It’s no secret that Denard Robinson had a bad game against Michigan State on Saturday or that his passing has not shown much improvement since last season. He went 9-for-24 last Saturday, lowering his season completion rate to 53.9 percent, and threw an interception to raise his season total to a nation-leading 11. Michigan fans across the spectrum are clamoring for Devin Gardner to replace him. So why is this guy still the starting quarterback at Michigan?

Denard already ranks in the top 10 in every passing and rushing category (photo by the Ann Arbor News)

The answer, in short, is because by the time he hangs up his jersey for the last time, Denard will be one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever don the maize and blue. You may scoff at that claim, given the number of signal-callers Michigan has sent to the NFL, but it depends on what your definition of quarterback is.

Is he the best pure, NFL-ready quarterback? No. There are probably a dozen Michigan alums that were better true pro-style quarterbacks. But college football is chalk full of effective quarterbacks who aren’t NFL-style QBs. Denard is one of the best, and the same can be said for his place in the history of college football’s all-time winningest program.

Don’t agree? Look at the numbers. He’s a year-and-a-half into his career as a starter and he already ranks in the top 10 in nearly every major offensive category, both passing and rushing.

Michigan has fielded 132 teams since the football program began in 1879. It has a history as rich as any school in the country. There have been some phenomenal players to take the field, but none have the statistical resume Robinson will have when he graduates.

Putting stats aside for a minute, the main metrics in which any player is judged – and rightfully so – are winning games, winning championships, and beating rivals. Right now, Denard trails in all three, but he’s not as far behind the greats as one would think.

He has a current record of 13-7 as a starting quarterback through his first 20 games. By contrast, Chad Henne and John Navarre were each 14-6, and Tom Brady and Elvis Grbac were 15-5. Brian Griese was 16-4 thanks to the national championship season of 1997, and Jim Harbaugh was 16-3-1. As you can see, Denard’s not far behind the recent greats in the win category. However, judging a quarterback by winning games alone is somewhat misleading unless you look at the talent he has around him.

Henne had probably the best crop of playmakers of any Michigan quarterback, with Braylon Edwards, Steve Breaston, Mario Manningham, and Adrian Arrington to throw to, Mike Hart to hand off to, and an NFL No. 1 overall pick, Jake Long, protecting him. Navarre had David Terrelle and Marquise Walker to throw to and Anthony Thomas and Chris Perry to hand off to. Griese had Amani Toomer, Tim Biakabatuka, Tai Streets, an NFL offensive line, and one of the greatest defenses of all time. Grbac had Desmond Howard, Derrick Alexander, and Ricky Powers.

Denard has some talent around him, but right now it pales in comparison to what Henne, Navarre, Griese, and Grbac had. Every single one of those above played or are playing in the NFL. How many of Denard’s current supporting cast will make it to the league?

Chad Henne is Michigan's career leader in all major passing categories, but had a losing record against rivals (photo by the Ann Arbor News)

Now that we’ve established that Denard is right on pace in the win category, lets move on to winning championships. If we’re talking national championships, then only Brian Griese can count in the modern era. We would have to go all the way back to Pete Elliott in 1948 to find the last Michigan quarterback to lay claim to that.

If we’re talking Big Ten championships, then Denard has some work to do. Henne started four years but won just one Big Ten title. Denard still has a chance –albeit slight – to achieve that this season. He also has a year left. Brady, Griese, and Harbaugh each also won one. Navarre won two, although one was in 2000 when he started just four games and split time with Drew Henson.

How about beating rivals? This has a chance to be Denard’s strongest comparison but just like winning games, this takes help. He has beaten Notre Dame both times he’s faced them – and did it almost singlehandedly each time. He’s lost twice to Michigan State and is 0-1 against Ohio State with a chance to even that record at the end of November. That would pull him to 3-3 against rivals, and with a sweep in 2012, he could get to 6-3. But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. Since he will play nine career rivalry games, barring injury, he’ll either finish with a winning or losing record in those games.

Henne went 5-6 (4-0 against Michigan State, 1-2 against Notre Dame, but 0-4 against Ohio State). Navarre went 4-4 (2-1 against Michigan State, 1-1 against Notre Dame, and 1-2 against Ohio State). Griese was 4-1 (2-0 against Ohio State, 1-0 against Notre Dame, and 0-1 against Michigan State). Grbac was 5-2-1 (2-0 against Ohio State, 2-1 against Michigan State, and 1-2-1 against Notre Dame). Harbaugh went 6-1 (2-0 against both Ohio State and Notre Dame, and 2-1 against Michigan State).

So by that measure, Harbaugh, Grbac, and Griese lead, but again, Denard still has a chance to achieve a winning record, which Henne and Navarre couldn’t. Only Henne had a losing record, so Denard will have to avoid doing that.

Stats-wise, Denard currently ranks 9th in career completions (272), 10th in passing yards (4,011), 9th in touchdown passes (31), 9th in 100-yard passing games (14), and 6th in 200-yard passing games (9). He also has the second-best single-game completion percentage, with his 86.3 percent performance against UConn last season, he currently ranks 5th in career completion percentage (59.9), just ahead of Henne, and 4th in career efficiency rating (145.9), ahead of both Henne and Brady. Last season’s 2,570 passing yards was the 7th-best season total in Michigan history.

By the time his career is over, Denard should conceivably rank third or fourth in every major passing category, behind only Henne and Navarre.

Rushing-wise, he’s like no other Michigan has seen. Michigan has had some agile quarterbacks, but none put up anywhere close to the rushing numbers he has so far, partially because they all had solid running backs alongside them. Denard is already second in Big Ten history for quarterback rushing yards, trailing only Illinois’ Juice Williams, and he’s just 1,080 away from passing Williams.

He currently ranks 10th in Michigan career rushing yards (2,815) and career rushing touchdowns (28). Those numbers are for any Michigan player, not just quarterbacks. He also has the highest career yards-per carry average (6.49), the 4th-best single season yardage total (1,702), and the 5th-best single game total (258). Last week, he passed Tim Biakabatuka in yards. By the time his career is over, he’ll likely rank in the top four in yards and top two or three in touchdowns.

So buckle up Michigan fans, because right now we’re witnessing one of the most prolific Michigan quarterbacks of all time, whether you like his style or not. After he graduates, Michigan will likely go back to the NFL-style signal-caller, and years from now, we’ll all look back with reverence at the Michigan legend that was Denard Robinson. Let’s put to rest the calls for Gardner.

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan. For a full rundown of our rivals’ games, see Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5.

Last week we saw this week’s opponent, Michigan State, shut down Ohio State on the road, while Notre Dame blew out an overmatched Purdue squad in West Lafayette.

The Irish and Buckeyes are going in opposite directions. Notre Dame has rebounded from two losses to start the season, while Ohio State can’t find its offense with Joe Bauserman at the helm and has turned to relying on freshman Braxton Miller.

Michigan State, meanwhile, is chugging along after falling to Notre Dame in Week 3, and heads into this week’s matchup fresh off a bye week. So how did the teams far on Saturday?

