The Michigan Wolverines' football team blew out the Notre Dame Fighting Irish tonight at The Big House, 45-14.
Here's a closer look at the final box score, and how the entire contest unfolded:
First Half
Notre Dame got the ball first to start the game tonight, and drove all the way to midfield before punting. Michigan roughed the ND punter, however, and allowed the Irish to continue their opening drive.
The Wolverine defense overcame the mishap though, and forced another punt at the 11:10 mark of the game's opening frame.
Another momentous special teams play occurred when redshirt junior Will Hart had his punt blocked on Michigan's first possession of the night, but saw the ball still travel forward and freshman safety Daxton Hill recover it at U-M's 33-yard line.
Michigan wound up getting a 21-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Jake Moody out of it, making the score 3-0 at 5:25 of the first quarter.
Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet found the end zone on a seven-yard scoring run at 13:51 of the second quarter, increasing U-M's lead to 10-0.
The TD capped off an eight-play, 59-yard series, with all of the club's yards having come on the ground up to that point.
Following an Irish three-and-out, U-M's offense compiled a seven-play, 60-yard drive that concluded with Charbonnet's second touchdown of the night, this one from one yard out at 9:52 of the second quarter.
The score ballooned Michigan's lead to 17-0.
Two punts then ensued (one by each team) before ND was stopped on a fourth-and-four attempt at the U-M 36-yard line with 4:33 left in the half, keeping Michigan's lead at 17-0.
The Wolverines took the ball to midfield on their final series before seeing the clock run out, and the two teams head into the locker room with Michigan holding a 17-0 edge.
Second Half
Five straight punts began the third quarter, before Notre Dame got on the board with a seven-play, 57-yard scoring drive that concluded with a seven-yard touchdown pass from redshirt junior quarterback Ian Book to tight end Cole Kmet at the 5:27 mark of the frame.
The score caused fans to litter the field with debris, however, in protest of a horrendous pass interference call on senior viper Khaleke Hudson that negated a junior safety Brad Hawkins interception earlier in the drive.
Michigan's offense then took over at its own 25-yard line holding just a 17-7 lead.
The Wolverines answered the Irish's score by putting together a six-play, 75-yard series of their own, finishing it with an eight-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Shea Patterson to junior wideout Donovan Peoples-Jones at 2:37 of the frame.
Two defensive pass interference calls on Notre Dame helped keep the possession alive.
Three straight punts then ensued (two by ND and one by U-M) before the Maize and Blue officially turned the game into a blowout by stringing together a quick four-play, 64-yard series that resulted in a 16-yard TD pass from Patterson to junior receiver Nico Collins at 11:29 of the fourth quarter, making the score 31-7.
The onslaught continued when senior running back Tru Wilson found the end zone on a 27-yard TD run with 8:46 remaining, increasing the Wolverine lead to 38-7.
Notre Dame redshirt freshman quarterback Phil Jurkovec fumbled on the Irish's next drive (forced by redshirt sophomore defensive end Luiji Vilain), and saw Dax Hill recover it at the ND 45-yard line with 6:18 left in the game.
U-M then inserted redshirt sophomore quarterback Dylan McCaffrey into the game, and he hit freshman wideout Mike Sainristil for a 26-yard scoring strike with 4:23 remaining to increase the margin to 45-7.
The Irish answered, however, when Jurkovec found wideout Javon McKinley in the end zone for a 14-yard touchdown at 3:45 of the fourth quarter, trimming U-M's lead to 45-14.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Joe Milton was then put in on Michigan's final possession of the night, and the Maize and Blue ran out out the clock to seal the victory.
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