Tomorrow we face another early season "big" game for both ND and Michigan. Both teams had decent opening games and need to win to keep the momentum going. Michigan probably needs it more than the Irish given Rich Rod's status but I don't think that will matter at all. With all the big top 25 matchups on tap for tomorrow, this game may get lost in the shuffle as both teams are appropriately unranked at this juncture. The winner might sneak into the top 25 or at least get a few votes on Sunday. The loss to Michigan last year was a real heart breaker as I felt we deserved to win (unlike a few wins where we deserved to lose)but blew it at the end. Time for payback in my view.
So the keys to this game appear to be whether ND can contain another elusive Michigan QB (we blew that last year!) and whether Michigan can keep the ball away from our prolific offense. I am betting things will go our way for a few reasons. First, our simpler defensive scheme is less susceptible to big plays. We may have the best ND cornerback duo in many years and our LBs seem to be playing well. The d-line will be challenged against Michigan but overall I think we keep the Wolverines within reach. Our offense is going to eat up Michigan's secondary and I expect us to show balance again with the run game. I expect Crist to kick it up one notch and get a couple big throws. So bottom line we run away from Michigan in a high scoring affair.
The over/under is 52 according to my paper and the Irish are favored by 3.5 which indicates a close game. Weather looks lousy as we expect a lot of rain tomorrow which could be a wild card and keep the scoring down. Turnovers may also be a big factor with the ball being wet all the time. Hoping for a few hours of dry time when we need it!
So we win tomorrow. ND 38, Michigan 24
GO IRISH! BEAT WOLVERINES!
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OK, we hope for semi-dry weather - that means, it should stay dry enough while we're doing well so we can run up the score, and then if our guys start to lose it, it should start to pour down rain (sorry for those of you attending the game!)
I would love to see the Irish blow Michigan out of the stadium and all the way back to Ann Arbor, but I'm not counting on it. And I hope that the game moves along at the same quick pace as last week's did; I have to sing at a Sept. 11 memorial service at 7 PM EDT. It would help my performance if I don't have to wonder what happened with the game.
Go Irish! Beat Michigan - ND 17, UM 12
Wow, Don, a rather bold predicion, especially given 50% chance of rain during the entire weekend. I know the UofM/Uconn game should have been closer, but I think Michigan had more than a "decent" opening game. Stopping QB Robinson is the key--we'll see. Stand by for my entry...
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