Recently, the script for Notre Dame football ends in nightmares.

The 2012 season, and the events that followed after it, serves as a perfect example. After an undefeated season, everything came crashing back down to earth as Alabama demolished the Irish. The destruction of our dreams didn’t end there. The feel-good story of the season, Manti Te’o dealing with the tragic death of his girlfriend and excelling to a Heisman-caliber level of play, transformed into a PR disaster and added the term “catfishing” into many a vocabulary. A few months later, Everett Golson found himself dismissed from Notre Dame.

Granted, 2012 was full of fantastic moments and memories; however, when the time came to close the book on the season, the final pages were filled with nothing less with some of the most awful things that we could imagine.

“Ow, my balls.”

“Hold me, I’m Irish.”

These became better descriptors for Notre Dame football than “Play like a Champion Today” or “Win one for the Gipper.” Good things would happen, but, eventually, the other shoe would drop.

Travelling to Notre Dame this past weekend, I couldn’t help but think the end of the Michigan series would have a similar disappointing and painful end. And, yes, I had these feelings despite the fact that I was confident ND would win comfortably. That’s just what ND football does to my brain.

Just think about everything that happened leading up to this game. Notre Dame finally got to be the one to put a hiatus on the series. The final game would be a home game. Jack Swarbrick stuck it to Michigan by announcing a series with Ohio State in a clear message that there are no plans to revive the series anytime soon.

I will forever remain convinced that Swarbrick firing that final salvo Michigan was in direct response to Michigan’s reaction to the cancellation. Dave Brandon told anyone in the media that would listen of Swarbrick’s cruelty. Brady Hoke began the “chicken” narrative that he damn well knew fans would grasp on to.

Notre Dame couldn’t have asked for a clearer path for final vengeance. They could go 2-1 since the cancellation notice, killing the chicken narrative for anyone with a brain. With Brandon determined to channel his predecessors’ arrogance in ND relations, he all but guaranteed that such a result would stick for the remainder of his tenure. His constituents could beg him for a rematch, but we’d let the phone ring when his name shows up on caller ID.

You couldn’t ask for a better set up for a storybook ending on our end. That meant something had to go wrong.

Truth be told, while 2012 is a great example of our dreams falling back down to earth, 2011 is the bigger culprit, especially in regards to Michigan. 2011 should have gone down as a beautiful ass-kicking of Michigan under the lights if the game had ended after the three quarters. But that fourth quarter was played and instead of a 24-7 win, we had a 35-31 loss.

No loss had ever stung so bad. I had never been so angry about a ND result in my life, Bush Push included.

That game marked the first time that my wife realized I care way too much about ND football. Instead of running for the hills years ago, this Southern Illinois alumna sat next to me on the flight into O’Hare airport, excited to spend a weekend with myself and our friends at Notre Dame whom we hadn’t seen in almost four months at the day of our wedding. As we prepared to take off, the plane stopped mid-taxi and we were informed that we’d be stuck on the runway for an hour and forty-five minutes. Thankfully, the delay was only a half-hour; however, any temporary relief quickly disappeared as our flight was suddenly diverted to St. Louis.

As we waited for O’Hare to give us clearance to resume our flight, I received some text messages from my friends that had arrived in our rental house. A power line by the house went down and half of our block was without power. Soon after, two more members of our eleven person group informed us their flights were cancelled. Soon after that, we received word that he had been cleared once again for takeoff–and right before I put my phone away, I saw on Twitter that Ron Washington, the manager of the Texas Rangers, my other love, had abruptly resigned for “personal reasons” that still aren’t clear today.

What in the hell just happened? An anxious pit in my stomach, born in 2011, resurfaced. Before we took flight again, I expressed my concern on Twitter and saw this reply:

https://twitter.com/IDtheMIKE/status/508055912582742016

Son of a bitch, that’s right. I have to write about this one way or the other. Please be the greatest retribution win ever, please.

The rest of the evening went much smoother than the flight. The house got power back so we didn’t have to drink beer with LED headlamps on anymore. And, of course, it’s Friday night, we are back at Notre Dame, and that means one thing: ‘Backer.

