Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com PRESEASON 2018 81 later, the top-ranked Irish rebounded from a 24-14 fourth-quarter defi- cit to defeat the No. 4 Wolverines. Sophomore quarterback Rick Mirer's 18-yard scoring pass to classmate Adrian Jarrell came with 1:40 remain- ing in the contest. The starting debut put Mirer on the Sports Illustrated cover with the title "Golden Boy." 7. SEPT. 22, 2012 NOTRE DAME 13, MICHIGAN 6 Aesthetically, this one wasn't pretty. The Wolverines committed six turn- overs, including five interceptions in as many attempts at one point. Quarterback Tommy Rees scored the lone touchdown of the game on a draw, and the Irish defense, led by All- American senior linebacker Manti Te'o (eight tackles, one stop for loss and two interceptions), held on to end a three-game losing streak to Michigan. Te'o appeared on the cover of Sports Illustrated the following week and the Irish finished September unbeaten (4-0) for the first time in 10 years en route to the BCS National Champion- ship Game versus Alabama. 8. SEPT. 10, 2005 NOTRE DAME 17, MICHIGAN 10 First-year Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis won back-to-back road games versus ranked teams (at No. 23 Pitt a week earlier) to begin the season — a first in school history. At No. 3 Michigan, the Irish secured a 17-10 victory on a pair of Brady Quinn five-yard scoring passes to Rhema McKnight and Jeff Samardzija. 9. SEPT. 14, 2002 NOTRE DAME 25, MICHIGAN 23 Consensus All-American corner- back Shane Walton tipped away a two-point conversion pass by Michi- gan's John Navarre with 2:53 left in the contest to help preserve the Irish rally after Notre Dame entered the fourth quarter trailing 17-16. The win at home over No. 7 Michi- gan catapulted Notre Dame from No. 20 to No. 12 in the Associated Press poll during an 8-0 start under first-year head coach Tyrone Willingham. 10. SEPT. 5, 1998 NOTRE DAME 36, MICHIGAN 20 Under second-year head coach Bob Davie, Notre Dame exploded with 30 unanswered points in the second half for a stunning victory over the co-defending national champions and fifth-ranked Wolverines in the opener. Notre Dame was led by first-time starting quarterback Jarious Jackson, while junior signal-caller Tom Brady was making his initial start for Michi- gan as well. 11. SEPT. 12, 1987 NOTRE DAME 26, MICHIGAN 7 With five of the last six meetings between the two teams decided by six points or less, second-year Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz told his troops before the game, "it doesn't have to be close." That held true in Ann Arbor as Michigan committed seven turnovers to just one by the Irish. Both teams finished with four losses, but also em- barked on prosperity in years to come. 12. SEPT. 15, 1979 NOTRE DAME 12, MICHIGAN 10 Although neither 7-4 Notre Dame nor 7-5 Michigan would finish in the final rankings at the end of the year, this victory saw Irish walk-on kicker Chuck Male set a single-game Notre Dame record with four field goals and began the dominance of middle linebacker Bob Crable. Then a sophomore, the 2017 Col- lege Football Hall of Fame inductee registered 19 tackles in his starting debut and vaulted over the Michigan line to block the potential game-win- ning field goal with two seconds left. 13. SEPT. 6, 2014 NOTRE DAME 31, MICHIGAN 0 The most recent meeting actually saw the Wolverines, who would fin- ish 5-7 in head coach Brady Hoke's fi- nal season, outgain the No. 16-ranked Irish in total yardage 289-280. However, Notre Dame produced a 4-0 turnover advantage, had three touchdown passes from quarterback Everett Golson and even found a potential savior with new defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder, whose troops snapped Michigan's NCAA- record streak of 365 games without getting shut out. 14. SEPT. 11, 2004 NOTRE DAME 28, MICHIGAN 20 After an upset loss at BYU to open the season and trailing 9-0 at half- time versus eighth-ranked Michigan, Notre Dame rallied behind freshman Darius Walker 's 115 rushing yards and two scores in his college football debut off the bench. The Irish still would finish only 6-6, while the Wolverines went on to share the Big Ten title and finish 9-3. 15. SEPT. 13, 2008 NOTRE DAME 35, MICHIGAN 17 Aided by what would become six Michigan turnovers, Notre Dame ex- ploded to a 21-0 lead with 4:51 left in the first quarter. It was the highlight of a 7-6 season for the Irish, while Michigan's 3-9 finish qualified as its first losing record in 41 years. The combined 10-15 record of the two was the worst in series history. ✦ Linebacker Bob Crable made 19 tackles and blocked the potential game-winning field goal with two seconds left to preserve a 12-10 Notre Dame win in 1979. PHOTO COURTESY NOTRE DAME MEDIA RELATIONS