Mich/ND

HUNT

CTG Partner
Staff member
Do you guys consider this a rivalry?

UM interior OL going to have big trouble with ND dline imo..should be a doozy..thoughts?
 
like to hear some thoughts on this game. I lean Mich as long as line is -4 or less.
 
I consider it more of a classic game than a heated rivalry.

That is a fair point.

Some of the best games of it..have been in last handful of years...

Brian Kelly had to play the company line with his comments. No way he could do otherwise.
 
And Hunt is exactly right about interior of line. Pass protection will be at a premium.
 
ND had trouble when Temple QB scrambled, Garner showed last week he is plenty willing to scramble. ND DL deservedly get alot of respect, but Shembo played well last getting pressure on QB.

Temple was better on 3rd down (40%) than I expected. And I wasn't especially happy with what I saw from ND O. Big plays where there for the taking as you;d expect, but when they failed to get big plays the drives bogged down.

I thought Michigan didn't have to work very hard on offense for their 42 pts. They had 4 good drives with the first team O result in TDs, the other TD drive was short after a TO and the first was the blk'd punt. I didn't feel like Michigan was fantastic or smooth on offense for as many points as they got in that game. Garner had the 2 INTs last week and interestingly in his 5 QB starts last year he only had a 6-3 ratio vs the 3 best teams he faced (NW, Ohio St, S Car) and in those three games he was just 53% completions. I think Mich O can and should play better than week 1 though.

I leaned Michigan but I don't feel especially good about either team yet.

One note, ND missed two FGs with 2 different kickers, not sure if they have an issue or questions there.
 
too many ? marks for me to play...curious to hear other peoples thoughts...didn't see nd either
 
Couldn't agree more with what has been said here. Think it's going to be a solid game, but outside the first five minutes of the Temple game, my boys failed to show anything spectacular. The kicking situation has been a concern of mine all offseason, and the two kicker scheme is not Brian Kelly playing his "multiple QBs" card. There is nothing quality about either one at this point, and this includes our punting. Absolutely gut wrenching anytime we have a fourth down in field goal position. Where is Reggie Ho when you need him? Additionally, Rees confirmed his role as a drop back passer this week, and we need to establish a running game to keep Michigan honest and avoid pick-city. Amir had a few quality runs but I'm not convinced. Atkinson III still runs too high and is worthless in between the tackles. This could mean Tommy throwing from his back foot i.e. 2011. I have Michigan against my boys this week due to the offensive questions.
 
Mich didn't exactly play the best team either...tipton was out first drive
 
I'm a SEC dude and I consider it a rivalry...feel like they play each other a bunch.

i lean Mishitgan hard at this point
 
I hate when teams end long term matchups like this. I don't consider it a rivalry tho. Not when UM has tOSU and MSU on their schedule. I realize you can have multiple games but I don't see the hate across each sideline like I do for real rivalry games.

I see USC/ND more of a rivalry than UM/ND - mostly because USC seems to have more "swag" than UM (in a bad way in my opinion) and they are the polar opposite of ND.
 
Mich won 59-9 without much trying....paid a little extra juice and got MICH -3. All ND underclassmen are going to freak when they hear 103,000 insane fans.
 
true p, Mich goal always is to win big ten...which never happens anymore anyways.

usually i would disagree it will be loud vit, but it will sat for a night game.
 
Mich didn't exactly play the best team either...tipton was out first drive

I know that Fischer was #1 DC, but I felt that C Mich played over their head last year. Win total was 4.5 wins, just like this year and they were just 3-6 before they won final 3 plus bowl game. I think 4 year starting QB who had a very good season was absolutely huge for them last year. Even with a healthy Tipton, C Mich was in no position to compete vs Michigan last week. It wasn't a real test for Michigan, although Temple should not have been for ND either and Irish played an uneven to disappointing game. Michigan atleast made it look good on the scoreboard.
 
HUNT, side question...do you think Toussaint is good enough to hold off frosh Green or Smith for majority of playing time? Players and coaches speaking so highly of Fitz, I wasn't sure if you think he'll remain the go-to-guy at RB as season wears on or if Green or Smith are just too good to not see increased roles?
 
different crowd at night there on national tv then if this was the alumni game on sat....more time to tailgate if anything else...i have debated going all week but just hate the knees in my back and traffic out of there, its a nightmare. i am a gametime decision at this point.

yes its a rivalry to a degree, but ND and punk ass Kelly wants to act like its not at all, which is a joke. if we basically play them every year out of conf, its a goddam rivalry, or at least a very important game. too much history for it not to be.

and to top it off the punk ass ND AD hands the slip last year in ND just before kickoff on the sideline saying they are done with the series after ND gets a home game in 2014.

as for the game, line is probly right on, i expect some turnovers to influence the scoring in this one. and i pray gardner doesnt get injured because morris is far from ready.
 
HUNT, side question...do you think Toussaint is good enough to hold off frosh Green or Smith for majority of playing time? Players and coaches speaking so highly of Fitz, I wasn't sure if you think he'll remain the go-to-guy at RB as season wears on or if Green or Smith are just too good to not see increased roles?

dont mind if i chime in, but everything i have heard is green, mentally is not there yet even though he better be now with Drake J out.
 