To no surprise, we had to stand in an hour and thirty minute-plus ‘Backer line in the rain since everyone and their uncle was in town for this game, tickets or not. At some point in that slightly miserable existence, I noticed dehydration had kicked in. Fun fact: a steady diet of caffeinated drinks that begins to take over your usual water intake as a result of a hectic work and blogging schedule that further results in little to no sleep will cause your body to start hating you because you have made poor life decisions.

But into the ‘Backer I went and decided double-fisting a long island and water would get me through. That gameplan quickly switched to water-only after swallowing yet another cup of poison, but, dammit, I was going to close this place down tonight. This is my one ‘Backer trip this year.

Yes, body, I know I’m too old for this shit. A smarter person than I would’ve been very concerned that they are unable to sweat in this crowded mass of humanity and left. Unfortunately for you, body, I am drunk and can no longer make good choices. I’m not drunk on ‘Backer long islands, but on being here at Notre Dame, my second home, in the shittiest of all shitty dive bars that I have the deepest of love for because of all kinds of illogical reasons. I’m sure if we asked Joe Theismann, he could come up with the worst quote ever to put on a shirt to describe it, but the point is that I’m going to dance with my wife, hang out with my friends, and pretend I’m 22 for few more hours and there’s nothing you can do about it.

Well, expect for the drinking water part. You win that battle.

See, I have grown up.

Thankfully, I acquiesced to re-hydration demand from my body. I woke up the following morning feeling like a normal person once again. Unfortunately for my poor body, that meant that I was fully ready to tailgate my ass off for about ten hours:

Not pictured: the forty I was drinking during this time and the shotgun that caused the spill on my jersey.

I would come to find out later that posting this picture on social media made a lot of you concerned about my potential well-being for the remainder of the day, including concern that I would fail to make it to the game. Truth be told, even the people with me were questioning my decisions at the time.

Silly people, there would be no way in hell, copious amounts of morning alcohol or not, that I would miss this game.

Sure, my morning sprint required that I take a breather and sober up a bit on the way to campus (and get drunk again while tailgating), but I made it to the stadium, happily buzzed and ready to watch ND beat Michigan. As an added bonus, at this point, my capacity for worry about potentially disastrous things happening on the field was long gone.

Until Everett Golson called a timeout to avoid a delay of game penalty on the very first play of the game.

Okay, that’s a bit rough, but maybe we’ll be fine–oh, nevermind, he had to call yet another time out. Oh, sweet, the drive’s over. 6 plays, 14 yards, and two timeouts dead–all in three minutes and eleven seconds. The efficiency in which we shot ourselves in the foot? Kind of concerning.

Here comes Michigan with three plays and two first downs. Well, I’m sobering up in a hurry now. And now there’s a fourth down conversion. Oh hey, terrible 2011 feelings, there you are again. I didn’t miss you at all, can we please make this stop?

Thankfully, Michigan’s kicker heard my screaming internal dialogue and sends his field goal attempt well wide-right. For once, I’m thankful NBC has long TV timeouts so I can calm the hell down.

Golson returns to the field and, in almost half the time it took Michigan to miss a field goal, puts together an 8 play, 71 yard drive. Joy has returned, but more so, relief. The lead is nice, but taking advantage of a Michigan failure is even better. 10 point swings are good.

Yes, I’m choosing to ignore the fact Notre Dame used it’s last timeout on that drive. Shut up, 2011 feelings, LEAVE ME ALONE.

Michigan begins another drive with promise. That promise dies in a spectacular blaze of glory with a field goal attempt that doesn’t even reach the endzone on the fly. I do not yet know that Michigan’s kicker shanked the attempt so bad ND partially blocked the kick with a facemask because that was apparently where Matt Wile was aiming. All I know from my vantage point is that it’s the worst field goal attempt I’ve seen in recent memory and I’m laughing my ass off.

After trading punts, the Irish are driving towards my seat in overlooking the south endzone. I see Corey Robinson make a wonderful play, diving just short of the endzone. From my vantage point in the corner, I’m slightly offset from the goal line, but I know he isn’t in. Whatever, we will just punch this in from the…three?!

“The previous play is under review.”

Well, thank God. That spot is terrible, B1G refs. I’m glad our new ACC friends in the booth will correct this injustice.

“The ruling on the field stands.”

I hate everything.

The 2011 feelings are back again, taunting me. I tell them to shut up, but they get louder as both Tarean Folston and Golson fail to punch it in the endzone on the next two plays. The jubilant screams of 80,000+ drown them out as Amir Carlisle hauls in a Golson pass for a touchdown.

With only 3:58 left in the half, I know this stand for the defense is beyond crucial. Sheldon Day knows it too. That’s why he shoves a Skunkbear lineman all the way into Devon Gardner who panics, tries to hold on to an attempted pass and fumbles. Notre Dame doesn’t recover, but they didn’t need to. The resulting 3rd and 20 on the 17 yard loss kills the drive.

Notre Dame gets the ball back damn near in Michigan territory thanks to a 12 yard punt return by Cody Riggs. My excitement for seeing an actual Irish punt return quickly subsides as I realize the realty of the situation: Golson has 1:24 left to take the Irish 56 yards and he has no timeouts.

He needs only 50 seconds.

The Irish go into the half up 21-0. I’m beside myself. This doesn’t feel real. The Michigan fans spotted around me are even more stunned than I. They’ve been silent all game, completely shell-shocked by the first half. As the break winds down to a close one mentions that crazier things have happened before in this series. Perhaps Michigan could find a way to come back.

2011 is back. It fled from my body and possessed other people and is now speaking through them. I need this demon slayed in the worst way.

Max Redfield does his best to answer the call. His first career interception couldn’t have come at a better time. Michigan is on the ropes now after their first drive fails in spectacular fashion, unfortunately, their defense counter-punches by giving the Irish their first negative yard drive in the game. The momentum starts to creep towards the Michigan sideline.

But sometimes the unlikeliest of heroes manage to stand. Like Neville Longbottom pulling out the Sword of Griffindor to halt Voldemort’s army, Kyle Brindza and the Irish punt coverage team pin Michigan on the two yard-line. Momentum continues to wear blue and gold.

Michigan can only reach their own 32. They pay for their failure with another Notre Dame touchdown. The score is 28-0, there is 3:02 left in the third quarter. 2011 is nowhere to be found. After another Gardner fumble, like many Michigan fans, 2011 departs from Notre Dame stadium.

Molly, you asked me earlier this week when I started to get greedy and want the shutout. That fumble was the moment. The forth quarter was just around the corner and 28-0 wasn’t enough. A win wasn’t enough. I wanted blood. I wanted the shutout. The entire crowd wanted the shutout.

So did the ND defense. In 2012 Denard Robinson fashion, the next play that Gardner got resulted in an interception. Kyle Brindza adds on three more points for good measure. 31-0.

Michigan doesn’t even cross the 50 again until the forth quarter is well past its halfway point. It’s now 4th and 10 on ND’s 22. Michigan is so close to actually running a play in the red zone for the first time all game. The lone Michigan fan in our section is begging Hoke to play for the field goal. I become slightly aware of Michigan’s scoring streak thanks to his cries. I have no idea this will be the first time Notre Dame will ever pull off the feat. I have no idea that it will be the first time Michigan will be shutout in 365 games and the first time a non-conference opponent will do this to them since the 1920s.

I’m not sure if Brian VanGorder knows. I’m not sure if he cares. He wants the shutout just as much as the Notre Dame faithful that are, in a move not often seen in the stands with a 31 point lead in the forth quarter, all on their feet screaming for blood. VanGorder gives it to them and brings the house. I do not see the fist pump, but it is unknowingly fueling my joy.

https://vine.co/v/OuYHajJMHFh

At this point I see the student section waving. A few minutes earlier, I was hoping we’d sing “Goodbye” to our enemy should this result hold. I’m straining my ears, hoping that’s what’s happening. It was. I join in on the chorus. It is the most beautiful song I’ve ever heard.

https://vine.co/v/OuYgia6jdx5

Michigan receives one final chance to save themselves from embarrassment. Gardner delivers his final act of failure, this time into the hands of Elijah Shumate who runs all the way into the endzone. The clock reads 0:00, 37-0. It’s over.

@HLS_NDtex pic.twitter.com/yKfYg1bFQ5

— ??BayouIrish?? (@HLS_BayouIrish) September 7, 2014

I’m jumping around in seats once occupied by Michigan fans. My cracked voice strains to deliver the amount of joy I’m feeling. My wife has as big of a smile on her face as I do and I’m sure she thinks I’m acting like an idiot right now.

I don’t care. Neither does she. We both remember 2011. Fuck 2011. That game is dead, gone, and we will never speak of it again. 2014 is all that matters and Michigan still hasn’t scored.

The B1G officials, however, aren’t aware that the game is done. They have issue with Max Redfield delivering a block to Devin Gardner.

The block is delivered from the side and Redfield hits Gardner square in the front of his shoulder. Michigan fans will later call this a dirty hit and the B1G officials agree. Roughing the passer is called, the touchdown is removed from the board.

And not a single Notre Dame fan in the stadium gives a damn.

We aren’t even aware what the call actually is. We can’t hear the officials and we are too busy laughing at Michigan players sheepishly trotting back on the field so Zaire can run an untimed kneel down. We all have pictures of the 37-0 scoreboard right now and 31-0 isn’t any less embarrassing.

So enjoy that final act of B1G defiance, Michigan. It matters not.

I wouldn’t go to sleep for another 6 hours. I would manage to become drunk again for the third time in 24 hours while enjoying s’mores by our house’s firepit. I would wake up tired and hungover as hell the next morning. Much like that worthless penalty at the end of the game, I didn’t care.

I got my storybook ending. It couldn’t have been written any better if I had penned using my wildest dreams. We beat Michigan–no, we destroyed them. We ended them. They won’t get another shot for years. We got the last laugh.

Michigan went back to the same well they usually do in response. It’s just one game, the B1G title is what really matters after all. Some of the usual suspects tried to rationalize that the loss really wasn’t that bad because, after all, they gained more offensive yards than us!

But Michigan still hasn’t scored.

The End.

The post Notre Dame and Michigan: The End appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

1. I was late in rounding everyone up this season.
2. We decided that we beat the offseason to death already.

So now that Rice is in the books, it’s go time.

This year the IBG has a familiar cast of characters: myself, Mike Coffey of NDNation, Aaron Horvath of the official ND Football blog, Frank Vitovitch of UHND.com, and the return of The Subway Domer!

You may notice Keith Arnold of Inside the Irish (and now Bleacher Report) is not on the list this season. Sadly, Keith’s schedule has gotten a bit busier so he has bowed out. As someone also attempting to balance multiple writing gigs plus a day job, I can certainly empathize. Many thanks to Keith for all his IBG contributions, make sure you go visit him at both NBC and B/R.

For those asking what the IBG is, it was the brain-child of The Subway Domer in an attempt for many ND blogs to combine in a weekly effort for a round-table discussion and a traffic share. Since the IBG’s start, many blogs have come and gone and the IBG has morphed into a much smaller discussion that you now see today.

Each IBG member will ask a single question of the other members. We will then answer all these questions, save for our own, and link the responses of all other members. Since this year is the final hate week IBG, we are also adding in one bonus question.

So enough house-keeping, let’s do this.

My question to the IBG:

Everett Golson certainly put on quite a show against Rice. Should we temper optimism because it was just Rice or can we dare to dream of Heisman campaigns?

(Answers will be linked as they’re posted)

Official ND Blog

NDNation

UHND

The Subway Domer

(Aaron Horvath, Official ND Blog) Let’s compare two games during the Brian Kelly era – the USF game and the Rice game. Does the way that the Irish systematically blew out the Owls show how far the Program has come since Kelly took over? What has he done to create a consistent winning environment? What does he still need to do?

Right out of the gate and Aaron is trying to skirt the rules on one question. Yeesh.

It’s hard to use a win again Rice as a measuring stick for the program overall, but a struggle or loss in such affairs do tend to give warning signs that something is wrong. In the case of USF, two things became clear: (1) Dayne Crist just wasn’t what we thought he’d be and (2) the Irish still had a ton of work to do in order to cut down dumb mistakes.

I’m surprised 2012’s opener Navy wasn’t mentioned in this question as well because the Rice game was certainly very similar. Not just in the blowout, but in the fact that a Kelly-recruited QB ran the offense and the Irish limited their mistakes.

