Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Big House Loss In their final trip to Michigan Stadium for the foreseeable future, the Irish fall to the Wolverines 41-30 A By Andrew Owens s Tommy Rees sauntered from midfield to the northwest corner of Notre Dame Stadium for the traditional postgame playing of the alma mater, teammates stopped to congratulate him on the 28-6 season-opening victory over Temple. A win itself is no new venture for the senior signal-caller — he now stands at 15-4 as a starter — but this Saturday had a different air about it. Rees is the unquestioned leader at the position and no longer has to worry about losing his job or appearing only in relief situations. After entering the season as the program's starting quarterback for the first time in his tumultuous career, Rees delivered one of his best performances, completing 16 of 23 passes for 346 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. "I've learned a lot in my three years previous, and I've got a great understanding of what's going on out there," Rees said. "All of that adds to confidence, and I have all the confidence in the world in my teammates, my offensive line, the guys that make plays for us. I'm confident in anyone we're running out there." It took just six offensive plays and 4:41 off the clock in the first quarter for Notre Dame (1-0) to seize a 14-0 lead to begin its 2013 campaign. Junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels — who left the game later in the half with a minor groin injury, but is expected to play at Michigan — snagged his first and second career touchdown receptions from Rees, both from 32 yards out. Throughout the game, Rees demonstrated an improved deep throw that enhanced the Irish offense. "I never doubted the fact that we can drive the ball down the field and I can make some deep throws for us," Rees said. "DaVaris did a good job of getting open on the early ones. "We had a couple later and it was a good job by the receivers. I put the ball where it needed to be, and it worked out." For a program that vividly remembers the 2011 frustration of a deflating