I will start off by saying that for me....IMO this game has been a classic/rivalry game for ND since I have been around however, to say it is a rival when you look at the history of the program, i would say it is not. Michigan wasn't on the schedule for ND for a long long long time where other teams such as USC, Sparty, Purdue, Navy..ect were on the schedule consistently. To be honest...i'm happy they are ending this match up and happy to go play Florida State who I feel could be a better "classic" game than Michigan.
 
Kelly is easy to hate. I do think he was playing possum a bit last week, particularly after Temples first deep drive in 2nd half offered no points. The writing was on wall at that point. ND could have easily covered at the end, last year I believe he would have, this year maybe some chess playing. ND running backs will come in waves. How michigan defends run is key. Right now, anything over 3 points seems like a gift.
 
Last edited:
I made this game ND -3.5. Being this far off scares the shit out of me, so likely a no play or a small ND ML shot. But I just don't see how Michigan puts up more than 17 points here, which isn't enough
 
i hit this game when it was released a while back. blue-3, thought i was getting a steal. The ND D-Line is legit, but beyond that i just don't trust them, or white boy tommy. I was pretty high on gardner before the season started, and i'm betting that his mobility is gonna give the ND defense trouble. The youth of ND and the atmosphere at michigan played into this bet as well. It's early in the year, and i think this ND team is gonna gave some growing pains. I also thought this open was gonna be closer to 5.5, so -3 was a gimme. whoops.
 
in terms of my view on Temple game...wow..ND showed nothing. Atkinson our starting RB only carried the ball 8 and was barely involved. He is going to play a huuuuge part of the game plan for Michigan. The D showed very little as well playing back a lot on pass coverage and allowing a ton of underneath passes. I am not concerned with how they played because simply didn't show anything.

I was actually at the golf course on Sunday morning in South Bend and Andrew Hendrix was playing..i was asking him about the game and he pretty much said Temple showed them everything they expected and that is how they wanted to play the game. No turnovers/no big plays on D and get the fundamentals down. I feel ND didn't show their cards and will be ready.

As far as the kicking situation...hopefully they can figure that out!
 
I think it comes down to how vanilla you thik nd was last week. If that was the real ND then Michigan is gonna cover ... if nd just coasted and went vanilla ( hence allowing underneath pass after underneath pass ) then it will be a war. Line basically dead on with what I made it. Hopefully there are no mystery steps out of bounds to ruin another game in AA
 
Who is going to this game?? I just got my tickets for face value yesterday...got lucky....Anyone else going to be around for the game???
 
Michigan was a much different team late in the year LY and much more different this year, than when they were buried by Alabama in week one LY. The Irish had a month to get ready for Alabama in the BCS Championship bowl and they got crushed like Mich did earlier against Alabama. At This point, Michigan is far more improved than ND is this season and the Wolverines should chew up the Leprechaun's this week.
 
Michigan was a much different team late in the year LY and much more different this year, than when they were buried by Alabama in week one LY. The Irish had a month to get ready for Alabama in the BCS Championship bowl and they got crushed like Mich did earlier against Alabama. At This point, Michigan is far more improved than ND is this season and the Wolverines should chew up the Leprechaun's this week.

Bama would of destroyed any team in that title game...didn't think it mattered who they played outside of the SEC
 
Lots of talk about ND not doing much but talk to me about how Michigan scores. ND D line should dominate these guys IMO....
 
Bama would of destroyed any team in that title game...didn't think it mattered who they played outside of the SEC
That could be true, but if Michigan was playing after a seasoned season and with the replacement at QB Gardner in there, I don't think they would have lost by 30. QB Robinson was bad against Bama and real bad at ND in a 13-6 ;oss .
 
That could be true, but if Michigan was playing after a seasoned season and with the replacement at QB Gardner in there, I don't think they would have lost by 30. QB Robinson was bad against Bama and real bad at ND in a 13-6 ;oss .
Gardner didn't even get Michigan past midfield in the 2h vs Ohio State....two big plays were Robinson runs in the first half...

I like Gardner and with seasoning think he'll do very well, but lets not make him something out to be something he wasn't last year.
 
Gardner would have beat ND last year. Michy D was amazing on the road there and they never capitalized. Gardner is now seasoned and the team can run play calling more to its strength...
 
Gardner didn't even get Michigan past midfield in the 2h vs Ohio State....two big plays were Robinson runs in the first half...

I like Gardner and with seasoning think he'll do very well, but lets not make him something out to be something he wasn't last year.

I think ND would have lost at Ohio state. Michigan at ND, had 6 turnovers. Talk about momentum swings. The Wolverines out gained ND on their own field at had more first downs in spite of Robinsons 4 interceptions.
 
Old roommate offered me a ticket but couldn't splurge for the transit home + $250 face value ticket in probably the corner 70 rows up.. Will be a great atmosphere, jealous of all those going
 
Back
Top