Ohio State: Lost to #14 Nebraska 27-34 Record: 3-3 For three quarters it looked as if Ohio State had risen from the dead and was poised to continue Nebraska’s rude Big Ten awakening. But when Miller went down in the third with a sprained ankle after guiding the Buckeyes to a 27-6 lead, Bauserman came in and erased any hope OSU had of returning home above .500. Miller wasn’t outstanding – he completed 5-of-8 passes for 95 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 91 yards on 10 carries – but he wasn’t awful like Bauserman either. The Husker comeback started when Miller fumbled, allowing Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez to score the Big Red’s first touchdown of the day. There was no looking back from there as Martinez threw a 36-yard touchdown pass to Quincy Enunwa and a 30-yarder to Rex Burkhead to tie the game. Ohio State punted it back to Nebraska and Burkhead ran for the winning score a few plays later. Bauserman assured himself a big fat spot on the bench the rest of the season with a 1-for-10 performance for just 13 yards and an interception. Miller’s just a freshman and prone to making mistakes, but he at least gives Ohio State a viable run/pass threat on the reins. If he’s not able to go due to injury, Ohio State is as good as dead. One thing Michigan fans can take away from this one is Ohio State exposed Nebraska’s defense much like Wisconsin did a week prior. The Buckeyes rushed for 243 yards on 5.9 yards per carry. That bodes well for Michigan when the Huskers come to town in mid-November. Next: Saturday at #16 Illinois (6-0, 2-0) – 3:30pm on ABC Prediction: Illinois 31 – Ohio 17 A dejected Luke Fickell leaves the field after blowing a 21-point third quarter lead (photo by Nati Harnik, AP)

Michigan State: Bye Record: 4-1 (1-0) Michigan State got a week off to prepare for this Saturday’s battle for the Paul Bunyan Trophy. With Mark Dantonio in East Lansing, MSU is 1-1 after the bye week, narrowly beating Purdue 35-31 last season, and falling to Penn State 49-14 in 2008. Next: Saturday v. #11 Michigan (6-0, 2-0) Prediction: Check back for my game preview on Friday morning

Notre Dame: Beat Air Force 59-33 Record: 4-2 Notre Dame exhibited probably its best offensive performance of the season on Saturday with a 59-33 win over Air Force. The Irish stormed out of the gates to a 35-9 lead and led 42-16 at the half thanks to four Tommy Rees touchdown passes. ND flashed near perfect offensive balance with 294 passing yards on 36 attempts and 266 rushing yards on 29 attempts. Rees finished 23-of-32 for 261 yards and three touchdowns. Most importantly, he didn’t commit a turnover that plagued him at the beginning of the season. Andrew Hendrix led the Irish in rushing with six carries for 111 yards, while Jonas Gray and Cierre Wood split the rest with 69 and 66 yards, respectively. Gray scored a pair of touchdowns and Wood scored one. Notre Dame’s defense, which completely shut down Purdue a week earlier, was the sore spot, giving up 565 total yards including 363 on the ground. Much of that was in garbage time late in the fourth quarter, however, as Air Fore scored two touchdowns in the final four-and-a-half minutes. Notre Dame is blossoming into the team it was projected to be at the start of the season. With a fairly soft schedule remaining, it’s likely to have just one or two more tough games. USC is entirely beatable two weeks from now, while Navy will give the Irish a test the following week and a visit to Stanford is the least winnable game left. As hard as it is to do so, Michigan fans should root for the Irish to win out and move its way into the polls. It will only help Michigan’s BCS standings the rest of the season, especially if Michigan beats Michigan State this Saturday, who Notre Dame beat convincingly. Next: Saturday v. Air Force (3-1) – 3:30pm on NBC Prediction: Notre Dame 34 – Air Force 24 Notre Dame is feeling the love after four straight wins (photo by Michael Conroy, AP)

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan. For a full rundown of our rivals’ games, see Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4.

We’ve already seen Ohio, Michigan State, and Notre Dame lose this season and it has been fun to watch, especially since Michigan is currently 5-0 and ranked 11^th nationally.

Notre Dame seems to have found its bearings after dropping its first two games of the season. Tommy Rees is entrenched as the starter the Golden Domers could be looking at a 9-3 season.

Michigan State beat a pair of cupcakes to open the season but got crushed by Notre Dame in Week 3. What we’ve seen so far is a team with an experienced senior quarterback and a solid defense, but holes in the offensive line and a lackluster running game.

Ohio State whooped up on Akron and Colorado and squeaked by Toledo, but showed absolutely no signs of life in a 24-6 loss to Miami. The defense is pretty solid, but offensive woes have plagued the Buckeyes. The offensive line is horrendous and neither Joe Bauserman nor freshman Braxton Miller has separated himself as the starting quarterback.

So how did the three rivals fare last weekend? Let’s take a look.

Ohio State: Lost to Michigan State 7-10 Record: 3-2 At times last Saturday Ohio State looked almost incompetent on offense in a 10-7 loss to Michigan State. It wasn’t even that close, as the Buckeye had to score with 10 seconds left to avoid a first home shutout loss since 1982. The offense totaled just 178 total yards, the lowest since a 2004 game against Iowa. Bauserman and Miller combined to complete 12-of-24 passes for 143 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. That stat wouldn’t be horrific if the Bucks had a solid rushing day. However, OSU ran for just 35 yards on 39 attempts. For those not good at math, that’s less than a yard per carry. Those stats are somewhat misleading, however, since Bauserman and Miller were sacked nine times. Starting running back Jordan Hall carried 18 times for 45 yards and Carlos Hyed rushed five times for 33 yards, so the two combined for 3.4 yards per carry, which still isn’t good. Ohio State’s defense kept the team in the game, holding Michigan State’s rushing attack to just 71 yards on 31 carries, and forcing three turnovers, but it wasn’t enough. It still allowed B.J. Cunningham to have a monster day with nine catches for 154 yards and the Spartans’ only touchdown. The five players that were suspended for the first five games were supposed to return this week when the Buckeyes travel to Lincoln, Neb. for the first meeting with the Nebraska Cornhuskers as Big Ten foes. However, receiver DeVier Posey and running back Boom Herron had their suspensions extended at least one more week as new allegations surfaced of accepting too much money for summer a summer job from a former OSU booster. Those guys were supposed to give the Buckeye offense a shot in the arm, but instead, Ohio State only gets back left tackle Mike Adams. He will help solidify the line, but he won’t be enough. Ohio State also lost its second-leading receiver, Verlon Reed, to a knee injury. Nebraska is 4-1 and fresh off a “welcome to the Big Ten” spanking by then-No. 7 Wisconsin. Head Coach Bo Pelini played defensive back for the Buckeyes in the late 1980s and he’ll have the ‘Huskers revved up for the team’s first home game as a Big Ten member. This game will be interesting for Michigan fans to watch because of Nebraska’s offense. While it’s not the same as Michigan’s, it features some of the same elements including quarterback Taylor Martinez who is just as adept with his feet as he is with his arm. Ohio State’s defense has played pretty well against traditional offenses so far, but how it will handle Martinez should give Michigan fans some hope for the end of November. Next: Saturday at #14 Nebraska (4-1) – 8pm on ABC Prediction: Nebraska 24 – Ohio 13 One of the many times an OSU quarterback was sacked on Saturday (photo by Kirk Irwin, Getty Images)

