The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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eraged 42.5 yards per punt, but only because end-over-end tumblers un- intentionally hit far short of the punt returner and rolled. Hoke reiterated the message that all positions feature competition at all times, while voic- ing confidence in his kickers to get things straightened out. There's reason to believe in both, since Wile had connected on 5 of 8 career field goals coming into this year, and Hagerup averaged 45 yards a punt two years ago, earning Big Ten Punter of the Year honors. But when things go wrong, every- thing goes under the microscope. Michigan scrutinized all, then stressed learning from it and moving on. Former Michigan All-American linebacker Ron Simpkins, an analyst on TheWolverine.com, put it best: "Let's play this thing out. You never know what's going to happen over the course of a full season. My thing is, 'Hey, we didn't work all summer for two games. We worked for the whole season.' "You continue to play hard. Things are going to happen sometimes. Teams lose that aren't supposed to lose, injuries happen to key players. You never give up. "In any sport, you compete all the way til the end. I can't imagine these guys worked as hard as they did all offseason to give up after two games. I think they'll come back more fo- cused and more with the mindset that, 'We can't afford to lose any more games,' and play hard." ❑ What They're Saying About The End Of The Michigan-Notre Dame Series The lopsidedness of the final Michigan-Notre Dame contest for the foresee- able future distracted somewhat from the parting of ways. Plenty of folks still weighed in on the separation between the two historical elites. Michael Rosenberg, SI.com: "So there are bigger rivalries, better rivalries, more heated rivalries. But Michigan-Notre Dame is absolutely the most passive- aggressive rivalry in the country. They are two Midwestern gentlemen who shake hands and curse each other under their breath. "The rivalry ends this weekend, in an utterly ridiculous and absolutely fitting way. "Notre Dame says it can't keep playing Michigan. No more room on the sched- ule. So on Saturday, the Fighting Irish host the series finale, and then that's it. "But two days before kickoff, Notre Dame announced … a series with Ohio State — which, of course, is Michigan's biggest rival. This is like breaking up with somebody by saying, 'It's not you. It's me. I really want to date your sister.'" Michael Rothstein, ESPN.com: "Golden Tate sat at his locker Thursday after- noon and sounded both defiant and somewhat annoyed. He has not played at Notre Dame in five seasons, won a Super Bowl with Seattle and now plays his NFL games in Michigan, about 40 minutes from Ann Arbor.