The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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and his crew faced a more thorough, and more bracing, idea of where they stood. Not that Michigan's shocker of a 31-0 loss to the Irish relegates the Wolverines to a disappointing year, rules out competing in the Big Ten, or anything like it. In fact, coming out of that game, the message to the Wolverines stood clear: our goals are still ahead of us. That said, Michigan's first shutout ever against the Irish — and first to anyone since 1984 — held up a so- bering mirror toward a team looking to get squared away under a new offensive system and seeking to step up on defense with a redefined ap- proach. The early returns? Well, they looked like the before picture in an Insanity workout plan. But Michigan coaches and players insist it's not crazy to believe in a very different look not far down the road. Notre Dame enjoyed some inher- ent advantages on Michigan's lost night in South Bend. The Irish were playing at home, under the lights, in front of a thunderous home crowd. They enjoyed the desperation ad- vantage, not wanting to exit the se- ries with five losses in their final six games against Michigan. Both sides endured personnel up- heavals before or during the game, but Michigan's left it the most ex- posed. Seeing freshman defensive back Jabrill Peppers unable to go in warm-ups, then losing senior cor- nerback Raymon Taylor to injury very early in the game, propped the door open for Notre Dame quarter- back Everett Golson to enjoy a career night. He did, carving up the reordered Michigan secondary by connecting on 23 of 34 passes for 226 yards with three touchdowns. U-M defensive coordinator Greg Mattison noted it might have been the best game Gol- son ever played. It obviously wasn't Michigan's best. The Wolverines did come away with a major checklist of fixes to make, one they'll try and use to their advantage now that the competition is ramping up once again. Offense It doesn't get any worse than a shutout, at least as far as the bot- tom line. New offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier didn't shy away from answering for it, either. "Obviously, when you don't score and you're the offensive coordina- tor, it's not good," he said. "It's been a lot of reflection. What could we have done differently? What should we have done differently? Obviously, I take big ownership on this." At the same time, Nussmeier didn't concede anything about not being able to generate a strong move forward. In fact, he noted aspects of the Notre Dame game that provided some encouragement. The first two times the Wolverines had the ball, they drove to the Notre Dame 29 and the Irish 30. They rushed the football decently on both drives as well, featuring runs of 13, seven, five, nine and six yards along the way. Both times, though, they couldn't move the chains at the end of the