly errors.
Gardner was responsible for all four turnovers and was sacked three times on
the evening. Leading the charge defensively, were Jaylon Smith (10 tackles),
Elijah Shumate (10 tackles), and Joe Schmidt (7 tackles). Smith was all over
the place and continues to impress with his speed and athleticism, Schmidt
forced a fumble with a big hit on Gardner, and Shumate had the interception as
time expired to cap off the victory. Cody Riggs and Max Redfield also picked
off Gardner in the second half, to add to an impressive night by the secondary.
Freshman linebacker Kolin Hill had a breakout performance with 1.5 sacks and
demonstrated an ability to rush the passer from the edge, something that the
Irish are missing with Prince Shembo now gone. Overall, it was a surprising and
remarkable performance by a young and inexperienced Notre Dame defense. This
game should do wonders for their confidence going forward, and I’m excited to
watch them develop throughout the season. If Saturday night is any indication of
how good they can be, then the 2014 season looks very promising!
-Eric Tichelbaut
Twitter: @etichel07
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