Michigan State: Beat Ohio State 10-7 Record: 4-1 Michigan State failed to show up in its first big game of the season, getting crushed by Notre Dame, but it came out in full force last Saturday in Columbus. While the score doesn’t accurately reflect it, the Spartans dominated Ohio State all game. The defense sacked Ohio State nine times and held the Buckeyes to just 178 yards of total offense, including just 35 rushing yards. Kirk Cousins had a steady game, completing 20-of-32 passes for 250 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. His 33-yard scoring strike to B.J. Cunningham was the Spartans’ lone touchdown on the day. He wasn’t without his mistakes, however. The score could have easily been more lopsided, but Cousins threw an interception in the end zone on a drive that certainly would have led to more points. Le’Veon Bell rushed for 50- yards on 14 carries and Edwin Baker carried 12 times for 36 yards. It was Cunningham who stole the show, racking up nearly as many yards as Ohio State’s entire offense. He caught nine passes for 154 yards and a touchdown. While MSU’s offensive line didn’t allow a sack, it still only paved the way for 71 rushing yards and continues to be the soft point of the offense. Defensively, MSU continues to play well. The Spartans rank first in the nation in total defense and tied for second in scoring defense. If Michigan gets by Northwestern unscathed this week, it will have its hands full staying unbeaten against this defense next weekend. This week, Michigan State is off and gets an extra week to prepare for Michigan. Head Coach Mark Dantonio will certainly keep a close eye on Michigan’s Saturday night game at Northwestern to see how Michigan handles its first road game. Next: Bye Prediction: 2 players arrested B.J. Cunningham torched the OSU defense (photo by Kirk Irwin, Getty Images)

Notre Dame: Beat Purdue 38-10 Record: 3-2 Notre Dame got its easiest win of the season last Saturday, beating Purdue 38-10 in West Lafayette, Ind. Tommy Rees solidified his starting spot by throwing for 254 yards on 24-of-40, with three touchdowns, and most importantly, no interceptions. Rees connected with star receiver Michael Floyd 12 times for 137 yards and a touchdown, a sea change from the previous week when he caught just four passes for 27 yards. On the ground, Notre Dame pounded away at the Boilermakers, rushing Cierre Wood 20 times for 191 yards and a touchdown and Jonas Gray 15 times for 94 yards and a touchdown. Notre Dame outgained Purdue 551 yards to 276. It was ND’s highest offensive output of the season and third time gaining over 500 yards. Most importantly, the Irish committed no turnovers after giving the ball away 15 times over the first four games. It seems as if Notre Dame has turned the corner on its season after dropping its first two games. This week, 3-1 Air Force comes to South Bend to begin a tough three game homestand that also includes USC and Navy. Since Michigan beat the Irish and Notre Dame beat Michigan State, we might as well keep rooting for them to win out. As hard as it is to root for ND, the better it does the rest of the season the better it will reflect on Michigan at season’s end. Next: Saturday v. Air Force (3-1) – 3:30pm on NBC Prediction: Notre Dame 34 – Air Force 24 Cierre Wood rushed for 191 yards and a touchdown against Purdue (photo by AJ Mast, AP)

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan. For a full rundown of our rivals’ games, see Week 1, Week 2, Week 3.

In Week 3, we saw Ohio State literally give up to Miami when head coach Luke Fickell decided to eat all three timeouts when trailing in the final minutes. We also saw Notre Dame salvage a horrific start to its season by dominating our third rival, Michigan State. All three were back in action this past weekend trying to get back in the win column. Did they succeed? Let’s see.

Ohio State: Beat Colorado 37-17 Record: 3-1 Many around the nation, and especially in the Big Ten were wondering how Ohio State would respond to its first loss of the season when it returned home to take on the Colorado Buffaloes. With true freshman quarterback Braxton Miller getting the first start of his career, the Buckeyes passed the test, winning 37-17. Just like his embattled predecessor, Terrelle Pryor, Miller took the reigns of the Buckeye offense in just the fourth game of his career, and it appears he’s not going to relinquish it back to Joe Bauserman. Miller didn’t have an outstanding passing game – it was rather Denard-ish – he tossed two touchdown passes, ran for 83 yards, and most importantly, didn’t make mistakes. Miller connected with Devin Smith twice for touchdowns of 32 yards and 17 yards. Ohio State also got rushing touchdowns out of Jordan Hall and Carlos Hyde. Kicker Drew Basil connected on field goals of 28, 18, and 47 yards. While it was good for Ohio State to get back in the win column, it wasn’t entirely surprising considering Colorado hasn’t won a road game since beating Texas Tech on Oct. 27, 2007. This week, Ohio State gets another test when it hosts Michigan State. Just like last week’s Notre Dame-Michigan State game, this one is sure to make Michigan fans happy as one rival is bound to lose. Both teams rank in the top 20 nationally in points against, so look for a low-scoring ball game in Columbus. Next: Saturday v. Michigan State (3-1) – 3:30pm on ABC Braxton Miller got his first start but wasn't able to do a very good Denard impression (but who can?)

Michigan State: Beat Central Michigan 45-7 Record: 3-1 Sandwiched between two big games, Michigan State had to turn its attention to a Mid-American Conference pushover this past weekend. Unlike the previous week against Notre Dame, Michigan State put this one out of the way early. It was the Le’Veon Bell show as he ran for 81 yards and three touchdowns, all in the first half. Bell averaged 10.1 yards per carry; granted, the Chippewas boast the nation’s 7th-worse defense. The Spartans jumped out to a 31-0 halftime lead, scoring 24 in the second quarter alone, and never looked back. Quarterback Kirk Cousins had a so-so day, completing 13-of-22 passes for 213 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. Sophomore safety Isaiah Lewis returned an interception 37 yards for a touchdown. It was his second interception of the season. Michigan State outgained Central 418 to 112. This week, Michigan State travels to Ohio State to begin a brutal four-game stretch that also includes matchups with Michigan, Wisconsin, and Nebraska. As mentioned above, both teams rank in the nation’s top 20 defenses this season, so a low-scoring game is in order. It will come down to whether MSU’s defense can cause OSU freshman quarterback Braxton Miller to make mistakes. Next: Saturday at Ohio State (3-1) – 3:30pm on ABC Isaiah Lewis had a pick-six last week and will now face true freshman quarterback Braxton Miller

Notre Dame: Beat Pittsburgh 15-12 Record: 2-2 After taking down Michigan State a week ago, Notre Dame traveled to Pittsburgh to try to break even. It wasn’t pretty, but the Irish came away with a 15-12 win. It took a fourth quarter touchdown drive to top the Panthers. Trailing 12-7 in the fourth, ND took over on its own 15-yard line with 11:28 to play. Quarterback Tommy Rees led the Irish on an 11-play, 85-yard touchdown drive, capped off with a 6-yard pass to tight end Tyler Eifert. The Irish succeeded with the two-point conversion to take a three-point lead. On the game-winning drive, Rees completed all eight of his passes for 74 yards. Prior to that drive, however, Rees and the Irish struggled against a mediocre Pitt defense. Rees was just 16-of-33 for 142 yards and an interception in the first three quarters. Cierre Wood was the workhorse on the day, carrying the ball 23 times for 94 yards, but it was Jonas Grey who made the big splash. In the second quarter, he busted loose for a 79-yard touchdown run, the only score of the day for the Irish aside from the game-winning drive. Eifert was the go-to guy, catching eight passes for 75 yards and a touchdown, most of that on the final drive. He also caught the two-point conversion. This week, Notre Dame visits Purdue, which is 2-1 with wins over Middle Tennessee and Southeast Missouri State, and a 24-22 loss to Rice. It should be a the easiest game of the year for Notre Dame, although the Boilers tent to play the Irish tough regardless of the records. Next: Saturday at Purdue (2-1) – 8pm on ESPN Tyler Eifert caught the winning touchdown and two-point conversion for the Irish (photo by Keith Srakocic, AP)

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan.

