Michigan Routs Notre Dame In 47-21 Upset

By Sean · Monday, September 18, 2006 · 12:00 AM |  Share | 1 Comment 

Since the 2005 season came to a close, and the Wolverines ended the year with a 7-5 record, I’ve had September 16th circled on my calender. That day would be Michigan’s chance to prove themselves and to get back to championship-contender status. The reason behind that is because 9/16 would be the annual rivalry of Michigan versus Notre Dame. That day has now passed, and I’d say Michigan definitely proved themselves, maybe even did more.

For the 2006 season, Michigan traveling to South Bend for a matchup with Notre Dame has more meaning then just a victory over the Fighting Irish. Since 1999, Michigan hasn’t won their first road game of the season, that’s a long drought to have happen. With that streak, the Wolverines usually are taken out of talk for a national championship early-on because of the September loss. Also, a few other streaks of bad nature would look to be broken regarding Notre Dame. Michigan had lost two straight going into Saturday, and also haven’t won in South Bend since 1994. That’s 12 years ago. With all of those things on the line, this year’s game would be one for redemption.

From the very beginning, Michigan was out on the field for nothing except a win. The Maize and Blue opened up things quickly by getting a defensive touchdown, and never looked back. Mario Manningham and Chad Henne led the way on offense, and then Prescott Burgess and LaMarr Woodley on defense. Those 4 players were just a small percentage of the many that made an impact, and eventually led Michigan to a 47-21 demolishing of Notre Dame. I’ll admit it, I wasn’t all that hopeful coming into this game simply because of what has happened in the past. I was expecting Michigan to make it close, but then lose it in the final quarter. Fortunately, the Wolverines proved me wrong and just absolutely pummeled the Fighting Irish for 60 minutes straight, hardly ever letting up.

Things started going Michigan’s way from the get-go. On just the 2nd play of the game, Brady Quinn threw a pass to tight end John Carlson, and instead of getting the easy catch, Carlson in turn let the ball tip off of his hand and right into defender Prescott Burgess. Burgess was in perfect position to get the interception, and then take it back for the score. The 31 yard interception return was a huge momentum booster and set the tempo for a Michigan victory. Never before in all of my life watching Michigan football can I remember the Wolverines getting off to such a strong start by scoring a defensive touchdown.

Coming off of the touchdown, Michigan’s defense didn’t let up. They held Notre Dame to punt, and were in control. Now, it was time for the Michigan offense to show what they were made of. Whatever they were made of on that first drive, it wasn’t good. After two runs by Mike Hart that didn’t really go anywhere, a third down play came up where Chad Henne just made a bad decision. Henne was feeling some heavy pressure, and let the ball go just to avoid the sack. The pass itself was not good as it was rushed, and because of that, Notre Dame got an interception of their own. Just as Michigan, they were able to get a good return after the pick. The Irish couldn’t get it into the endzone, but they did put it on the 4 yard line. Brady Quinn threw a short pass for the touchdown just two plays later, and just like that, things were tied up.

With things tied up at 7-7 apiece, my confidence in Michigan winning this game was definitely shaken. After the best possible start, one mistake put things back to square one. So much momentum was taken over by Notre Dame that I just assumed they would continue to pour it on, and Michigan would once again lose to the Fighting Irish. Boy was I wrong; in a good way.

The two teams traded punts, and then Michigan started off what would become a long day for Notre Dame fans, players, and coaches. Mario Manningham blew past the Notre Dame secondary and found himself wide open for a 69 yard touchdown pass. Chad Henne made the perfect pass, and hooked up with his new go-to guy for the first time on the day. Another lighting strike play and Michigan once again has the lead, this time by a score of 13-7 (Garrett Rivas had the extra point blocked).

Things wouldn’t get any better for ND as on the proceeding kickoff, David Grimes would fumble the return and Morgan Trent would come up with the recovery. Now, Michigan had the ball back on offense with great field position. It wouldn’t take too long before Mike Hart just completely leaped over the Irish defensive line into the endzone to give Michigan another touchdown. Hart simply took the handoff and jumped. He flew through the air and avoided contact before finally landing over the goal line.

