One of the best rivalries in college football comes to an end tonight when the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish meet up for the final time. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. start time and it will be televised nationally on NBC. Currently the odds for the game have Notre Dame as a slight favorite at home.
Michigan and Notre Dame are two of the most storied programs in college football. They sit 1-2 in many categories, but maybe the most impressive is win total percentage, which will be determined once again tonight as the winner will be in first place moving forward the rest of the season. Obviously that's not on either coach's mind, but still remarkable from these schools.
The Wolverines have won six of the last eight meetings with Notre Dame. The past three years have all been played under the lights with both teams sporting special uniforms. Notre Dame, as part of the ACC, has to play five of those schools a year to comply with their rules. So they're dropping the Michigan game and have talked at length about it being a sorrowful end. Then the Irish went out and signed a deal to play a home-and-home with Michigan's other big rival Ohio State. People in Ann Arbor certainly took that as a slap in the face. But then again, Irish head coach Brian Kelly did call this a "regional game" last season.
Both quarterbacks looked good last week. ND's Everett Golson was very sharp in his return after being ineligible all last season. Michigan's Devin Gardner looks like he is really going to excel with new offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier. He threw three TD passes to Devin Funchess in week 1. Funchess is going to cause Notre Dame's secondary some problems in this one — he looks much more like a wide receiver this year and less like a tight end. He's also Gardner's favorite target.
Michigan's defense is going to be better this season. They certainly had some problems last year and need to play well against Golson and the Irish. With Kelly calling the shots, Notre Dame is going to be a very solid offense with explosive plays and having Golson back only makes them better.
The Wolverines will look to run the football effectively tonight. Last year Michigan struggled to consistently stick to a ground game, but they made it a point of emphasis in the opening week of the season and had a lot of success. Yet, it was only Appalachian State, but the Wolverines carved out 350 yards on the ground in that one. They're going to not avoid running the football tonight, as Derrick Green and De'Veon Smith both look to carry the load.
Because Michigan has the recent history over Notre Dame, and the Fighting Irish are still playing without some starters because of an academic probe, this one is going to be close. In the last meeting between long rivals, there's going to be a lot of emotion on the field, which could lead to mistakes. But don't look past Michigan here. The Wolverines feel slighted as Notre Dame is ending their rivalry. On top of that, ND announced they're replacing the Wolverines with Ohio State on their schedule in the future. Sounds like motivation.
Free Pick: Michigan 31, Notre Dame 28
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