Last week, we saw Ohio State nearly lose to Toledo, while Michigan State stomped Florida Atlantic and Notre Dame lost to our beloved Wolverines. We all got the sense that Ohio State was nowhere near as good as it has been for the past decade and was ripe for a loss. We also felt that Michigan State hadn’t been tested yet this season and if Notre Dame could find a way to stop shooting itself in the foot, it was capable of beating the Spartans. Did any of that come to fruition? Let’s see.

Ohio State: Lost to Miami 6-24 Record: 2-1 In Week 1, Ohio State dominated Akron, but in Week 2, the Buckeyes struggled against a good Toledo team. It showed signs of weakness that made the Buckeyes ripe for a loss when they traveled to Miami for a return matchup with the Hurricanes. That came true as Ohio State was never really in the game from the start and showed little signs of fight in a 24-6 loss in the Cheat and Still Suck Bowl or Ineligibowl or whatever name is most appropriate. The Buckeyes were held to just 209 yards of total offense from a Miami defense that gave up 499 in a 32-24 loss to Maryland in Week 1. Quarterback Joe Bauserman, who played efficiently enough in the first two games, completed just 2-of-14 passes for 13 yards in this one. Freshman quarterback Braxton Miller completed just 2-of-4 for 22 yards and an interception. This against a Miami defense that allowed Maryland to pass for 348 in Week 1. Miami scored touchdowns on its first two possessions, while forcing Ohio State into three-and-outs on each of its first two. However, it wasn’t as if the Hurricanes turned in a flawless performance. Quarterback Jacory Harris tossed two interceptions but the Buckeyes weren’t able to capitalize. Ohio State rushed the ball fairly well, with Jordan Hall gaining 87 yards on 14 carries (6.2 ypc) and Carlos Hyde picking up another 54 yards on 12 carries (4.5 ypc). But the passing game wasn’t working, which allowed Miami to stuff the run and keep the Buckeyes out of the end zone. Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the game was that interim head coach Luke Fickell seemingly gave up with a couple minutes left, trailing 17-6, and all three timeouts remaining. Fickell chose not to stop the clock even once as Miami drove for the final score – this a week after Michigan scored two touchdowns in the final 1:13 to beat Notre Dame. With the loss, Ohio State fell out the national rankings for the first time since Nov. 21, 2004 when it entered after beating Michigan. Ohio State now has a quarterback situation on its hands with Colorado coming to town. The Buffaloes are just 1-2, having lost to Hawaii, Cal (in OT), and beaten Colorado State. Next: Saturday v. Colorado (1-2)  - 3:30pm on ABC OSU dropped its first road game to an unranked non-conference opponent in 23 years

Michigan State: Lost to Notre Dame 13-31 Record: 2-1 After rolling through two cupcakes in the first two weeks of the season, Michigan State traveled to South Bend to take on a Notre Dame team that played well in two season-opening losses. Though the Spartans outgained the Irish 358-275, nearly all of it was through the air and MSU wasn’t able to turn the yards into points. ND stuffed the Spartan run game, holding Le’Veon Bell and Edwin Baker to a combined 53 yards on 17 carries (3.1 ypc). In MSU’s first two games, it averaged 213 rushing yards per game, but it struggled to just 29 against ND. Michigan gained 114 against the Irish in Week 2, mostly by Denard Robinson. One bright spot for the Spartans was the combination of quarterback Kirk Cousins and receiver B.J. Cunningham. The two connected 12 times for 158 yards. Unfortunately for the Spartans, 12 penalties and a pair of turnovers were enough to keep them from winning. State now hosts Central Michigan, who beat South Carolina State and lost to Kentucky and Western Michigan. It should be another easy win for MSU before a big showdown in Columbus a week later. Next: Saturday v. Central Michigan (1-2) – 12pm on ESPNU B.J. Cunningham was the lone bright spot for Sparty at Notre Dame (photo by Michael Conroy, AP)

Notre Dame: Beat Michigan State 31-13 Record: 1-2 Contrary to what was written about Michigan State above, Notre Dame entered the matchup hungry for a win after two heartbreaking losses and finally strung together a good enough game to get the win. Cierre Wood scored a pair of rushing touchdowns and George Atkinson III took a kickoff back 89 yards for a touchdown. Quarterback Tommy Rees had a more consistent game than a week ago, completing 18-of-26 passes for 161 yards, a touchdown and an interception. It was the Irish defense that deserves the most praise for this win, shutting down the Spartan run game, and picking off Kirk Cousins inside the five-yard line to seal the win. This result can be looked at two ways for Michigan: bad that State lost since Michigan can’t hand them their first loss, or good because it proves they are beatable. I prefer the latter because Michigan already beat Notre Dame. This gives UM confidence that it can go in and beat MSU by shutting down the running game like ND did. This week, ND travels to Pittsburgh who gave up a huge lead in losing to Iowa last week. Next: Saturday at Pittsburgh (2-1) – 12pm on ABC ND's Robert Blanton sealed the win with an INT (photo by John Gress, Getty Images)

When Brady Hoke was named head coach in January, he immediately set the tone by referring to Ohio State as simply Ohio and made it very clear that beating Ohio was one of the supreme goals each season. And so we at Maize and Go Blue are taking it upon ourselves to dedicate a little time each week to our rival as well. In this weekly segment, we’ll give a brief recap of the previous week’s game and what it means for Michigan.

In Week 1, we saw Ohio State and Michigan State dominate inferior opponents while Notre Dame struggled to a 23-20 waterlogged loss to South Florida. This week, we all know who Notre Dame played and the two “States” once again faced poor opponents.

The good thing about this coming weekend is we will be able to see all three in action. Michigan plays at noon, allowing us to watch MSU-ND at 3:30 and Ohio State at 7:30. But before we get ahead of ourselves, let’s take a look at how they fared in Week 2.

