The Michigan Wolverines' football team dominated Notre Dame in every facet on Saturday night, en route to a 45-14 destruction of the Irish in wet and windy conditions.
U-M finally put together its best game of the year, and we take a look back at what all went right (as well as the few things that went wrong) for the Maize and Blue in their beatdown of the Golden Domers.
Key Moment of the Game:
With Michigan leading 17-7 and 2:42 remaining in the third quarter, senior quarterback Shea Patterson took a second-and-goal shotgun snap from the Irish eight-yard line.
The senior immediately looked to his right, and released the ball just as he was crushed from his blindside by a blitzing Notre Dame linebacker.
Despite the blow, Patterson still had enough on the ball to get it to a diving junior receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones on the far right side of the end zone, who secured it to give the Wolverines a 24-7 lead.
The reason this score was so impactful was because Notre Dame had just gotten on the board on its previous series to trim U-M's lead to 10, and possessed as much momentum as it had held all night.
Peoples-Jones' touchdown catch instantly crushed any brief hopes the Irish had of a comeback, and stretched the margin back to 17.
Three Things That Worked:
1. Rushing Attack
Michigan's ground game had steadily been getting better over the last several weeks, and it all came together on Saturday in a dominant 303-yard rushing performance. Redshirt freshman running back Hassan Haskins led the way with 149 yards while averaging 7.5 yards per carry, while freshman running back Zach Charbonnet chipped in 74 yards and two scores.
2. Every Aspect of the Defense
Michigan's defensive effort resembled the Don Brown defenses of the past three years, in that it stifled the opponent in every aspect and never let them get anything going. Notre Dame was held to just 180 total yards (75 of which came on its final drive of the game when the Wolverine defensive backups had been inserted), 47 on the ground, and only connected on 11 of its 29 passes.
3. Embracing the Elements
Michigan has seemingly had a reputation for playing overly poor in rainy conditions in recent years (the 2017 MSU game perhaps being the best example), but flipped that narrative on its head on Saturday night with an outstanding performance. While Notre Dame looked like it had no clue how to function in the rain, U-M didn't appear to be fazed in the least — the Wolverines did not commit a turnover, and racked up their fourth highest offensive output of the year (437 yards).
