Aidan Hutchinson 'Ready To Attack' And 'Get A Win' Against Notre Dame
Sophomore defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and the Michigan Wolverines’ football team knew they were close to pulling out a big victory on Saturday night in Happy Valley.
Close obviously doesn’t cut it though, and despite the club being one dropped ball away from erasing a 21-point deficit, the end result was still a 28-21 loss.
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Slow starts on the road have become all too common under head coach Jim Harbaugh (at Penn State, at Wisconsin on Sept. 21, at Ohio State last year, etc.), and Hutchinson was asked this evening what causes those lethargic starts.
“We shoot ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We win that game if we clean up two plays, so we have to fix the mental errors on our own part.
“When it hit 21-0, we knew we had to fight our way back, and the offense helped us out and got us back in the game. We also did our job, but couldn’t finish it.
“We went out and balled in the second half, and they only had 80 yards or something crazy like that after halftime. We knew that if we cleaned up just two plays, that game was ours.
“There were a couple plays with some miscommunication, but we’re moving on.”
‘Moving on’ was a phrase Hutchinson used several times tonight, insisting the Wolverines have put the loss to the Nittany Lions behind them and have turned their attention to Notre Dame.
“It was a tough pill to swallow, but we’ve moved on and are excited to play Notre Dame,” the sophomore explained. “We watched film, corrected mistakes and just moved on.
“It is [a little strange playing them in late October], because it’s usually the opener.”
The rivalry matchup was indeed the season-opener last year, when the Maize and Blue fell in South Bend by a final score of 24-17.
Hutchinson played sparingly that night as a freshman in what was his first collegiate outing, and reflected on how far he’s progressed since that Sept. 1 affair.
“I’ve grown so much, even from [this year’s] Middle Tennessee State [game] till now,” he exclaimed. “I’ve grown as a player and am getting better every week, so it’s really cool to see the progression.
“My pass rush has gotten a lot better and so has my overall recognition of the game, so I’ve taken steps up the ladder every single time out.
“I was so nervous going into last year’s matchup against them, but I’m not nervous this season and am ready to attack and get a win.”
Coming out with a victory is actually something Michigan hasn’t done against Notre Dame since Sept. 7, 2013, losing the two matchups in South Bend since (2014 and 2018).
Whether or not the two college football bluebloods should play every season or not has been a heavy topic of debate in recent years, but Hutchinson reminded everyone tonight of the pageantry that surrounds the showdown, while also revealing some familial ties he has to the game.
“There’s a lot of tradition to it, and we both have a very rich history,” he noted. “It’s two top teams in the country playing under the lights at The Big House, so the stage can’t get any bigger than that.
“My dad was actually once on the cover of Sports Illustrated with a Notre Dame quarterback scoring a touchdown. He was attempting to tackle him, so it’s not the best means to get on the cover of Sports Illustrated.”
For those wondering…
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