So while I can’t say “look how far we’ve come because we beat Rice”, I will say that its become clear that this team is definitely Kelly’s team. He’s built them to the point in which the easier opponents should be easy games and not a struggle. That does speak well of the environment that he’s created, the talent that he’s recruited, and that’s he’s been able to coach them to execute and minimize mistakes.

What does he still need to do? Other than keeping this trajectory going, I’m not too sure. It’s hard to evaluate the Tommy Rees years because that was an exercise in BK holding things together rather than being able to implement his full vision for ND football. Saying that he needs to play the dual threat QBs with better physical talent is a rather obvious fact that I’m sure he realizes.

But, in an effort to answer the question, I’d say the next step is consistent wins over rivals and ranked opponents. I think we are past the point in which we can say “being competitive is okay” and that’s a good thing.

(The Subway Domer) Regardless to any historical or personal interest in this game, rate the level of importance this Saturday night’s matchup has for this season. What will define this season more, a win or a loss?

Honestly, the emotional investment and historical importance of this matchup is probably what defines this game in terms of season success. If you remove that game from the equation, what you have is a game against an opponent that has struggled the last few seasons, has your number, and always has the potential of being on the rise with the talent on their roster.

With that in mind, and considering that this matchup is so early in the season, winning here can separate ND from the rest of the pack and gain loads of initial respect from pollsters and the playoff committee. A loss will kick them down into a hole that they will have to claw out of the rest of the season, especially if Michigan falters later in the year.

(Frank Vitoitch, UHND.com) What must the Notre Dame defense do on Saturday to prevent Devin Garnder from having another career performance against Notre Dame similar to what we’ve seen happen in the past with both Gardner (last year) and Denard Robinson (2010, 2011) before him?

Don’t lose containment. Don’t let the play get behind you.

In each of the mentioned ND losses, the defense simply had some kind of lapse that allowed for big plays that would either keep a Michigan drive alive when they should’ve been off the field or result in a TD that shouldn’t have been surrendered.

Although we will likely be bringing multiple blitzes at Gardner, we can’t go into full “pin your ears back” mode and allow him to extend plays or escape the pressure. The moment Gardner finds an open throwing or running lane is the moment ND is in danger of giving up a back breaking play.

If Gardner does roll away from pressure, every throw should at the very least be off-balance. Preferably, such throws are also met with a nice hit to get in his head.

The secondary has a huge job here as well. They can’t allow a receiver to become wide open downfield and give Gardner an easy out that turns into points.

I have no doubt the Gardner and Funchess combination will make some plays regardless of what we do. However, we have to make them work for each one. We simply can’t make it easy on them as that’s what has led to each “Michigan QB has a career day” game.

(Mike Coffey, NDNation) Given that this is the last scheduled game, how do you feel about the series with Michigan ending, and what priority should ND put on getting them back on the schedule?

I’ll be honest, I’ll miss it. Hate week is fun, especially from a blogging perspective. I eventually want to see it come back, but I certainly don’t want ND bending over backwards to do so.

I’d prefer the focus remain on scheduling opponents like Texas and Georgia. I’m certainly not going to miss games in Ann Arbor if traveling options to Austin and Athens are on the table.

From a hate perspective, we get to kindle that in the ACC with Miami and Florida State rotating regularly on the schedule. They aren’t rivals per se like Michigan, but a similar hate level is there to fill the void. As an added bonus, there won’t be a decades long gap between those matchups.

From a logistical perspective, to hell with Jim Delany and his ridiculous ideas about how the B1G should work. A watered-down nine-game conference schedule that must be played at the end of the season? That’s absurd. There needs to more flexibility available, even our more restrictive ACC scheduling agreement allows for ACC games to happen early in September (see 2015 with two ACC games in the first three weeks). They can blame ND forever for not playing ball anymore, but the B1G has to realize there are better games on the table for us and the rest of CFB on those dates.

From a historical perspective, to hell with Michigan. The history of Michigan blackballing ND off of their schedule is well known. Their history of detesting that Notre Dame was even on their schedule is well known. They even postponed two future games before ND canned the series. This series has always been about what they want, when they want it.

So now that the B1G has expanded and includes Rutgers and Maryland as annual opponents, they are crying foul. It’s like having a significant other that treats you like crap and, when you’ve finally had enough and see better options, you call it off. Once they see you with a new person, all of a sudden they want you back and you’re the heel for throwing away something special.

