Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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drus Peat and Kyle Murphy. Junior quarterback Kevin Hogan will have more on his plate, but has explosive Ty Montgomery (61 catches and 10 TD grabs) as a target. Stanford has won four of the last five against the Irish, as has... 5. MICHIGAN (7-6) Winter News: Doug Nussmeier, the Alabama offensive coordinator in 2012-13, was hired to replace the fired Al Borges at the same position. Notable: The series will discontinue after this season. The Irish trail 15-14-1 since its renewal in 1978, making this finale even more crucial. Summary: Fourth-year head coach Brady Hoke needs a strong year to escape the proverbial hot seat after los- ing five of the last six games in 2013. The running game was 102nd nation- ally (125.7 yards per game) and the offensive line needs dramatic upgrade to take the onus off returning quarter- back Devin Gardner, who passed for 2,960 yards and 21 touchdowns and rushed for 483 and 11 scores. Devin Funchess and Jake Butt might be the best tight end combination in the na- tion, presenting plenty of matchup problems. The defense returns eight starters that ranked 66th in scoring defense (26.8 points allowed per game). UPSET SPECIALS There is usually one upset per year of the Irish, with Pitt doing the hon- ors last year. These could be the most likely in 2014. 6. NORTH CAROLINA (7-6) Winter News: Tight end Eric Ebron and center Russell Bodine both left early for the NFL … Head coach Larry Fedora hired Indiana's Seth Littrell to succeed Blake Anderson, who was hired as the head coach at Arkansas State. Notable: After a 1-5 start, the young Tar Heels won six of their last seven, capped by a 39-17 win over Cincinnati in the Belk Bowl, and they are No. 17 in ESPN's "Way Too Early" 2014 pre- season poll. Summary: The perfect trap game — between hosting Stanford and travel- ing to Florida State. North Carolina started 10 freshmen and sophomores last year and will have eight starters back on offense and seven on defense. Quarterback Marquise Williams took control in the second half of 2013 as a sophomore, finishing with 1,698 yards Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner engineered a 41-30 win over the Irish in 2013 by throw- ing for 294 yards and four touchdowns, but the Wolverines stumbled to a 7-6 finish. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL