:: Notre Dame Football: Irish Game Day ::
Notre Dame vs. Michigan 2010: Can Fighting Irish Continue Momentum Against Wildcard Wolverines?
Leprechaun Express: Notre Dame Football Intel Update - Sept. 10, 2010
Resource Links - News Links - Intro - Opening Games and Unfolding Drama - Irish Offense Facing 3-3-5 - Irish Defense: Penning in "Cinderfella" Denard Robinson - Special Teams - Schembechler Era Effectively Ends, Rough Times for Michigan - Crazy Quilt of a Would-Be "Rivalry" - Notre Dame Dropping Michigan?
After a strong opening win over Purdue, Notre Dame and first-year Head Coach Brian Kelly look to continue forward momentum against a resurgent Michigan. Kick-off against Michigan is shortly after NBC's live coverage begins at 3:30 PM ET. For the first two weeks of the season, the Fighting Irish are at home in The House that Rockne Built.
In any season, with any team, one of the biggest questions is how well they progress from week-to-week, even for those teams already showing "mid-season form" early on.
Notre Dame will have to bring bowl game intensity and full team effort against a Michigan team that has top talent and beat soundly a strong Connecticut team who, in turn, had knocked off Notre Dame last season. Michigan uncorked a lightning-in-a-bottle dual threat quarterback who is the #5 rusher in Div. I-A/FCS after that game, and #1 in total offense. At the same time, Michigan is an emotional wild card reeling under successive losing seasons, with a program and a head coach under fire and enduring waves of scandal.
The Irish also will be taking on a team that has a history of regarding Notre Dame as their bogeyman, almost paranoid about a Notre Dame program that, regardless of Michigan's standing, had a winning streak against Michigan under Lou Holtz, and beat Michigan even under Notre Dame coaches who supposedly were not coaching legends. Ty Willingham, for example, went 2-1 against Michigan, including beating them immediately after losing to BYU in his third and final season with the Irish.
Opening Games and Unfolding Drama
Since both Notre Dame and Michigan elected to open against strong opponents, rather than a warm-up game (not that Notre Dame ordinarily schedules such games as it is), it seems unlikely that either held much back in their previous games.
At the same time, Notre Dame, despite its varied rotation, still has not unrolled all its key personnel. For example, while deep at running back, Notre Dame only gave carries to Armando Allen and Cierre Wood against Purdue.
And, while completing a limited number of strong medium-length passes, the Irish have yet to unfurl what has the potential to be the biggest deep threat passing game in college football.
In the first contest of the Kelly era, the 23-12 win against the Boilermakers, Notre Dame looked strong, focused, sharp and quick in nearly all aspects of their game, including limiting mistakes and getting just two penalties. In what had been expected to be a dogfight, the Irish built a big lead, withstood a Purdue rally, added more points late to rebuild a cushion, and took care of business to bring home the win, showing stamina and perseverance.
For its part, Michigan beat a good Connecticut team 30-10 that could be a dark horse to win the BIG EAST, largely riding a Cinderalla dual threat quarterback and an apparently efficient defense.
The Notre Dame-Michigan game features two different types of spread offenses.
For Notre Dame, it's the hot BK Spread that helped Cincinnati reach a regular season undefeated record in 2009, a major conference championship, and a BCS Bowl Bid.
For Michigan it's the Rich Rodriguez "RiRod" Spread Offense that was highly successful at West Virginia, and has had flashes of success at Michigan, including against Notre Dame last year, albeit in a game marred by bad officiating, including a blown call and blown review robbing Notre Dame of a touchdown.
- Back to the Top -
Irish on Offense Facing 3-3-5
Notre Dame will face a Michigan defense with a 3-3-5 base formation, with three down linemen, three linebackers, and five defensive backs. One television commentator suggested that the 3-3-5 might be due to personnel problems, a lack of "bigger bodies."
Michigan's depth chart, in addition to being extensive and seemingly wide open at some positions, actually identifies a number of defensive players identified as "hybrid." While that designation can refer to linebackers doubling as defensive ends, in Michigan's case the hybrid players seem to be the size of defensive safeties or cornerbacks, suggesting they are using the designation to denote Harrison Smith-type players, who perhaps double as DB's and LB's.