Screw that. We’re not crawling back to you.

Bonus: Go on a Michigan hate rant and/or give a favorite memory of the series.

I kind of ranted a bit above, plus I need to hold something back for the Roundup tomorrow. So for the hate, here are three primers.

For my favorite memory, I’m going to go to the start of the Weis era in 2005. I was a student manager and assigned Michigan as one of my two away games. I had never been to the Big House, much less Ann Arbor. My first experience would be on the sidelines.

The entire week of practice, Weis put loads of focus on the first drive. The Irish would go out, no huddle, and have a simple numbering system for calling plays. Combined with silent snap counts, Michigan would have no idea what hit them.

12 plays and 76 yards later, Notre Dame was celebrating in the endzone and the Big House fell silent.

ND would add another TD before the end of the half, while Michigan offered only a FG and five punts in resistance. As we waited by the tunnel for Michigan to leave the field first, Michigan fans turned on Lloyd Carr. I’m not sure I’ve ever heard more four-letter bombs thrown at a home team’s coach in my life and I witnessed the Ty era.

The second half didn’t fare much better for the Skunkbears. Late in the fourth quarter, down 17-3 it looked like they were on their way back. In fact, Michigan’s PA announcer announced a Michigan TD after one particular play. The actual result was much, much different:

Chad Henne’s goal line fumble all but sealed Michigan’s fate and led to a running “Henne was in!” joke among Irish fans as Michigan fans simply couldn’t believe the video evidence.

Instant replay would also show that, on the ensuing ND drive, Brady Quinn’s knee hit the ground before a fumble that Michigan recovered. ND kept possession and bled more time off the clock.

Michigan fans were happy:

Notre Dame didn’t need much help to beat the Wolverines for the third time in four years, but instant replay overturned two calls in its favor in the fourth quarter.

…

Each time, Michigan’s student section responded by throwing water bottles and other debris on the field.

That game was an absolute pleasure to be a part of. I took so much joy in being on the sidelines while part of Michigan’s soul died.

The post The Irish Blogger Gathering Returns for the Final Hate Week appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

This week we focus on our most hated team from up north, the Michigan Wolverines Skunkbears. This game will be the last time the Irish will face off against Michigan for the foreseeable future so get the hate ready early.

Previous Opponent Previews:

• Rice

Credit: The Helmet Project

Vitals

Offense

Despite Al Borges getting canned, Michigan’s offense really wasn’t a disaster, just the scapegoat for a disappointing season.

Inconsistent? Yes. Terrible? Not really.

Michigan’s biggest problem last season was trying to put a square peg into a round hole by never figuring out how to maximize Devin Gardner’s potential. Gardner was Michigan’s top rusher, yet Michigan almost seemed determined at times to keep him in the pocket.

Should new offensive coordinator, Doug Nussmeier, figure things out and stick with a consistent offensive plan, Michigan could have a very dangerous offense with all of the starters they are returning.

Defense

Much like the offense, the defense also had issues with inconsistency last season. Want proof? 572 yards and 47 points given up against Indiana should suffice.

The past couple of years, Michigan has consistently returned a healthy amount of starters on the defensive side of the ball, but they have been incredibly young. This season, the eight returning starters are comprised of 4 seniors, 3 juniors, and 1 sophomore.

If there is ever a time for this unit to come together to become a serious strength, this would be the season.

What to Expect

If there is anything that previous ND/Michigan matchups have shown, it’s that you can pretty much throw expectations out the window. Doubly so this year as this will be the last time the two will face each for probably at least a decade.

Beyond the hatred, the reason this game is always seems to be such a crazy toss up is the fact that it is often only the second game for both teams. Teams are still trying to completely figure out what they are at the beginning of the season and there is a very small sample size to scout against.

With Michigan bringing in a new offensive coordinator this season, the question marks are back. We know what the ceiling for Gardner could potentially look like, but I’m not sure a single game against Appalachian State is really going to give the Irish the full picture.

In the same vein, Michigan probably isn’t going to get a full idea of what Brian VanGorder’s defensive unit can do with just one game against Rice.

With those large question marks on the two opposing units, a healthy dose of hatred, and this game being for long-term bragging rights in the foreseeable future, all bets are certainly off.