#17 Ohio State: Beat Toledo 27-22 Record: 2-0 While Ohio State looked like it was just going to move on from the Jim Tressel era as if nothing happened in its season-opening win over Akron last week, it looked every bit as young and inexperienced this past Saturday against a talented Toledo team. The Buckeyes held on to top the Rockets 27-22 to avoid a first loss in 92 years to an in-state team, however, OSU gave up the most points to a team from Ohio since allowing Oberlin College to score 26 back in 1909. Even though Ohio State escaped with the win, it wasn’t as if it actually earned it. Toledo committed 14 penalties for 102 yards, missed a 45-yard field goal, and gave up a 69-yard punt return to end the first half. OSU’s best possession of the day was its opening drive when it went 67 yards in seven plays and scored a touchdown on a 26-yard pass from Joe Bauserman to tight end Jake Stoneburner. It seemed as if OSU had picked up right where it left off last week. But Toledo scored on two straight possessions and converted a two-point attempt (because they couldn’t go for three) to jump out to a 15-7 lead. OSU took the lead back before the half on a 36-yard run by Carlos Hyde and the 69-yard punt return. Toledo wasn’t phased, however, taking the first drive of the second half 60 yards in five plays to re-take the lead. OSU took the lead back near the end of the third on another Hyde run and that’s where the score remained the rest of the game. On the game’s final drive, Toledo strung together a 13-play, 55-yard drive down to the Ohio State 17-yard line before falling short on downs, allowing the Buckeyes to take a knee. Bauserman completed just 16-of-30 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, while the Buckeyes averaged just 3.3 yards per rush on 34 carries, over a yard short of what New Hampshire recorded against the Rockets last week on the same amount of carries. Needless to say, the Bucks’ ground game did not impress. It was the pass defense, however, that serves as the most cause for alarm. Two Rockets topped 100 yards receiving, with Eric Page catching 12 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns and Adonis Thomas catching six for 111. That has to make Michigan fans happy given what we witnessed in the comeback against Notre Dame. Next: Saturday at Miami (0-1)  - 7:30pm on ESPN Chris Fields' 69-yard punt return right before the half was the play of the game (photo by Kirk Irwin, Getty Images)

#15 Michigan State: Beat Florida Atlantic 44-0 Record: 2-0 Just like last week, Michigan State thumped its cupcake, however, this time it looked better in doing so. Last week, State turned in a lackluster performance, leading just 14-6 at the half. This week, the game was over by the end of the first quarter. Running backs Edwin Baker and Le’Veon Bell each scored in the first and the Spartans stretched the lead to 27-0 by halftime on a pair of field goals and a 1-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins to Dion Sims. Not much else needs to be said about this game since it was against Florida Atlantic and doesn’t really give anyone a realistic look at how good the Spartans are. If anything, they proved the can in fact dominate an inferior opponent. State held the Owls to just 48 total yards and one first down the entire game. The week prior, FAU lost to Florida 41-3. Cousins turned in a workman-like performance, connecting on 16-of-21 passes for 183 yards and two touchdowns. Bell led the way on the ground with 14 carries for 69 yards, but the Spartans used a bevy of backs. This weekend, we will get a much better look at how good MSU actually is when it travels to South Bend to face a hungry Notre Dame team coming off a demoralizing loss to Michigan. If the Spartans haven’t completely shaken off the rust, they could be in for a battle with an Irish team looking to regain any semblance of credibility. Next: Saturday at Notre Dame (0-2) – 3:30pm on NBC Edwin Baker and the Spartans had an easy time with Florida Atlantic (photo by Al Goldis, AP)

Notre Dame: Lost to Michigan 35-31 Record: 0-2 What more really needs to be said about this one? Notre Dame came into the Big House hoping to end a two-game skid in the rivalry and sour Michigan’s first-ever home night game. It looked as if that would be the case when ND jumped out to a 24-7 lead and shut down Denard Robinson and Michigan’s offense. However, the Wolverines got going at the end of the third quarter and stormed back, outscoring the Irish 28-7 in the fourth to win when Robinson found Roy Roundtree in the end zone with just two seconds remaining. Aside from an ill-timed fumble, ND quarterback Tommy Rees played well, hitting 27-of-39 passes for 315 yards and three touchdowns. He did throw two picks, but those were largely a result of good defensive schemes by Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison, who was feast or famine in this one. When it was famine, it was Rees who made the check downs to find wide open receivers or gaping holes into backpedaling nose tackles. Notre Dame ran for six yards per carry, led by Cierre Wood who gained 134 yards on 25 carries. In addition, receiver Michael Floyd lit up the Wolverines secondary for 159 yards on 13 catches. Next: Saturday v. #15 Michigan State (2-0) – 3:30pm on NBC 5'8" Jeremy Gallon hauls in a jump ball for a touchdown, a perfect microcosm of ND's night

[Ed: Please welcome Chris to the Maize and Go Blue team. This is the first installment of his Monday Morning Quarterback feature. Also, please click here to see this week's Michigan Man 5-Spot Challenge results and here for the overall standings. Congratulations to this week's winner, BoMoHo]

This week I will be debuting the first edition of the Monday Morning Quarterback segment.  This feature will be dedicated to an analysis of some portion of the previous week’s game.  As a former Division 1 football player, I will do this through the lens of a player/coach, not just analyzing the game and talking about what happened, but discussing ways in which I believe the Wolverine coaches and/or players could be doing things better.  Of course, I don’t want this writing to always be negative in nature.  It’s easy to sit here at a computer and write my opinion instead of being on the field in the heat of the moment, so I will also write about some of the positive things that I see the Michigan team doing.  With all that being said, let’s get started.

After watching the entire Michigan-Notre Dame game on Saturday night, most of you will probably agree that it took almost an entire three quarters for the Michigan offense to get things going.  Other than a 43-yard TD pass from Denard Robinson to Junior Hemingway in the second quarter, it was the Michigan defense that kept the game within reach for the Wolverines, coming up with three turnovers.  During this time, I do not feel that offensive coordinator Al Borges did a good job of calling plays that would be successful against the Notre Dame defense.

Denard struggled as a pocket passer but shined in the fourth quarter (photo by the Ann Arbor News)

From where I was sitting, I saw the offense attempt to be a full-time power running team, drop Robinson straight back in the pocket to pass, and even thought I was watching a Rich Rodriguez-called game when I saw three plays in a row go: 1. Robinson Right, 2.Robinson Left, 3. Robinson Right, all out of the shotgun.

I think that it’s evident that the Notre Dame defensive front was not going to allow Michigan to line up and run a power attack at them and be successful.  Michigan tried that for three quarters, never getting more than a short gain.  Michigan just couldn’t match up O-line vs. D-line like they did against Western Michigan last week or like they will against Eastern Michigan next week.

While I do think that Robinson has improved in the passing game, it was very obvious that he still is not best suited to be throwing from the pocket.  With no pressure and given the time to set his feet before making the throw, he does okay.  However, that generally was not the case against the Notre Dame pass rush.  On plays in which Robinson dropped back to pass, Notre Dame brought pressure from the outside to keep him inside the pocket and rushed hard from the middle to close the pocket quickly.  This forced Robinson to either rush the throw, which usually went into double-coverage, or throw off his  back foot, which caused the ball to be overthrown, landing either in the hands of a defender or yards away from the intended receiver.

In terms of the Rich Rod playcalling, which only happened a few times throughout the game, I think this was more of a “Well, this play isn’t working, so let’s try this” type of play call.  That’s fine to do when you’re grasping at straws, trying to find something that will work, but let’s be honest, the QB Sweep is not the best play in football, even with Denard Robinson in your backfield.  Robinson is much more effective when he can run the ball out of the zone-read option, which freezes the defense and forces it to respect the fake to the running back before committing to the QB.  I believe that the development of a quality running back at Michigan will make this play even more effective in the future, but that’s a topic for another day.