It is, truthfully, with some exceptions a smallish Michigan defense in some respects. Although one area that stands out is that some of the Michigan defenders are on the tall side, including defensive backs and linebackers, presenting interesting match-ups for Notre Dame's tall receiving corps, and perhaps inviting speculation as to how that might impact rotation for an Irish offense deep in the receiver position.
Michigan was solid with respect to scoring defense in their opener, holding a good Connecticut team to 10 points in The Big House. They surrendered 343 yards total to the Huskies. Most notably, while Michigan did not get any interceptions, they limited UConn's passing game to slightly below a 50% completion rate. On the ground, Michigan did surrender a 100-yard game to UConn's sole lead runner, at 5.8 yards per carry.
Against Purdue, Notre Dame Irish rolled up 358 yards, including 19 of 26 passing (73%) for 205 yards, a touchdown, and no interceptions by Notre Dame junior quarterback Dayne Crist in his first extensive collegiate action. On the ground, Notre Dame rushed for 153 yards at a healthy 4.2 yards per carry, paced by senior running back Armando Allen with 93 on the day, including a 22-yard touchdown, with a strong 5.3 yards per carry. Sophomore running back Cierre Wood, got the other running back carries, picking up 56 yards at a blistering 8.3 yards per carry. Crist had positive net rushing yardage, with a decent day running with limited carries and losing yards after giving up a few sacks.
What was, perhaps, more interesting against Purdue was that Notre Dame, rather than backing itself into a moderate win with a moderate score, competed rather than simply executing, and showed flashes of brilliance and flashes of intensity suggesting room to grow. Crist is strong-armed and smooth as a passer, and the running game sustained some key drives with gashing runs that were fast, strong and interestingly fluid.
At some point, Notre Dame is going to have to unleash its deep threats more, if only to mature into what it can fully be on offense, and perhaps put games away.
Against Michigan, the Irish will have to exploit likely vulnerabilities on the ground, given Michigan's lack of size and reliance on the 3-3-5, implying that Michigan thinks that flying quickly to the ball can compensate for lack of brawn.
While Notre Dame is now in the BK Spread, with its two-point stances for linemen, and as many as five wide-outs, it still is a big Midwestern team capable of power running, and needs to establish that to win championships. A true test of Kelly's schematic agility will be whether he is willing to put in a fullback as lead blocker. But he does have Kyle Rudolph as a tight-end who also can line up as a 6-7, 265-pound wide-out.
And, as with the old Lou Holtz ground game, the BK Spread implicitly requires wide receivers to be good open-field blockers. That will be put to the test against a 3-3-5.
If they play with purpose, and are conscious of Michigan's psychological weaknesses against Notre Dame and momentum shifts, Notre Dame should be able to pound the ball on the Wolverines.
How the Irish sprinkle in the passes efficiently will challenge the schematics and play-calling against the 3-3-5.
But recall that Rudolph is also a great receiver, and was Mr. Dependable against Purdue. Crist seems intent on showing himself as a junior leader who is a veteran of college-level development, regardless of how whether he effectively red-shirted and missed time last year with surgery and rehab. His quick reemergence from rehab, and apparent Olympic-caliber off-season dedication speaks to his seasoning.
Biletnikoff Award watch-list member, junior wide receiver Michael Floyd, sophomore speedster Theo Riddick, veteran senior Duval Kamara and freshman touchdown-scorer TJ Jones all have good height, but will be seeing some Michigan defenders who also have good height. Intensity, athleticism and leaping ability could be at the forefront of some plays, although truthfully Notre Dame's route-running and ball placement should be a difference-maker if Crist and his receiving corps come to play.
Strong running also could play a role.
Riddick especially, as well as Floyd, has looked like he might be a very strong runner.
In comparison, recall how Golden Tate and Rocket Ismail, in addition to being fast, were actually much stronger than people realized. In his day, the fleet Ismail was actually one of the strongest players on his team, and could be seen, for example, stiff-arming a Penn State linebacker in the helmet on middle screen.
In addition to Riddick and Floyd, Rudolph is a mammoth player who also has legitimate wide receiver speed and hands, and routinely has lined up as a bona fide wide-out..
Look for Robby Toma, John Goodman, Tyler Eifert and others to also contribute as receivers, including the running backs. Against Purdue, Crist completed passes to seven Irish receivers.