Edit: I had a very important data point left out. Kudos to @KnuteSchoolFool for pointing it out:

. @HLS_NDtex @HLS_BayouIrish surprised you didn't point out Brian Kelly has a losing record vs both Brady Hoke & Michigan. It is material.

— Irish Tightness (@IrishTightness) June 11, 2014

Study Your Enemy

If you can stomach it, swing by these Michigan blogs to keep up with what’s going on in Ann Arbor:

• MGoBlog
• Maize ‘n Brew
• Maize and Go Blue

Looking for Tickets?

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The post Notre Dame 2014 Opponent Preview: Michigan appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

Justin Potts over at Maize and Go Blue reached out to us earlier in the week and asked if we could detail how Notre Dame could beat Michigan. There was no way I was going to pass up a chance to blueprint Skunkbear demise on their on turf, so I graciously obliged.

Now, we may hate Michigan with a passion here at HLS, but we are all about fair play. Since Justin allowed me to give the ND perspective and preview, I felt it was only fitting to allow him the same courtesy.

Plus, it saved me from having to watch the Michigan/Central Michigan game over and over again to try and do this myself. Win-win for everyone!

If you’d like to keep tabs on Michigan, be sure to follow Justin and the Maize and Go Blue team on Twitter @MaizeandGoBlue, For now though, it’s time to let Justin take over.

Devin Gardner Is Not Denard Robinson

First of all, Devin Gardner is much taller than Denard Robinson at a legitimate 6-4. Denard was listed at 6-0 at Michigan, but measured 5-10 at the NFL Combine. Devin doesn’t have a problem throwing over defenders like Denard did. As much as Michigan fans loved Denard for his game-breaking ability, it was incredibly frustrating seeing him get several passes batted down at the line of scrimmage every game. We all hoped every season that his passing would improve, but his size limitations and arm strength simply made it unrealistic.

Devin Gardner on the field against UMass in 2012 (Adam Glanzman/Daily)

Devin is a true quarterback with a big arm and the ability to run when things break down. I would compare him more to Texas Vince Young (not NFL Vince Young) as opposed to Denard. There aren’t many designed runs for him, except inside the five-yard line when he lines up in the I, fakes the handoff, rolls out and beats the linebackers to the pylon. But he is very good at moving around in the pocket and pulling it down and taking off when nobody is open, and like Young, he’s not easy to catch or bring down in the open field.

Devin has great chemistry with receiver Jeremy Gallon, although I think we saw it a little bit against Central Michigan sometimes he falls in love a little too much with Gallon and doesn’t look elsewhere. Much of that has to do with no other proven receiving threat at this point, so hopefully throughout the season that will develop.

The main knock on him at this point is his decision making. He threw two picks last week, but I think those were more a result of first game jitters than an indication of what’s to come this season. He spent time in the offseason with quarterback guru George Whitfield, and also Peyton Manning and received rave reviews from all of them, so I think his ceiling is much higher than Denard’s.

Who to Watch for

Aside from Gallon, who you guys are familiar with from his 64-yard catch and run in the final seconds to set up the game-winning touchdown in 2011, the main offensive playmaker would be tight end Devin Funchess. He’s really the only other proven dangerous pass catcher we have right now. Michigan fans are waiting for sophomore receiver Jehu Chesson to break out, but he went without a catch last week and was only targeted a couple of times. The receiving corps suffered a big blow when Amara Darboh was lost for the season during fall camp. He was expected to start and be a big playmaker.

Another guy to watch for is Dennis Norfleet. He’s small, shifty and very fast. In fact, he said he was faster than Denard last year. He took a reverse 38 yards last week and is a threat to break a touchdown every time he touches the ball on kick and punt returns. It’s only a matter of time before he does. He was moved from running back to defensive back to slot receiver this year just to get him on the field.

I think the jury is still out about our running game. Fitz Toussaint is the known commodity and everyone hopes he can return to his 2011 form after a lackluster 2012 that ended in injury. Behind him is the guy Michigan fans are excited about, five-star freshman Derrick Green. He busted a 30-yard run last week but also showed he can be a bruising short-yardage back. I think the ideal situation is Fitz to carry most of the load with Green getting 8-12 carries a game.

