Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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Nemesis Quarterback Denard Robinson leads the youthful Wolverines into South Bend looking to break Irish hearts yet again By Wes Morgan In terms of how the Notre Dame football team prepares for Michigan’s nocturnal visit on Sept. 22, it’s obvious that figuring out a way to slow Wolverines senior quarterback Denard Robinson is the first bullet point. He’s been a thorn in Fighting Irish head coach Brian Kelly’s and defensive coordinator Bob Diaco’s side since 2010. In the last two games between the two programs, both of which Michigan stole in the closing seconds, Robinson has accounted for 366 yards and three touchdowns on the ground, and 582 yards with five scores through the air. Simply put, he’s ripped many Irish hearts out. But a 1-1 start to the season for the Wolverines, which included a 41-14 thrashing by No. 1 Alabama at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, to open the year, and a 31-25 win over Air Force, has cooled off some of the Heisman Trophy talk for the 6-0, 197-pound playmaker. In that span, Robinson collected three touchdown passes as well as three interceptions, though he still averaged more than 122 rushing yards and 200 passing yards per contest. The Irish know what they’re up against in the do-it-all talent. But there are a number of flashy freshmen in maize and blue with which Notre Dame must also deal. “Devin Funchess has been a huge surprise,” said Mike Rothstein, who covers Michigan football for ESPN.com’s WolverineNation. “Against Air Force, he had the first 100-yard receiving game by any Michigan tight end since 1997. There have been several pleasant surprises by rookies on defense and special teams as well. “Dennis Norfleet, as a kick returner, is going to break a couple big ones this year,” Rothstein added. “He’s certainly the best they’ve had since Darryl Stonum [who set the school record for return yards in a season with 1,001 in 2009]. He’s pretty dynamic. He’s very fast, very quick and for a freshman makes good reads.” Norfleet has averaged 23.1 yards per return on 11 attempts through two contests. “You’ve got two true freshmen, Joe Bolden and James Ross III, that are pushing for time at linebacker,” Rothstein explained. “You have a couple of true freshmen in Mario Ojemudia and Ondre Pipkins who are getting time on the defensive line. You have Jarrod Wilson at safety who’s really … not necessarily making a push, because they’re pretty set at safety, but he’s in the safety rotation back there and seems to be getting in on specialized packages. “The amount of freshmen they’re playing has been interesting. I think it’s only going to grow more as the season wears on.” For now, what head coach Brady Hoke wants to see is increased production from the players that entered the season with high expectations. The Wolverines, minus Robinson’s ground production, have registered just 57 rushing yards and zero touchdowns. Redshirt junior running back Fitzgerald Toussaint piled up more than 1,000 yards in 2011. He was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol prior to the team’s season opener against the Crimson Tide and was suspended for that contest. In his return versus Air Force, he rushed for seven yards on eight carries. “You look at Michigan’s run game, and that really hasn’t gotten going,” Rothstein said. “Most people thought that Fitzgerald Toussaint would be a proven, known commodity. He was suspended for the Alabama game, but he just couldn’t get going against Air Force, whether that was because they didn’t give him enough carries or the offensive line wasn’t blocking for him. Whatever it was, it just wasn’t really happening.” Another underperforming player has been wide receiver Roy Roundtree, a fifth-year senior who caught the game-winning touchdown against Notre Dame with two seconds remaining last season in Ann Arbor. He finished 2011 with 19 receptions for 355 yards and two touchdowns — a year after making 72 snags for 935 yards and seven scores. He has just three catches for 17 yards thus far in 2012. “Junior Devin Gardner — a 6-5, athletic guy that really is a good jumper — has really become their top receiver from the outset,” Rothstein said. “Even against Alabama he was getting a lot of the targets. Roundtree is just really struggling to get separation.” Michigan’s defense has had to adjust after losing sophomore starting cornerback Blake Countess to a knee injury in the opener. The Wolverines are running Courtney Avery and Raymon Taylor at that position opposite fifth-year senior J.T. Floyd. Partly because Air Force isn’t much of a passing team, Michigan has allowed just 326 passing yards and two touchdowns through the air in its first two outings. At linebacker, Hoke believes he has a good mix of veterans and fresh talent to make things work. At least that’s the hope. “I hate to say it’s an open competition at linebacker, but it feels that way,” Rothstein said. “Kenny Demens didn’t play at all in the second half against Air Force. He’s a fifth-year senior middle linebacker. Joe Bolden, a freshman, replaced him. “I think it’s going to be a situation where you see a lot of 50-50 splits between guys that have a lot of experience and guys that don’t have any, but just have a ton of talent, especially on the defensive side of the ball.” Facts & Figures Michigan at Notre Dame Game Info Date: Sept. 22, 2012 Site: Notre Dame Stadium (80,795) Kickoff: 7:30 p.m. ET Television: NBC Radio: This broadcast can be heard live on SIRIUS Satellite Radio (channel 129). Series Facts: This will be the 40th meeting between the two teams, with Michigan holding a 23-15-1 advantage. The Wolverines have won the last three straight games, including last year’s 35-31 victory in the final seconds in Ann Arbor, Mich. Michigan Head Coach Brady Hoke’s Record • 12-3 (.800) in two seasons at Michigan • 13-12 (.520) in two seasons at San Diego State • 34-38 (.472) in six seasons at Ball State Prime Personnel • QB Denard Robinson — The senior quarterback has continued his one-man show for the Wolverines in the early going of the 2012 season. In the first two games, he posted a team-high 245 rushing yards and three touchdowns, while completing nearly 50 percent of his passes for 408 yards with three scores and three interceptions. • WR Jeremy Gallon — The redshirt junior receiver has five catches for a team-best 114 yards and has already proven to be a deep threat with a 71-yard reception. • WR Devin Gardner — A converted quarterback, the junior wideout capitalized on his one catch in the season opener against Alabama with a 44-yard touchdown, and added five receptions for 63 yards and another TD against Air Force. • S Jordan Kovacs — The fifth-year senior safety has started 36 games for the Wolverines and paced the squad with 17 tackles (13 solo), including one stop for loss, in the first two contests. • LB Jake Ryan — The redshirt sophomore linebacker started 11 games last year, lining up at both outside linebacker and defensive end. He has 16 stops (1.5 for loss) and a fumble recovery through two games. For The Record • Michigan has beaten Notre Dame by a combined 12 points in the last three meetings. The final two matchups resulted in Wolverines come-from-behind touchdowns with less than a minute to play — a two-yard rush by Denard Robinson with 27 seconds left in 2010 in South Bend, and a 16-yard strike from Robinson to Roy Roundtree with two seconds remaining last fall at The Big House. • The two teams have met every year since 2002 and will continue to do so until 2017. The schools are scheduled for a two-year hiatus after that, and Notre Dame’s recent non-football deal with the ACC requires the Irish to play five ACC teams per year. It’s unknown if the rivalry will resume in 2020.