Notre Dame Cruises Past Michigan

Rich Rodriguez’s first trip to South Bend as Michigan head coach did not go as planned. Notre Dame scored early and often against the soft Michigan defense. The Fightin’ Irish scored 21 points in the first quarter and finished strong, beating the Wolverines 35-17.

Michigan turned the ball over 6 times, including 4 fumbles, one of which was returned for a touchdown. Notre Dame capitalized on the sloppy Michigan offense, which struggled to run Rich Rod’s spread scheme. Say what you will about Rodriguez not having his recruits and the right players for his strategy, but this is just embarrassing. The only bright spot for Michigan is freshman sensation, Sam Mcguffie. For those of you who have not seen his youtube highlight reel, it’s quite impressive. Mcguffie is certain to be the feature back in Ann Arbor for a few years. He finished with 178 total yards (131 rushing) and a touchdown.



On the other sideline, coach Charlie Weis suffered a Brady like injury (torn ACL and MCL) after being taken down by one of his own players. Sophomore quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw two touchdown passes and has finally begun to emerge into the player Weis envisioned. Clausen has tossed 5 touchdowns in the first two games and has yet to be sacked. Coach Charlie Weis has turned play-calling duties over to the offensive coordinator this season, and the results have been fruitful. Clausen looks comfortable in the pocket and has time to read opposing defenses and find the open receiver. Unlike last season, the Irish have confidence in Clausen’s arm and the deep ball has become more prevalent in their game plan. Clausen is drawing comparisons to predecessor, Brady Quinn. Much like Quinn, Clausen has rebounded after a shaky freshman season and continues to improve with every game.

Notre Dame has earned the respect of the media and will receive votes on the upcoming poll. A win next week at Michigan State will solidify their spot within the top 25. A confident Fightin’ Irish squad should roll through East Lansing to advance to 3-0 on the season.

-Brian B