Michigan beats Notre Dame 2009

Michigan beats Notre Dame 38-34

So will Lou Holtz PLEASE shut up?

For the last two years this old man has been flapping his chops about how Notre Dame was going to go undefeated…and two years he has been wrong. Now I am not a fan of Notre Dame, but I am not a fan of Michigan since they got Rich Rodriguez. And neither team did so hot last year, so why was there so much hype about this game?

Well, we know these are two very storied programs, and amongst the top college football teams in wins all time, so I understand the value in that. But I found myself trying to figure out who to pull for, not really liking either team this year. I ended up pulling for Michigan because before Rodriguez got there, I did like the Wolverines a lot.

I watched that game and when Michigan scored with a few ticks left, we were excited in the house because a defeat would quiet all those critics who seemed to think that Notre Dame’s softer schedule should give them a National Title shot…not likely.

I remember the kickoff and how the clock only took one second off and I said to myself, “if he touched that ball, they need to take a few more seconds off!”. The clock went down to 10 ,but then they showed the ND quarterback (Clausen) tell the refs to put more time back on the clock…and they did, but then took off 2 seconds, down to 9 seconds left.

Notre Dame had time for one play, and although it was a big gain, the time ran out as Michigan won the game, but ole Charlie Weiss and the Irish didn’t like how it ended, thinking that they deserved two more seconds. The refs were quick to dash out, their word being final.

I remember hearing later on that night on one of the shows that the refs did say that the receiver touched that ball, and thus time had to be taken off. Once that receiver touched the ball on the kickoff, the clock had to run. So Notre Dame can’t complain.

Neither can Lou Holtz.

And this also means Notre Dame ought to fall from their #18 ranking down to maybe #23, or #24. I won’t doubt that some voters will still keep them up there, but being beat by a team that was 3-9 last year ought to knock them off the top 25. I mean, Oregon fell out when they lost to higher ranked Boise State, right?

So an undefeated season is gone from the Irish, and yet the season just got started. With Michigan State next, this could possibly be a toss up, even though Central Michigan stunned the Spartans in their house, I might imagine they will really get up for this game, but even so, it is still a game ND can take.

The Purdue game might be more interesting, especially after how they played at Oregon last night…or was it this morning? UNC is still ranked (slim win over UCONN) and with Pittsburgh, Boston College, Navy and Southern Cal, one has to wonder if this ND team can manage 7 wins. If we are just going on the premise that Michigan, who was 3-9, beat Notre Dame, then one might guess that maybe not much has changed with the Irish…if not, they are in for another average year.

But Michigan is not out of the water yet either. Sure they get Eastern Michigan and then Indiana, but having to play Penn State, Iowa, Michigan State and Ohio State won’t be easy either. Beating Miami (OH), Wisconsin and Minnesota was all they saw of the winning side last year, but Minnesota isn’t on their schedule this year. There is little doubt that voters will slip Michigan in maybe #25 or #24, but I think it will be a short stay. Many times you see in the pros where a team is bad one year, and good the next, examples being the Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons last year, but in college you are dealing with the same group of students, minus graduating players, so the general talent is not a hyper jump of improvement. If they were 3-9 last year, it is possible they might do 5 or 6 wins.

They could be 4-0 before they see Michigan State, and with Delaware State on the schedule, they can get 5 wins pretty easy. But those games in the middle they will have to scratch and claw for…it’s not out of the possibility for Michigan to qualify for a bowl, but it would be a long shot.

So now that this game is over, let’s see if all the hype of how good these teams were SUPPOSED to be was true. One loss does not ruin a season, to be sure…but multiple ones will destroy it…and possibly one of these coach’s career.