At the end of the third quarter, Borges finally started calling a game which took advantage of the skills of his All-American quarterback.  No more drop-back passing, no more QB Sweep.  In the running game, Michigan still ran some power run, but they mixed it in with some zone-read plays for Robinson.  This kept the Notre Dame defense more off balance and allowed Robinson to keep the ball in his hands longer so he could make a play, which he did when he broke some big runs.

As this mix became more effective, Michigan then started running play-action pass off of it, getting Robinson out of the pocket instead of keeping him surrounded by the oncoming Notre Dame pass rush.

Denard is more effective when running the zone read (photo by the Ann Arbor News)

To be successful and take full advantage of Robinson’s skill set, this is what Michigan needs to do to win.  When Robinson got out on the edge with a run-pass option, it allowed him to better find the open receiver and also kept the defense from committing to tackling him because they still had to respect the pass.  The Michigan offense scored 28 points in one quarter doing this, as compared to the seven points through three quarters which they put up running the other stuff.  Even still, those seven points were more a result of poor defensive play by the Notre Dame defense as opposed to quality offensive play by the Michigan offense.

Now, you are probably saying to yourself, “How can you criticize Robinson’s passing when he was 11-24, 338 yds and 4 TD, including an outstanding game-winning last-minute drive?!” Obviously I was thrilled with the way that Robinson engineered that last drive, but it never would have happened if the Notre Dame defense, again, would not have blown the coverage on Jeremy Gallon, allowing him to gain 64 yards to get to the ND 16-yard line.  Furthermore, when one sees a stat line like Robinson’s, it must be realized that the majority of the yards came from deep passes, not from being accurate and hitting pass after pass.  Against a better secondary, those passes will be intercepted more often in the future.

For Michigan to be successful on offense, Borges and head coach Brady Hoke need to take advantage of Robinson’s skills and stop trying to make him something that he isn’t, all for the sake of running a more “traditional” Michigan offense.  I’m not saying to run the offense that we saw over the past three years.  We all know that Robinson cannot take the pounding of an eight-game Big Ten schedule without sustaining an injury.  Use bits and pieces of the traditional offense with a fullback and the power run, but get him out of the pocket on passing plays.  He is not, and never will be, a drop back passer.  Robinson is still the best player on the team, and as he goes, Michigan goes.

When Hoke arrived in Ann Arbor, he said that he would run an offense designed to take full advantage of the talent that he had in Denard Robinson while at the same time keeping him healthy by calling less designed runs strictly for him.  Let’s see it.

It was going to make history no matter what, but the first night game in Michigan history became an instant classic. In one of the best games in the history of the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry, Michigan was the last man standing, scoring twice in the final 1:13 to win 35-31.

From the beginning, it seemed as if Notre Dame was going to damper the festivities in front of the largest crowd in Michigan Stadium (and college football) history of 114,804. After holding Michigan to a three-and-out, the Irish marched down the field for a score. Quarterback Tommy Rees connected with Theo Riddick for a 7-yard touchdown. ND forced another three-and-out and went 83 yards in 10 plays for another touchdown, this time a 4-yard run by Cierre Wood. Just like that, Michigan was in a 14-0 hole.

But there lies the difference between a Brady Hoke-led team and a Rich Rodriguez-led team. In the last three years, that lead would have widened. Sure, the offense may have scored some points, but it would have ended up a 52-27 loss or something of that sort. Hoke’s teams will hang around and always have a chance to win just like his mentor Lloyd Carr’s teams.

Michigan vs. Notre Dame
	Final Stats
35	Final Score	31
2-0	Record	0-2
452	Total Yards	513
114	Net Rushing Yards	198
338	Net Passing Yards	315
16	First Downs	28
1-0	Fumbles – Lost	4-3
9-82	Penalties – Yards	9-75
5-193	Punts – Yards	4-134
22:59	Time of Possession	37:01
3-for-9	Third Down Conversions	8-for-14
0-for-0	Fourth Down Conversions	0-for-0
0	Sacks By – Yards	1-5
0-for-0	Field Goals	1-for-1
5-for-5	PATs	4-for-4
3-3	Red Zone Scores – Chances	3-5

Tonight, even when the offense was struggling to string together drives of more than three plays, the defense clamped down well enough to keep Michigan in the game. No, it wasn’t perfect. It still gave up over 500 yards of total offense and was the beneficiary of some lucky bounces, but defensive coordinator Greg Mattison turned up the pressure on Rees and forced some turnovers.

Michigan finally got on the board midway through the second quarter on a 43-yard touchdown pass from Denard Robinson to Junior Hemingway. ND added a field goal before the half to take a 17-7 lead into the locker room.

In the third quarter, the two teams traded punts and turnovers before ND punched it in again on a 15-yard pass from Rees to TJ Jones. At 24-7, the prospect looked bleak for Michigan, but that’s where things got interesting.

Denard found Hemingway for 77 yards down to the ND 6-yard line and three plays later, he recovered a Stephen Hopkins fumble on the goal line and took it in for the score to cut the lead to 24-14.

Michigan’s defense forced a punt and five plays later, Robinson hit Jeremy Gallon for a 14-yard touchdown to trim the lead to 24-21.

The teams traded turnovers once again and Michigan forced a Notre Dame punt with 2:16 to play. On 3rd-and-2, Robinson found Kelvin Grady for a 27-yard gain to the ND 21. On the next play, offensive coordinator Al Borges called a beautiful delayed screen to Vincent Smith, who weaved 21 yards into the endzone for the go-ahead score.

Unfortunately, Michigan left too much time on the clock and Rees hit a wide open Theo Riddick to take a 31-28 lead with just 30 seconds to play to seemingly dash Michigan’s hopes. On that play, Mattison had the entire defense up near the line of scrimmage, dropping back into a cover-3. However, Riddick went uncovered and the gamble to take away Michael Floyd didn’t pay off.

With 30 seconds to play, Michigan took over on its own 20. After an incomplete pass, Robinson stepped up in the pocket and threw a beautiful strike to a wide open Gallon on a wheel route, who scampered 64 yards like a hot herring in a cummerbund down to the ND 16-yard line.

Roundtree hauls in the game winning touchdown with two seconds left (photo by Carlos Osoriao, AP)

Already in field goal range, with only eight seconds left and two time outs, Borges elected to go for it all with a jump ball in the end zone. Roy Roundtree hauled it in despite a defensive pass interference and the celebration was on.

For the third straight year, Michigan beat Notre Dame in the final minute. In 2009, it was Tate Forcier hitting Greg Mathews with 11 seconds left. Last year, it was Denard on a two-yard run with 27 seconds remaining. And tonight, Robinson connected with Roundtree with just two seconds left.

While Notre Dame dominated most of the game, Robinson and Michigan took over in the fourth quarter to outlast the Irish. Hoke said after the game that the team still has a long way to go to get to playing Michigan football, but it’s in a much better position that Kelly’s Irish who have started 0-2 for the third time in the last 10 years.

The Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry has always produced some great games and this year didn’t disappoint. Michigan won its third straight over ND for the first time since 1908 and for the fifth time in the last six seasons.

Robinson completed just 11-of-24 passes but four of those went four touchdowns and he threw for 338 yards. He also rushed for 108 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries.

