Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Game Preview: Michigan carry the load. Irish cornerbacks Bennett Jackson and KeiVarae Russell are not the inexperienced starters they were a year ago. Notre Dame's secondary now has the upper hand in experience over the Michigan receivers. Protecting Gardner from Notre Dame's front seven attack is paramount if Michigan's receivers are going to impact this contest. Advantage: Even Notre Dame Running Game Vs. Michigan Run Defense The Irish have five talented backs to throw at the Michigan front seven, but none of them have exten- sive experience. The good news for Notre Dame is that the Wolverines lost defensive linemen William Campbell and Craig Roh, Big Ten honorable mention and second-team All-American players, respectively. With Jake Ryan's torn ACL last spring, Michigan will be without its top two linebackers (Kenny Demens graduated) in this game. These factors make it likely that Notre Dame will emphasize the run to try and minimize mistakes in the season's first road test in front of 110,000 fans at night. The Irish rushed for just 94 yards in last year's win, but they will need to do much better than that to pull off this win. Notre Dame rushed behind the left side of the line most of last season, but a point Fifth-year senior strong safety Thomas Gordon (No. 30), who recorded 81 tackles and two interceptions last year, anchors Michigan's potentially vulnerable secondary. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL