Michigan hosts Notre Dame Saturday night in what’s almost certain to be a grind-it-out slugfest. A 100 percent chance of rain, cold temperatures and wind will make this one a battle of attrition, and U-M hasn’t fared well in bad weather against the Irish over the years.
Two games come to mind — the 1989 “Rocket Ismail” game in which the speedy receiver returned two kicks for touchdown in a 24-19 win. The Irish owned the U-M line that day, too, grinding out four yards on first down consistently to control the game. It rained nonstop that day — just as it’s going to Saturday night in Ann Arbor (100 percent chance) — and was miserable.
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And then there was the 2008 game in South Bend. U-M kept it close before a Kevin Grady fumble inside the five ended a threat in another monsoon, an eventual 35-17 Irish win.
The one time it was supposed to pour and didn’t, meanwhile, was the 1990 game in South Bend with Rick Mirer at quarterback. U-M dominated most of the game, getting 201 yards from Jon Vaughn in his debut, but the rain held off long enough for Mirer to lead a touchdown drive.
The skies opened on the way out, leading ND fans to believe once again they had God’s favor.
Everyone knows, however, that MSU head volleyball coach Mike D’Antoni has the market cornered on Divine Intervention (just ask him). Since he said that, however, the roof has caved in on the MSU program, the same effect as the guy who proclaimed “God himself couldn’t sink this ship” prior to the Titanic’s maiden voyage.
But we digress.
It really is a shame that we won’t really get a sense of what these teams are, assuming the weather is as bad as expected. That makes this one more of a coinflip than it already was. It’s also a shame that this game was scheduled in late October and is being played at night. Maybe this is God’s way of saying, “Bo’s up here telling me this game should be kicked off at 1:00 in September, and I think he’s got a point.”
Congratulations to last week’s winner, John Borton. This week’s receives the right to attempt to kick the Irish leprechaun mascot through the uprights at halftime (year’s supply of Dr. Pepper whether he’s successful or not).
The picks:
CHRIS BALAS: Notre Dame needs this one more, frankly, to keep its “National Championship” hopes alive (aka “right to get teeth kicked in again in a semifinal”). Minus the horrible weather conditions, we’d go with Michigan. There will be several empty seats, however — not nearly the crowd we had the last two times these teams met in Ann Arbor at night — and the Irish will pull out a slopfest. Notre Dame 17, Michigan 16
JOHN BORTON: Michigan showed serious signs of life in the second half against Penn State. If the Wolverines stop shaking down the blunders from the sky (and the backfield), they can pull this one off. Or as Bo once offered (paraphrasing here): Usher the Irish off to the outer regions of darkness. Michigan 24, Notre Dame 23
AUSTIN FOX: Michigan finally showed some fight and grit last Saturday at Penn State when adversity hit, and will need to come out with that same kind of intensity if they hope to beat the Irish this weekend. Here’s saying they do, in what will be a crucial first step toward finishing the season strong. Michigan 21, Notre Dame 17
EJ HOLLAND: Michigan has a prime chance to make a statement both on the field and on the recruiting trail with a win over Notre Dame, and I think the Wolverines take advantage. The Big House will be rocking, and the environment wlll slightly push them over the edge. Michigan 24, Notre Dame 23
CLAYTON SAYFIE: The Wolverines outplayed Penn State in the second half last week after a(nother) slow start on the road with some flat-out bad officiating sprinkled in. But, it's back to the Big House for a historic and traditional rivalry game (yes, I'm looking at you, Brian Kelly).
The crowd will be into it, and so will the team. I can picture it now: Ronnie Bell makes a couple big catches, Shea Patterson picks up where he left off and so does the defense (minus the miscommunication on the only second half touchdown it allowed). Michigan 30, Notre Dame 21
DOUG SKENE: The B10 championship winds have left the sails for the 2019 team. However, there are 3 teams remaining on the schedule that should get Michigan’s best punch starting with the B10 Chickens, Notre Lame.
Michigan must find a way to have a great first quarter and play high level football right to the final second. Will they??? They haven’t yet against the better teams on the schedule, and ND has a good team.Notre Dame 28, Michigan 24
DOUG KARSCH: It's really hard to pick a team with 17 fumbles ... to not fumble ... against a team that leads the country in turnover margin ... in a driving rain storm. This was the game I thought Michigan would (not only win) but win big.
This storm (act of God?) is a real equalizer. Michigan has played three Top 12 defenses (Wisconsin 1, Iowa 10, PSU 12). Notre Dame's defense ranks 41st in the country. In a sloppy affair, turnovers are the key. Michigan 13, ND 10
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