Robinson moved into the top 10 on Michigan’s career passing list, which is amazing considering the quarterbacks Michigan has had over the years. He now needs 1,270 yards to reach Rich Leach at the 9-spot. He also moved into third in Big Ten career yardage by a quarterback. With 350 more total yards, he will pass Illinois’ Juice Williams for second.

Next week, Michigan gets a breather against Eastern Michigan at 12pm on the Big Ten Network.

Michigan took care of Western Michigan last week, while Notre Dame fell to South Florida. Should be an easy matchup this week, right? Unfortunately, as Lee Corso likes to say: not so fast my friend. Notre Dame has a very good defense and probably the best receiver Michigan will face all season.

Desmond Howard made perhaps the greatest play in the history of the rivalry 20 years ago

However, Michigan has the momentum, both in the series and this season so far, and the home field advantage which will be electric in the first ever night game in Michigan Stadium.

Last week, surprisingly, no one on our staff predicted the game would last less than three quarters. We must all be weathermen or something. Nevertheless, Chris was the closest to the final score, at least getting Michigan’s half right, and receives the coveted Bucking Bronco trophy.

This week, we will be battling for a box set of the hit TV show Are You Afraid of the Dark? as well as a box of Lucky Charms.

The picks:

Justin: Despite what happened last week, I still believe that Notre Dame is the better overall team right now and is extremely dangerous in this game. However, since I’m not Lou Holtz, I’m not picking them to go all the way, and I think Michigan can and will win this game. It will be a close contest and Michigan will have trouble stopping Michael Floyd, but on the other side, I think Notre Dame still won’t have an answer for Denard Robinson and we may see a few more veins popping out of Brian Kelly’s head.

Michigan 34 – Notre Dame 31

Matt: Last week, Michigan played Western Michigan in a game that ended because of bad weather. Michigan started off slow, but ended up stepping up and winning 34-10.

Meanwhile, Notre Dame played in a game against USF, which also featured some pretty threatening weather.

Western Michigan and USF however, are two different teams.

It’s only week two in college football, so trying to make a really close prediction is still difficult.

Last week against Western Michigan, the Wolverines looked much better than last year, but like I said last week, they couldn’t get too much worse.

Denard hardly ran the ball at all and only passed for 98 yards, but we all knew with Hoke bringing in his pro style offense, Denard’s video game-like performances were a thing of the past. Fitzgerald Toussaint, however, wound up with 80 yards rushing and two touchdowns, and the defense looked pretty good!

Notre Dame’s defense is going to be different compared to Western Michigan, however, I feel the result will be the same. I think Michigan will come out the victors in the first ever night game in Big House history. Not only because it’s their first ever night game at Michigan Stadium. Not only because of the 109,901-plus fans that will be in attendance. But because I feel Michigan is the better team.

But the big question will be the defense. We will see if they can stop the Fighting Irish offense. As long as they can stop Notre Dame, Michigan is going to win.

My final score…

Michigan 38 – Notre Dame 31

Josh: I think Rees and the ND offense will give Michigan’s secondary more than they can handle. Rees had a monster game against USF last week and only played the second half. I don’t think Michigan’s secondary is any better. The defense looked good at times against WMU but couldn’t generate any pressure from the front four. They also had trouble with communication before the snap. Both are issues that need to be addressed if they want to come out on top. ND will play uptempo and not give the D any time to get set and make any adjustments, this could make for a long night.

Denard and co. need to get in a rhythm before the second half if they wanna play keep up. The game could go either way but I think in the end ND’s passing game is too much.

Notre Dame 41 – Michigan 35

Chris: ND didn’t play well in their home opener vs. USF last weekend. Although they outgained the Bulls by a large margin, they committed way too many turnovers in the red zone. If USF could finish a game, the score would have been more lopsided. Add in a QB controversy and you have a mix that doesn’t bode well for a team coming to Ann Arbor to play in the first ever night game at The Big House.

I think the Michigan defense played well vs. a WMU offense that will put up a lot points in their remaining games this year.  Look for the Wolverine D to put a lot of pressure on Tommy Rees to try and shake him up and get him looking over his shoulder for when Coach Kelly might pull him out. Denard and the offense will be even more comfortable than last week and the excited home crowd gets the team pumped. Michigan wins the game 31-21.

Michigan 31 – Notre Dame 21

It’s been quite a start to Brady Hoke’s career at Michigan. His parade was rained on last week in a 34-10 win over Western Michigan in two-and-a-half quarters. Instead of getting a full game to assess his team’s progress heading into his first rivalry game, he has 17 minutes less of tape to review including just 35 offensive plays.

On the flip side of that, so does Notre Dame. The Irish don’t get a full game of tape to scout Michigan, which may be a blessing in disguise. Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges didn’t have to reveal much to beat Western and he said as much after the game.

Michigan v. Notre Dame
	Saturday Sept. 10 8 p.m. ET ESPN
1-0	Record	0-1
Western Michigan 34-10	Wins
	Losses	South Florida 20-23
34	Scoring Offense	20
193	Rushing YPG	117
98	Passing YPG	391
291	Total Offense	508
10	Scoring Defense	23
96	Rush Defense YPG	126
183	Pass Defense YPG	128
279	Total Defense YPG	254
3	Takeaways	0
0	Giveaways	5
2/0	Sacks By/Allowed	2/2
3-of-6 (50%)	Third-down Conv.	5-of-14 (35.7%)
0-for-0	Field Goals	0-for-1 (0%)
44	Net Punt Avg.	27.4

This Saturday will mark the first time in the storied history of Michigan football that it will play a night game in the Big House. ESPN’s College GameDay will be live from Ann Arbor on Saturday morning and Michigan Athletic Director Dave Brandon said the demand for tickets is as great as it has ever been for a single game.

Both teams will be wearing retro uniforms to commemorate the occasion and Michigan will be honoring former Heisman Trophy winner Desmond Howard at halftime.

Notre Dame enters the contest amid controversy from within. It too, had a rain-soaked affair last weekend, but finished the game, and everyone on South Bend wishes it had never been played.

After a dismal first half, in which ND fell behind 16-0, head coach Brian Kelly pulled starting quarterback Dayne Crist. Sophomore Tommy Rees came in and played well, earning the starting nod for this week’s game.

Notre Dame will try to salvage its season on Saturday and win for just the second time in the last six meetings. Do they have what it takes? Let’s see.

Quarterbacks:

As mentioned above, Kelly decided that Tommy Rees is the right man for the job just a week after deciding that Crist was the man for the job coming out of fall camp. Rees threw for 296 yards and two touchdowns in leading the Irish back into the game, but he also threw two interceptions. Last season, Rees started the final four games, all wins, completing 61 percent of his passes for 1,106 yards, 12 touchdowns, and eight interceptions.

Denard Robinson was considered by some analysts a disappointment last week, but he still turned in a solid performance in less than three quarters of action. He completed 9-of-13 passes for 98 yards and also rushed eight times for 46 yards. Most importantly, he didn’t make any mistakes to keep Michigan from winning.

Last season against Notre Dame, Robinson electrified the nation with 28 carries for 258 yards and two touchdowns and completing 24-of-40 passes for 244 yards and a touchdown.

