Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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NOTRE DAME RUNNING GAME VS. MICHIGAN RUN DEFENSE The Wolverines' game plan centered on loading the front with six and seven men. To Notre Dame's credit, it didn't abandon the run (17 rushes and 21 passes while building a 21-0 halftime advantage), and it helped set up play-action and one-on-one coverage on the outside, which the Irish won most of the time with quick passes. The triumvirate of senior Cam McDaniel and sopho- mores Tarean Folston and Greg Bryant combined for only 61 yards on 25 carries (2.4 per attempt), and the longest run for each was six yards. Senior quarterback Everett Golson (three carries for minus-14 yards) had maybe three running plays designed for him. ADVANTAGE: Michigan NOTRE DAME PASSING GAME VS. MICHIGAN PASS DEFENSE With Michigan stacking the line, Notre Dame's coun- ter was primarily a three-step, short and intermediate passing attack. Slants and crossing routes were the main form of transport, and Golson's accuracy and proficiency across the middle has been remarkable and a huge upgrade from 2012, when he was more re- luctant to toss those passes and less apt to go through his progressions. Unlike against Rice, there were few home-run swings, with sophomore William Fuller and senior Amir Carl- isle's 16 catches of the 23 completions combining for 150 yards and three scores. Carlisle, in particular, has become a reliable and dangerous slot man after falling by the wayside at running back last year. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS Field position played a huge factor for a second straight week in a dominant Notre Dame win. Five of senior kicker Kyle Brindza's six kickoffs were touch- backs, and the one that wasn't was returned to only the Michigan 16. Brindza also had punts to the 9- and 2-yard lines, and he converted his lone field goal at- tempt (43 yards). Meanwhile, kicker Matt Wile missed a 46-yard field goal on Michigan's opening possession and later in the first half shanked one from 48 yards. The Wolverines also lost an opportunity to recover a fumbled punt by Notre Dame's Cody Riggs inside the Irish 15 when they were trailing only 7-0. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame THIRD-DOWN CONVERSIONS Michigan head coach Brady Hoke pointed to this area as pivotal to the outcome. Notre Dame was 7 of 15 (46.7 percent) and also converted its lone fourth-down attempt. Michigan was 4 of 13 (30.8 percent). Golson completed a third-and-goal one-yard touch- down to Carlisle and a third-and-one to Fuller for a 24-yard score in the first half. Michigan's final 11 third- down attempts were all five yards or longer. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame TURNOVERS It's almost impossible to lose a game when you have a 4-0 advantage here. Still, the miscues did not have a huge bearing on the outcome because they all came in the second half after Notre Dame already held a 21-0 advantage. Three of them came after the lead was extended to 28-0. Only one of the four led to points, a field goal by Brindza to make it 31-0. ADVANTAGE: Notre Dame SUMMARY Michigan actually finished with more total yards (289- 280), which shows how misleading statistics can be. The difference was the Wolverines' average starting field po- sition on its 12 possessions was their 22 — 10 of them at or inside the 25. Conversely, Notre Dame's starting field position was its 37, with seven of its 12 coming at least from its 35 and three in Michigan territory. The farthest Michigan advanced was to Notre Dame's 22 late in the second half, and then two straight lost yardage plays pushed it back to its 34. The four Irish touchdown drives were 71, 80, 56 and 61 yards, or 267 of their 280 yards. ✦ ON PAPER REVISITED BY LOU SOMOGYI