The Michigan defense didn’t miss a beat on the following drive as Notre Dame went 3 and out, and had to punt the ball away again. Michigan wasted little time in adding onto their lead when Chad Henne found Mario Manningham for the second time of the day. This touchdown pass was from 20 yards out, and once again was thrown perfectly by Chad Henne. Henne just simply lobbed the ball into the back of the endzone in a spot where only Mario Manningham could come down with it.

The new found hookup of “Henne to Manningham” wouldn’t be done just yet. A few drives later, the two got together for the third time of the game. Manningham ran a route into the back of the endzone again, this time on the left side, and jumped up and caught a pass from 22 yards out. Upon receiving the touchdown pass, Manningham fell into the tuba section of the Michigan band, and would leave the game with a wrist injury. It appears to just have been a bruise. Manningham did return later on for a play or two, so I wouldn’t be too worried about it.

With that score, the Wolverines now were on top 34-7. I was in complete and utter shock. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected Michigan to be leading Notre Dame 34-7, especially in South Bend, and also only in the first half. My only worry now was that Michigan would come out flat in the 2nd half and allow the Irish to come back. That sort of thing seemed to happen as the 1st half came to a close as Brady Quinn led ND down the field to score a late touchdown before the break to cut the lead down to 34-14. Either way, I was beyond happy with having that big of a lead over ND in South Bend.

All that was left for Michigan to do was put a stop on Notre Dame for 30 more minutes, and then they would be able to walk out of there with a well-deserved victory. Basically, it would just be a battle of the two defenses in the 2nd half, which worked out well for Michigan considering their lead was 20 points. Garrett Rivas added two field goals in the 3rd quarter to give Michigan a 40-14 advantage going into the 4th quarter. Michigan now just had to close out Notre Dame once and for all and then the celebration could begin. Even with the enormous lead, I wasn’t resting easy just yet. This is probably because of the torture all Michigan fans went through last season with so many lost leads in the 4th quarter.

I was feeling a little uneasy as Notre Dame scored on a 28 yard touchdown pass. The score may have been 40-21, and Michigan did have the game well in hand, but with the way things have gone in the past, I’ve learned the less to never start celebrating until the final whistle. The officials didn’t help this feeling either. They began calling late hits that just appeared to be good tackles, and also called a defensive pass interference on that ND touchdown when it looked like the Irish receiver pushed off.

Notre Dame had their chances late in the 4th quarter and could’ve scored a couple more times and maybe had a ballgame on their hands. But, LaMarr Woodley again made his name heard when he finished the Irish off for good. Brady Quinn dropped back to pass and lost grip of the ball, putting it on the ground. I thought he originally had recovered the ball since he fell right on it, but somehow it got kicked through his hands and rolled around. This is where LaMarr Woodley picked it up and made an all-out sprint to score the touchdown. Somehow, he broke a tackle and found his way into the endzone for the score. This is when the taste of victory first came into my mouth.

Lloyd Carr had the win solidified with a Gatorade shower, and was finally able to once again celebrate a victory in a big game. When is the last time Lloyd Carr received a Gatorade bath, especially in the regular season?

It’s one thing to beat Notre Dame on the road. But to just completely destroy them is even better. No win has left me this happy in a very long time. I really think this is what the program as a whole needed. A win like this over an arch rival tells me that Michigan is back, and is once again a national title contender. Using momentum from this game, Michigan can now go into the Big Ten schedule with an undefeated non-conference record, and can set their sights at a Big Ten and national title. All it will take is playing like they did against Notre Dame.

In conclusion to all of this, I just want to say that from all of the criticism this team has received in the last few years, a win like this is well-deserved. From Mike DeBord to Ron English to Chad Henne to Mario Manningham to Prescott Burgess to LaMarr Woodley and to Lloyd Carr, everyone deserves a pat on the back for being able to go out there in a hostile environment and defeat the #2 team in the country. No win in recent memory has been as big as this one, and now I can’t wait to see how the rest of the season goes.

Next week, Michigan heads back home to host Wisconsin in the first Big Ten game of the season. This game will be important as Michigan needs to go out on the field and continue their solid play. This is no time for a letdown. Also, the Wisconsin game has been titled as one of two “Maize Outs.” All fans are encouraged to wear Maize to show off the true colors of Michigan football. Until next Saturday, I’m going to be savoring this win, and everyone else should as well. Thanks for reading and Go Blue!