Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/163197
Game Preview: Michigan It's likely this game also will be classified as a "pick 'em," with neither team having a field goal advantage over the other. With the previous four meetings having come down to the wire, this might be the year where a rare double-digit victory by one team or the other could be forthcoming. Chicken Surprise The Notre Dame-Michigan series was supposed to extend to at least 2025, but when the Fighting Irish joined the Atlantic Coast Conference last year, some schedule re-shuffling was in order to meet the commitment of playing five ACC teams each season, starting in 2014. One of the first casualties was Michigan when Notre Dame athletics director Jack Swarbrick cancelled the series right before last year's kickoff because the contract stipulated that the termination of the deal had to occur three years in advance (and prior to the 2012 kickoff). It was unclear how other traditional Notre Dame Big Ten opponents such as Michigan State and Purdue would fit into the future scheduling plans, but the three games outside the ACC that Notre Dame most wanted to keep were USC, Michigan head coach Brady Hoke (left) created a stir in the spring by telling boosters that Notre Dame was "chickening out" of the series, but Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly said he had no hard feelings. photo by bill panzica