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Irish on Defense Penning in a "Cinderfella" in Denard Robinson
The Notre Dame defense endured marathon Purdue possession time in the third quarter and early fourth quarter, and limited Purdue to 322 yards of offense and 10 points (Purdue got two points from a safety), giving up just 102 yards on the ground. The Irish defenders snagged two interceptions, one by 315-pound nose guard Ian Williams, and secured four sacks. Overall, the defense appeared to have a notable up-tick in intensity, speed, quickness and focus, and demonstrated all-day toughness.
Meanwhile, Michigan's offense has sprung a newly-retooled, lightning-in-a-bottle dual-threat Denard Robinson on an unsuspecting college football world.
Heading into the second game of his season, Robinson is the #5 rusher in Div. I-A/FBS, and #1 in total offense.
It might be tempting to call Michigan one-dimensional on offense, since Robinson accounted for 383 of Michigan's 483 yards. However, while he rushed for an eye-popping 197 yards, at 6.8 yards per carry, Robinson also threw to seven receivers. And Michigan had two additional rushers picking up around 50 yards a piece.
What is odd about the whole situation is that Robinson, perhaps like Ohio State's Troy Smith, was considered a good prospect out of high school, but as an all-purpose athletic projected as a wide receiver or defensive back. Even viewing him as a dual threat, he had nearly half as many rushing yards against UConn as he did his entire senior season in high school.
As a freshman last year, Robinson was used by Michigan at times, but really only had moderate production as a runner and very limited passing output. And query whether he received quarterbacking opportunities as a freshman, rather than being switched to another position, because of Michigan losing multiple quarterbacks.
The story is that Robinson allegedly received additional coaching as a passer in the spring, resulting in a highly efficient performance, if not prolific with yardage, going 19 of 22 against UConn.
So Robinson emerges as a surprising Cinderella, or perhaps "Cinderfella" (to borrow a movie title from Jerry Lewis) at the quarterback position.
The scouting services do not list any strength data for Robinson.
So one question is, is Robinson a fast wide receiver-type, who got unleashed from a quasi-tailback position and had gashing runs while also learning to throw short passes with precision. Or is Robinson a strong football player.
By comparison, wide receivers are fast and agile, and might be big, but do not necessarily have a lot of strength in all cases. Running backs, in contrast, can be almost as fast as wide-outs, but sometimes can bench as much as offensive linemen, with enormous upper body strength, and overall strength and toughness.
Robinson ran effectively against UConn, to say the least, but is listed at 6-0, 193, after being listed at 6-0, 176 as a recruit. He runs lightning-quick, but looks a bit like a wisp of smoke with his build.
Conventional wisdom is that running quarterbacks often lose some accuracy as passers because of getting worn out by taking an inordinate number of hits. Hopefully Notre Dame, in a perfectly sportsmanlike manner, will be inspired not only to add intensity to their quickness, but also be conscious to make textbook tackles that include delivering, within the rules of the game and fairness, hard hits.
To be honest, Michigan's offense, if not one-dimensional, is perhaps 1.5-dimensional. Especially early on against UConn, it appears Michigan emphasized running, mainly Robinson, with shorter passes sprinkled in at key moments.
If Notre Dame stops Robinson, they probably, to whatever extent, stop Michigan.
Some observers have predicted a "shoot-out" but Kelly clearly is challenging his defense to take care of business. Even with Manti Te'o among the co-leaders for tackles, Kelly pointed out Te'o missing some tackles. Te'o already has been a reasonably good linebacker, and Kelly seems intent on pushing him publicly to develop fast into the world-class linebacker he has the capability to become. Stopping Robinson as a key LB in a 3-4 is a great opportunity to ratchet up his game, along with being the same opportunity the rest.
Notre Dame does face one wrinkle in that its secondary is getting a little thinner than it had been, in terms of personnel, whether due to injury or a freshman transferring. The secondary will be called on to not only shut down passing, but prevent the big play and fly to the ball on the gashing runs.
So the bird's-eye-view is that of a heightened urgency for Notre Dame to step up every-down intensity on defense, to maximize what speed and quickness they have, and also to be more conscious than ever of the maximum team effort needed, especially if there are questions about total team depth in the secondary.
Special Teams
Notre Dame special teams was strong against Purdue, with a 38-yard punt return by Allen ... three-for-three on field goals by former academic transfers and dormitory football player David Ruffer, including a 46-yarder ... and freshman wide receiver Bennett Jackson flying like a bat-out-of-h--- as a kick-off gunner dropping Purdue kick-returners like skeet at a skeet-shoot, including stuffing Purdue on their own 13-yard-line, 22 and 23, as well as getting a share of a tackle at the 28.
Michigan blocked a field goal against UConn, perhaps adding significance to Notre Dame's Ruffer continuing to keep down his operation time, i.e., the time to get the place-kicks booted. Technically Michigan also is #1 in Div. I-A/FCS in punting, by virtue of one punt for 51 yards.
Schembechler Era Effectively Ends, Rough Times for Michigan
Perhaps overlooked by some observers, the Rodriguez hiring represented a far more drastic shift than might have been imagined.
To be sure, it was the hiring of a new head coach, with a radically different offensive scheme, accompanied by some bad blood with West Virginia and waves of scandal, including a current NCAA investigation.
But more than that, it represented the end of the Bo Schembechler era.
That era started in 1969, when Schembechler came to Michigan after learning under the likes of Ara Parseghian and Woody Hayes.
Both Gary Moeller and Lloyd Carr, successors to Schembechler and predecessors of RiRod, represented continuity from the Schembechler coaching staff.
Ann Arbor is a somewhat rusting extended suburb of Detroit that fancies itself a kind of radical left-wing poor man's Berkeley. It's not at all clear that, despite its misleadingly lyrical-sounding name, Ann Arbor in the modern era is the kind of place where one would expect to find championship football.
Yet Schembechler brought some old-time bread-and-butter coaching attitudes to Ann Arbor, and his era lasted, through Moeller and Carr, up until three years ago.
But now it's over.
After Michigan beat Florida in a New Year's bowl game in Lloyd Carr's final game, they had a jaw-dropping 3-9 cataclysm in RiRod's first year, and had another losing season last year.
The losing season came despite a close win over Notre Dame featuring questionable officiating that took away a Notre Dame touchdown, officiating that appeared to have bafflingly little substantiation in the replay. So the record could have been even worse.
So RiRod entered the season under fire, even amid musings of being let go after this, his third season.
Perhaps the big win over Connecticut illustrates that RiRod and his young charges are finally responding well to the pressure.
- Back to the Top -
Crazy Quilt of a Would-Be "Rivalry"
Notre Dame and Michigan are playing for the 38th time in a crazy quilt of a series featuring a pick-up game ... two games on successive days in April ... a reputed anti-Catholic ethnic slur .... very, very long lapses ... reputed accounts of a supposedly legendary Michigan coach screaming at Frank Leahy ... Moose Krause finally cajoling a revival of the series ... a game stopped for five or ten minutes because the Notre Dame crowd was too loud, in the smaller configuration of the stadium, including a flag being thrown on the Notre Dame student body ... Notre Dame beating Michigan repeatedly ... and the game only really becoming close to a would-be "rivalry" in recent years.
Michigan leads the overal series 21-15-1; from 1887 to 1908, the teams played nine times, twice in 1888, and Michigan won all nine. Notre Dame won in 1909, and then Michigan reputedly refused to play them. The teams split a home-and-home in the early 1940's, then started playing somewhat regularly in the late 1970's.
Notre Dame and Michigan have played 26 times in the modern era, heading into the 2010 match-up. Notre Dame leads the series in the modern era, 13-12-1. After 1909, the series is 14-13-1, in Notre Dame's favor. In just the 20th and 21st Centuries (i.e., 1901 on; a century and a decade begin in year 1), the series is tied up at 15-15-1.
Here are the Notre Dame-Michigan series standings:
1887 Michigan 8 - Notre Dame 0
1888 Michigan 26 - Notre Dame 6
1888 Michigan 10 - Notre Dame 4
1898 Michigan 23 - Notre Dame 0
1899 Michigan 12 - Notre Dame 0
1900 Michigan 7 - Notre Dame 0
1902 Michigan 23 - Notre Dame 0
1908 Michigan 12 - Notre Dame 6
1909 Notre Dame 11 - Michigan 3
1942 Michigan 32 - Notre Dame 20
1943 Notre Dame 35 - Michigan 12
1978 Michigan 28 - Notre Dame 14
1979 Notre Dame 12 - Michigan 10
1980 Notre Dame 29 - Michigan 27
1981 Michigan 25 - Notre Dame 7
1982 Notre Dame 23 - Michigan 17
1985 Michigan 20 - Notre Dame 12
1986 Michigan 24 - Notre Dame 23
1987 Notre Dame 26 - Michigan 7
1988 Notre Dame 19 - Michigan 17
1989 Notre Dame 24 - Michigan 19
1990 Notre Dame 28 - Michigan 24
1991 Michigan 24 - Notre Dame 14
1992 Notre Dame 17 - Michigan 17
1993 Notre Dame 27 - Michigan 23
1994 Michigan 26 - Notre Dame 24
1997 Michigan 21 - Notre Dame 14
1998 Notre Dame 36 - Michigan 20
1999 Michigan 26 - Notre Dame 22
2002 Notre Dame 25 - Michigan 23
2003 Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 0
2004 Notre Dame 28 - Michigan 20
2005 Notre Dame 17 - Michigan 10
2006 Michigan 47 - Notre Dame 21
2007 Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 0
2008 Notre Dame 35 - Michigan 17
2009 Michigan 38 - Notre Dame 34
The author still remembers making the mistake of enrolling at Michigan Law School, back when it was considered a top-3 law school, mostly due to out-of-state candidates like himself with top credentials from top schools like Notre Dame padding the law school's statistics.
What he discovered was rust in the hot water ... classrooms without the lighting installed ... dungeon-like hallways ... heat that wasn't on or was baking like an oven with no control other than the damper deep inside the unit ... a surly heaviness in the mood of what was supposed to be a suburban Midwestern state school, but was like a cross between a penitentiary in the Arctic and a halfway house for anti-social personality disorders ....
... and people who would respond to the sight of a Notre Dame jacket by whining "Notre Dame S---ks!!" or "F--- Notre Dame!" or "F--- [the Notre Dame quarterback].
Now, at that time, Southern Cal was the classic rival. With Miami of Florida, there was the whole "Catholics vs. Convicts" thing that had just reached its climax, deciding national championships. Penn State was an independent and Notre Dame played them every year, with a respect for Joe Paterno, in an era when Penn State was winning national championships. Notre Dame had been playing SEC teams in recent years, like Alabama and LSU. And there was a long-standing mutual respect with Navy, with annual games.
Against that backdrop, to consider Michigan a "rival" would have been laughable. Michigan was playing in a Big Ten conference with doormats, where Ohio State had, not long before, lost the Liberty Bowl to Air Force. The only tough teams Michigan played were Notre Dame and maybe one other tough non-conference opponent, if they scheduled one, usually (as idiotic as it sounds) the week right after Notre Dame.
If somebody had shown up on the Notre Dame campus whering Michigan gear, not only would no one have cared. They would have thought it boring.
But, at Michigan at the time, Notre Dame was the big deal. One recalls the article in the student newspaper asking "Is Notre Dame a Rival?" where all the Michigan students scrambled to argue that ND was.
One still recalls the best quote, exhibiting the left-wing, drug legalization rally wonderland of that awful armpit of a campus -- "Well, of course Notre Dame's a rival. We would have won the national championship last year if not for the loss to Notre Dame; [then, almost as an after-thought] and the loss to Miami and the tie with Iowa."
That's right, they had two losses and tie with Iowa, and played nobody else in a Big Ten then full of doormats, with no Penn State, and were convinced they were national champions, if not for that pesky Notre Dame game.
Despite Notre Dame's not playing Michigan much until the past few decades, after what games in the late 1800's and reputed bad blood in the early 1900's and 1940's, it is a Michigan program that has a history of viewing Notre Dame as its bogeyman.
But how has this "rivalry" series unfolded?
It is a match-up of two of the all-time winningest programs in college football history, a series that started with a pick-up game between Michigan's varsity team and a collection of Notre Dame students learning the rules of the game.
That ad hoc contest in 1887 marked the genesis of Notre Dame football.
The following year, 1888, the only games Notre Dame played were two games against Michigan over a two-day span in April.
Michigan reputedly dropped the series in the early 1900's after Notre Dame started beating them. The records show a string of Michigan victories until 1909, when Notre Dame won, and the series ground to a halt.
