Michigan Pours It On Notre Dame
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – As blocked punts go, it’s hard to remember a more disastrous one.
Especially since Notre Dame actually blocked the kick in question.
Disaster was the theme of this evening, a 45-14 Irish loss to Michigan as ugly as the dreary weather here on Saturday night.
Senior linebacker Jonathan Jones could not scoop up a punt blocked by Bo Bauer beyond the line of scrimmage in the first quarter, and as soon as Jones touched it, the ball was live for either team to recover.
Michigan’s Daxton Hill pounced on the recovery as torrential rain drenched both teams; the Wolverines proceeded to jump all over the No. 7 Fighting Irish, leading 17-0 at the half before an announced Michigan Stadium record crowd of 111,909.
The 19th-ranked Wolverines (6-2) stymied Notre Dame’s offense, gashed its defense --- particularly in the middle of the field --- and used an opportunistic approach to squash the Irish’s College Football Playoffs hopes that only hours earlier had been bolstered by No. 3 Oklahoma’s loss at Kansas State.
After Jake Moody opened the scoring with a 21-yard field goal, the Wolverines got a pair of second-quarter rushing touchdowns to seize complete control and book-ended a 17-0 opening scoring spree with a punctuating 28-0 run in the romp.
Zach Charbonnet cleaned up an eight-play, 59-yard march when he ran through arm-tackles and into the end zone for a 10-0 lead --- just the second time this season Notre Dame had trailed by double figures.
More offensive dysfunction followed for the Irish, who finished with just 52 total yards and three first downs in the first half, and Michigan forged a 17-0 bulge barely five minutes into the second quarter.
This time, on second-and-goal from the 1, Charbonnet twisted to paydirt and Notre Dame trailed 17-0 only 20 minutes, eight seconds into the contest. For comparison, the Irish had trailed by 17 or more points in the first half since the College Football Playoff against Clemson, when the Tigers did not break free from Notre Dame until a touchdown pass just two seconds before the half lifted them to a 23-3 edge.
How thorough was the domination? With 8:46 left to play in the game, Notre Dame had a scant 100 total yards' offense.
And Notre Dame had not been so severely outplayed in a regular-season game since its 41-8 loss at Miami Nov. 11, 2017. This game was an inverse from the two teams’ season-opening contest a year ago, when Notre Dame raced out to a 21-3 lead and never trailed in the win.
The Irish’s first offensive possession lasted nine plays but covered just 34 yards --- kept alive by a 15-yard roughing-the-punter penalty against Michigan.
On the five subsequent times that the Irish offensive took the field, it mustered just 28 net yards on 19 snaps. Michigan outgained its visitors, 189-52, in the first half, snapped off 10 more plays – 38-28 – and had 17:33 in possession.
It was second verse, same as the first as the third quarter unfolded. Notre Dame’s opening two possessions produced zero net yards, two minutes’ possession and six snaps. Five of the Irish’s first nine possessions were three-and-outs.
Too, the Irish were without senior stalwart Tony Jones, who touched the ball 10 times in the first half --- eight carries, two receptions --- but did not return with an undisclosed injury. Additionally, senior anchor of the offensive line, Tommy Kraemer, was injured in the second quarter --- his left knee/leg was examined on the turf for an extended period --- and likewise did not return.
Notre Dame finally tried to muster an answer for the Wolverines’ onslaught, when it pieced together a seven-play, 57-yard drive after the defense forced Michigan into its third-straight punt of the second half.
But even that possession --- punctuated by Cole Kmet’s 7-yard touchdown reception after he was left wide open on a drag route --- was only sustained after officials whistled the Wolverines for pass interference, a flag that negated Brad Hawkins’ interception of Book.
Michigan promptly answered in short order. The Wolverines took their next possession 75 yards in a mere six plays --- and got two pivotal pass interference penalties against the Irish defense, as well as Hassan Haskins’ 49-yard gallop through the middle of the defense on second-and-10. Shea Patterson then hit Donovan Peoples-Jones on second-and-goal from the 8 to again push Michigan to a 17-point lead, 24-7.
The Wolverines poured it on in the fourth quarter, when Patterson hit Nico Collins for a 16-yard score and 31-7 lead --- Michigan's largest lead in the rivalry since it won 38-0 in 2007. Tru Wilson's subsequent score assured Michigan of its largest win in the series in a dozen years --- a period covering nine meetings.
Notre Dame late in the game inserted backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec, whose first play was a microcosm of the Irish night: Jurkovec stumbled and tripped onto the turf. Jurkovec had moved the Irish near midfield on his second possession before he fumbled away the ball, with Hill diving atop a scrum for his second recovery of the contest.
Jurkovec did hit Javon McKinley for a late touchdown that provided the final 31-point margin.
The Irish (5-2) return home next Saturday when they host the ACC’s Virginia Tech, which improved to 5-2 on October 19 with a 43-41, six-overtime win against North Carolina and had its final bye week of the season this weekend.