Edge: Michigan

Running Backs:

Notre Dame’s run game didn’t do much last week but still racked up a 100-yard rusher. Junior Cierre Wood carried 21 times for 104 yards and a touchdown, averaging five yards per carry. Aside from Wood, only Jonas Gray carried the ball more than twice. The pass game is what worked for the Irish, at least in the second half.

For Michigan, one of the big questions entering week one was which back would step up. It was Fitzgerald Toussaint who carried the ball 11 times for 80 yards and two touchdowns in less than three full quarters. Michael Shaw provided a nice complement with four carries for 54 yards including a 44-yard touchdown romp in the third. Brady Hoke hopes Toussaint can be the every down back all season, but I won’t get carried away after just one game.

Edge: Push

Jordan Kovacs and the Michigan secondary have a tough task with Michael Floyd on Saturday (photo by Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images)

Receivers and Tight Ends:

Notre Dame has the best receiver on either team and Michael Floyd is the most feared player in this game. Last week, he caught 12 passes for 154 yards and two touchdowns. Against Michigan last season, he only caught five for 66 yards, but two years ago, he caught seven passes for 131 yards and a touchdown. Michigan’s secondary will have its hands full with Floyd.

The Irish also have a talented tight end in Tyler Eifert who caught six passes for 93 yards last week. Junior Theo Riddick was supposed to do big things this season but had just 32 yards on three catches last week. Nevertheless, he’s talented enough to do some damage.

Michigan also has a very talented starting group of receivers and tight ends although no superstar like Floyd. Robinson only threw nine passes last week so it’s easy for outside observers to say Michigan doesn’t have threats, but Junior Hemingway, Roy Roundtree, and Kevin Koger would have something to say about that. Hemingway has the ability to stretch the defense and get the jump ball while Roundtree was the Big Ten’s second leading receiver a year ago. Add in Kelvin Grady, Martavious Odoms, Jeremy Gallon, and Drew Dileo, and Michigan has a bevy of wideouts to do some damage.

However, I think the Irish have the advantage here because of Floyd and a much more pass-heavy offense.

Edge: Notre Dame

Offensive Line:

Notre Dame has an upperclassman-heavy offensive line with two juniors and three senior starters, but it’s not a super deep unit. Last week, it gave up a pair of sacks and paved the way for just 117 rushing yards. Still, it has a pair of good ones in left tackle Zach Martin and guard Trevor Robinson.

Michigan has a strong line led by center David Molk and left tackle Taylor Lewan. It was one of the best units in the nation in sacks allowed, though much of that had to do with Robinson’s escapability. However, I’m still not sold on the line’s conversion to a different blocking system under Al Borges. We’ll see how well it does against a talented Notre Dame defensive line this week.

Edge: Push

Defensive Line:

Notre Dame has a pretty good defense and held South Florida to respectable numbers last week. The Bulls rushed 42(!) times for 126 yards – just three yards per carry. The Irish were also able to record a pair of sacks. The unit is led by nose guard Sean Cwynar and ends Kapron Lewis-Moore and Ethan Johnson. Those same guys were unable to stop Robinson last season but have been preparing for him.

“We spent obviously a great deal of time in making sure we have answers to defend the run portion of a quarterback,” said Kelly.

For Michigan, Mike Martin is the man in the middle and he helped hold Western Michigan under 100 yards rushing. While Michigan’s D got off to a slow start last week, by midway through the second quarter, it was getting heavy pressure on WMU quarterback Alex Carder. Hoke and Greg Mattison chose to use a heavy rotation last week, regularly subbing in Will Heininger, Jabreel Black, and Nathan Brink. The big question this week will be whether the line can be as effective against a better offense.

Edge: Push

Linebackers:

Notre Dame has the best linebacker on the field in junior Manti Te’o. Last season, he tallied 133 tackles, including 13 and a forced fumble against Michigan. Alongside Te’o, the Irish feature a good edge rusher in Darius Fleming.

For Michigan, linebacker was a weakness last season, but Kenny Demens had a decent game last week and freshman Jake Ryan showed some ability to get to the quarterback. Other than that, the group didn’t stand out against Western. Brandon Herron became the first Wolverine to return two for touchdowns since the 1940s.

Edge: Notre Dame

Secondary:

Captain Harrison Smith who is the only player in ND history to total 200 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, and 15 pass breakups and he leads the Irish secondary. It should be a much improved group from last year, having given up just 128 yards passing last week, and featuring a number of returning upperclassmen.

Michigan gave up a bunch of yards to Western last week and lost Troy Woolfolk to an ankle injury early in the game. He seems to be healthy enough to return this week and Michigan will need him to face Floyd. J.T. Floyd is the other starter who had a pretty solid game last week, while sophomore Courtney Avery continues to develop. The star of the defense is probably former walk-on Jordan Kovacs who was the main beneficiary of Mattison’s blitz package last week.

Edge: Notre Dame

Special Teams:

Notre Dame has an All-American kicker, David Ruffer, who hit 23-of-24 field goal attempts last season, and an experienced punter in Ben Turk. In the return game, the aforementioned Riddick gives the Irish a home run threat any time he touches the ball.

Michigan’s kicking problems last season are well-known and the jury is still out for this season. Brandon Gibbons didn’t attempt a field goal last week, but had an extra point blocked. Freshman punter Matt Wile had a great debut, averaging 41 yards per punt. Michigan’s return men, Kelvin Grady and Jeremy Gallon, didn’t do much to call this unit a threat at this point.

Edge: Notre Dame

Coaching:

Brian Kelly came under a lot of heat after last week’s sideline tirades that are making even Notre Dame fans yearn for Charlie Weis. Ok, so maybe not, but even Kelly admitted this week that he lost his cool. He’s obviously a good coach, having turned around both Central Michigan and Cincinnati, but it remains to be seen whether he can succeed at Notre Dame. So far, he hasn’t fared any better than his predecessor.

Brady Hoke is very similar in that he turned around two mid-majors on his way to the Michigan gig, but he has surrounded himself with greatness. Bringing in Mattison was a fantastic move to turn around the defense. It may show right away, but rest assured it will be much improved simply with better coaching and schemes.

Edge: Michigan

Intangibles:

Saturday’s matchup marks the first ever night game in Michigan Stadium history. College GameDay will be live from Ann Arbor and the Big House will be fired up.

Edge: Michigan

Despite last week’s results, I still think Notre Dame is probably the better overall team, but it’s close. This may be the most evenly matched these two teams have been in years. Notre Dame is favored slightly, but I think it’s going to come down to the very end. The electricity in the Big House will propel Michigan to victory.

Prediction: Michigan 34 – Notre Dame 31

Good to Know:

Michigan leads the all-time series 22-15-1 and is 12-7 against the Irish in Ann Arbor



Saturday marks the 10th time ESPN GameDay visits the Big House. Michigan is 7-2 in the previous nine and 13-7 overall in games hosted by GameDay



Michigan has won it’s last nine regular season non-conference games entering this matchup



Michigan is one of just 10 teams to have a winning record against Notre Dame



Michigan defensive coordinator Greg Mattison served as Notre Dame’s defensive coordinator, defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator from 1997-2004. ND defensive line coach/special teams coordinator Mike Elston was a linebacker at Michigan from 1994-96 and started his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Michigan in 1999-2000.