As the story has it, it was an especially rough game, and Michigan fans hurled an anti-Catholic ethnic slur, attempting to be dismissive of the victors as "those fighting Irish." Notre Dame eventually would take on the insult as a badge of honor, saying effectively, if that's what you're going to call us, that's who you're going to lose to — The Fighting Irish.
In the 1940's, Frank Leahy took over the Notre Dame program, the second winningest coach in college football history after his own coach Knute Rockne. During the 1940's, with the exception of two years that Leahy and most of his key players were off in World War II, Leahy built one of the biggest dynasties in sports history, including multiple national championships, four Heisman winners, and a four-year unbeaten streak.
During that time, Michigan considered itself a national title contender. But early on in the 1940's, Michigan played Notre Dame twice, and when Notre Dame blew out Michigan in the Big House, the story goes that, after the game, a supposedly legendary Michigan coach started yelling at Leahy that Notre Dame was the dirtiest team he ever saw, and that Michigan would never play Notre Dame again.
So Michigan managed to avoid being beaten further by Notre Dame and Leahy, but still would lay claim to national titles, using such arguments as to how much they ran up the score against a common opponent.
After apparently years of cajoling by legendary Notre Dame Athletic Director Edward "Moose" Krause, the series resumed in the late 1970's, and most games were quite close for a while.
In 1979, Notre Dame won 12-10 on four field goals by walk-on Chuck Male, when linebacker Bob Crable vaulted up over the line of scrimmage to block an easy Michigan field goal at the end.
In 1980, the author as a small boy was at the game with his father, unfortunately with some Michigan fans nearby. That small boy was confused by the Michigan cheer, and asked "are they saying Let's go Bo? For the coach?" When told the cheer was "Let's go blue" the small responded that this made no sense, since blue was Notre Dame.
When Michigan scored late to take the lead, and Notre Dame put in the freshman back-up at quarterback with little time left (because he was also the punter, and used to the shot-gun snap), that small boy called out, "come on Notre Dame, you can do it" only to note the somewhat anti-social Michigan fans, adults, smirking in condescension, apparently intimidated by a little boy cheering for Notre Dame.
Notre Dame advanced the ball, but time was running down. Harry Oliver went on to attempt a 51-yard field goal right in front of that part of the stands. The wind was in his face. From the stands, it looked as if the kick would drop about the 10-yard-line, but somehow it kept dribbling along through the air, until it looked like it might just hit the cross-bar. The stadium erupted, and the little boy's father confirmed that the ball did go over the cross-bar, but that, once over, the wind blew it back under.
Later the Dad would mention that, after he saw the ball get across the cross-bar, he was curious to turn to see the reaction of the Michigan fans. They had evaporated. He said, he never saw anybody disappear so fast. Maybe the meter was running.
In 1988, the author was part of the student body who had a flag thrown on us for being too loud. Michigan claimed it couldn't hear its own signals. We got louder. The official started waving the flag at us, as if threatening another penalty. We got louder.
We started chanting "Woool-ver-eeeenes .... come out and play-ayyy ...." for a while, then went back to being just plain loud.
The following year, after the "Notre Dame S--ks!" comments, the author discovered that one Notre Dame grad could, indeed be louder than an entire section of Michigan students, especially when they were stunned into silence by Rocket Ismail returning back-to-back kick-offs for touchdowns.
What was weirder was, the trip to the parking lot at night that weekend. Now, consistent with the day-late-and-a-dollar-short mediocrity that characterized the troubled University of Michigan, there were virtually no parking spaces in the heart of campus, and the only way to be assured of one was by standing in line all night during the first week of classes.
In any event, going to the parking lot at night that weekend, it was quiet and still. Suddenly, out of the night, from some unseen source, rang out a gruff male voice saying "Notre Dame S--ks!" The author had no idea what that troubled young person was doing in a parked car in the middle of the night, in a deserted parking lot. But whatever it was, the delinquent was willing to divert himself from it, to heckle Notre Dame.
To be fair, there was a different kind of incident the following year. Notre Dame won a mad-cap game at Notre Dame Stadium over Michigan led by a rookie quarterback. Not long after, the author, still wearing his Notre Dame jacket on a daily basis, was walking down a mostly quiet sidewalk on the Michigan campus. Coming towards him where several guys around 6-4, 290, wearing huge wind-breakers that said "Michigan Football."