Defensively, Michigan has more playmakers in its back seven than it has had in a long time. The corners, Blake Countess, Delonte Hollowell and Raymon Taylor are solid and freshman Channing Stribling is really pushing for playing time as well. Jarrod Wilson looks like the tall, rangy free safety that Michigan hasn’t had in years, and proven veteran Thomas Gordon returns from his week one suspension at strong safety. The linebackers, Desmond Morgan, James Ross, and Cam Gordon, are smart and instinctual, even without Jake Ryan who is still recovering from a torn ACL. The main question mark is the defensive line. They sacked CMU four times on Saturday and stuffed the run, but again, it was CMU, so this Saturday will be the real test. But there are a lot of quality bodies that can rotate in and out, which is just how Greg Mattison wants it to keep them fresh. Frank Clark has the ability to be a very good pass rusher, but also tends to get in the backfield too quickly and loses contain at times.

Brendan Gibbons has become a very reliable kicker, which no Michigan fan would have thought possible after his freshman year in 2010 when he made 1-of-5. He tied the Michigan record last week with his 14th straight field goal made, and if the game is on the line, I like his chances.

ND/Michigan Series Cancellation: A Michigan Man’s Perspective

The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry ranks right up there with Michigan-Ohio State in my books, even though it hasn’t been played over 100 times. It almost always produces a great game and it just feels right that college football’s all-time winningest teams should play every year. I like that it’s an early season game to bookend the season along with the UM-OSU game. My wife and her whole family are Notre Dame fans, so bragging rights are on the line every time too. It’s a shame it has to end after next season.

The post Notre Dame vs Michigan: A Michigan Man’s Perspective appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.

The situations look very similar, both were requesting an extra year because an injury knocked them out for most of the season. I saw no difference either and voiced my own displeasure via Twitter when this news broke. That’s when Jen Vining-Smith, assistant AD for compliance at ND, took me to school and educated me on the difference:

https://twitter.com/jvs3/status/309064313400852481

I was a bit confused on this issue still. Both were injured, both missed over 30% of their seasons because of it. Where is the difference?!

Slaugther’s case, Vining-Smith clarified, was a petition for a “6th year [extending] the 5 year clock based on 2 missed opportunities to participate.” Gardner’s case on the other hand was a hardship waiver which “[gets] a season back (additional season) within the 5 year clock when a student athlete has been injured in the first half of the season and participated in less than 30% of contests.”

Gardner had only played in three seasons and was never redshirted. Michigan went to the NCAA and said that his 2010 season should be granted a hardship because he was injured. The season that the NCAA gave back was still within the 5 year clock that Vining-Smith discribes. This is why Gardner’s case was such a “slam dunk” as she stated to me earlier.

Slaughter on the other hand had a much tougher case to prove. In order to get a sixth year, Slaughter had to show the NCAA that he missed two opportunities to play. While we are all aware of Slaughter’s injury in the 2012 season, that is only one year missed and Slaughter needed two. What Notre Dame argued was that Slaughter’s first season (2008), in which he redshirted, was actually a redshirt due to injury.

As I mentioned in my previous post on this matter, John Infante of Bylaw Blog fame had the following to say on this matter, which now makes a lot more sense:

Slaughter’s sixth year is a classic case of trying to go back and argue about a year well after the fact.

— John Infante (@John_Infante) January 16, 2013

The lack of contemporaneous medical documentation in those types of waivers almost always means they are denied.

— John Infante (@John_Infante) January 16, 2013

Notre Dame didn’t have enough medical documentation to prove that Slaughter’s redshirt year in 2008 was actually due to an injury. Thus, the NCAA ruled that Notre Dame could only prove that Slaughter missed one year and not two due to injury. A normal redshirt year counts against the five year clock as it isn’t a true opportunity missed to play, but rather a strategic decision to purposefully bench the player all season. By doing this, a player retains his four years of playing eligibility, but stays within the five year period that the NCAA allows for athletic participation.

The ruling still sucks for Slaughter, but the NCAA definitely got this one right — even though it pains me greatly to admit so.

The post Why Comparing Devin Gardner to Jamoris Slaughter Is Comparing Apples to Oranges appeared first on Her Loyal Sons.