One of them, already talking at length to the others with a serious-minded expression, glanced at the Notre Dame jacket, acted unfazed, and continued chatting. But one of the guys he was talking with looked at the jacket, grinned broadly, perhaps like he was remembering the mad-cap game at Notre Dame, and said, "Notre Dame Rules!"
So apparently at least Schembechler brought some class to the place, and apparently instilled it in some of his players.
- Back to the Top -
Notre Dame Dropping Michigan?
If Notre Dame drops Michigan, however, perhaps it will be not just because of the Big Ten/11 turning into the Big Ten/12, but what could turn out to be the 800-pound gorilla in the conference alignment debate — abortion.
A few years ago, Notre Dame drew controversy inviting a political leader to speak at its graduation, and receive an honorary law degree. The politician had a record of supporting the decriminalization of abortion. In the Catholic Faith, procurement of abortion brings automatic excommunication.
Michigan graduate and political entertainer Ann Coulter, got on the anti-Notre Dame bandwagon with a sick joke that perhaps Notre Dame should feature an actual abortion at a future graduation ceremony. Recalling that Coulter was a Michigan grad, one begins to wonder, has Michigan actually performed abortions?
Now, Ann Arbor is so radically pro-abortion that it voted roughly 2 to 1 in favor a long-winded ordinance that essentially embraced abortion on demand. Meanwhile, the University of Michigan has a medical facility.
An internet search at that time revealed a news article indicating that the George W. Bush Administration requested information on whether Michigan had performed partial-birth abortions. The Department of Justice and had to get a court to intervene to force a response. It turned out that Michigan indicated that it had not performed partial-birth-abortions, but had, indeed, performed other kinds of abortions.
If that is still the case, that creates a scenario where Notre Dame would have to drop Michigan from the schedule to avoid lending revenue and notoriety to an institution that, regardless of its other activities, is itself an abortion clinic, or in the very least, effectively running a facility that, at times, functions as one.
If the University of Michigan or someone under its umbrella does indeed perform abortions, and performs any on Saturdays, that could raise the additionally grisly prospect of abortions being performed in one part of campus while a visiting team like Notre Dame is playing a game at the same time across campus.
On the other hand, some might want to compartmentalize the analysis to shield the university from a broader moral scrutiny or broader accountability.
For example, there was law professor from Harvard who made a big public showing of refusing to accept an honor from Notre Dame at the same graduation. She did so in spite of the fact that, while gladly accepting the status of Catholic Lay Celebrity, she is on the faculty of a university that kills human embryos as part of would-be embryonic stem cell "research."
Yet, while milking her Harvard faculty status for prestige, she does not seem to be resigning from Harvard over the fact that her employer is destroying human life on the same campus where she draws her salary.
So perhaps the same compartmentalized morality will be employed by those arguing, well, if Notre Dame can give the Laetere Medal to a law professor from a university that actively kills human life, they can play a football team from a school that has performed abortions, if the athletic department is not involved with the actual killings.
In any event, those long-term scheduling agreements are actually more aspirational in nature until each particular set of a few years gets closer. The Michigan Athletic Director reportedly said on a radio program that the Notre Dame series might have a lapse, before later backing off the statement.
:: Notre Dame vs. Michigan Depth Charts [HTML] - Leprechaun Express
:: Irish Set To Host Wolverines: Kickoff is slated for 3:41 p.m. ET Saturday, live on NBC - UND.com
:: Notre Dame vs. Michigan Game Notes [PDF]
:: Notre Dame vs. Michigan Game Week- UND.com [athletics site]
:: Notre Dame vs. Michigan Game Day - ND.edu [university main site]
:: [VIDEO] Notre Dame pep rally, Michigan week\
:: [TRANSCRIPT] Brian Kelly Sept. 7 press conference
:: Notre Dame Football official site - UND.com
:: Notre Dame 2010 statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Michigan Football 2010 statistical summary - NCAA database
:: Michigan Football official site
:: Notre Dame Football 2010 Media Guide Table of Contents [PDF sections]
:: Notre Dame Football 2010 Media Guide Table of Contents [Flash]
News Links
:: Notre Dame football: Michael Floyd center of attention for Notre Dame, defenses - chicagotribune.com
:: ND's latest challenge: Containing Robinson :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES
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