Offense: Devin Gardner’s backwards sprint into the end zone, followed by the floating interception thrown while being dragged down was beyond frustrating. How was the rest of Gardner’s performance vs. Notre Dame? Beautiful!
Gardner finished the day 21 of 33 for 294 yards and four touchdowns. He also had 82 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Most importantly for Gardner, he avoided making multiple mental mistakes that hurt Michigan in games against Ohio State and South Carolina in 2012.
Gardner’s favorite target on the day was, of course, Jeremy Gallon, who finished with eight catches for 184 yards and three touchdowns. Gallon is now averaging 107 receiving yards and one touchdown per game in Gardner’s seven career starts.
Although Gallon is only 5 ft. 8 in. tall, he has become the most electric playmaker in Michigan’s passing game since Mario Manningham in 2007.
Despite Gardner and Gallon receiving all the accolades for Saturday night’s victory, a lot of credit should be given to the offensive linemen.
There were a lot of questions before the game about whether the young talent on the interior of the line could hold up against Notre Dame’s strong defensive line – led by 340-pound defensive tackle, Louis Nix.
Not only did the young Wolverines offensive line hold up against the Irish, but they held Nix to only four tackles (one for a loss) and the entire Notre Dame defense to just one sack.
Michigan was also able to run for 166 yards, including 71 yards for Fitzgerald Toussaint.
It was not the best offensive performance for Michigan and this was not the same defense that Notre Dame had in 2012. However, it was an important step in the right direction for an offense that must be very good to win a conference title.
Defense: The defense gave up 30 points, 314 passing yards and 410 total yards. Yet, there is only one group that caused me a lot of frustration – the defensive line.
All off-season the Wolverines talked about the importance of generating a pass rush with just the front four. Well, they failed on Saturday – and failed miserably. And for all the chatter about the breakout season that Frank Clark was going to have – and yes, I was part of that – he was a non-factor on Saturday.
If Michigan is unable to generate a pass rush with just their defensive line, it will be extremely difficult for them to beat teams with very good offenses – Northwestern, Nebraska and Ohio State.
The performance by the front four was extremely disappointing. There is no other way to describe it.
Initially, I was also disappointed with the play of the linebackers and secondary. However, after the game Brady Hoke and Greg Mattison made it clear that their gameplan was to not allow Notre Dame to get behind them and make the big play.
The most positive sign out of Saturday’s defensive performance was Blake Countess coming up with two big interceptions. While the second interception was giftwrapped for him, the first interception showed the awareness and playmaking ability that made Countess a top cornerback as a freshman in 2011.
It was not a strong performance by the Michigan defense, but the biggest positive is that they were able to win a tough game when not playing their best. However, it will only get tougher the rest of the way and they will need improvement.
Play of the Game: There are so many choices for this award, but it has to go to Devin
Infograph from University of Michigan.
Gardner’s four-yard touchdown pass to Drew Dileo with 4:18 left in the fourth quarter. The score was 34-30 and offense’s last drive ended with a three-and-out and the drive prior ended on a terrible interception by Gardner. On this play, Gardner stood in the pocket and delivered a perfect spiral for the touchdown, despite taking a big hit. The touchdown gave Michigan a 41-30 lead and sealed the victory.
Player of the Game: This one is easy, Tom Harmon – err, Devin Gardner. Despite the fact that it took the first quarter to see a quarterback wearing #98, Gardner had the best performance of his career that night and proved how dangerous this Michigan offense can be when he plays smart, efficient football. Despite the terrible decision Gardner made on Notre Dame’s pick-six, he finished the game 21 of 33 for 294 yards and 4 TD. He also rushed for 82 yards and a TD. It was a grand performance on a grand stage for Gardner.
Final Verdict: Wow! Another great game between Michigan and Notre Dame that makes it even more frustrating this rivalry will be over in a year. It was a great performance for the Wolverines and Al Borges deserves a ton of credit for his offensive gameplan. Still, there are a couple of concerns – especially the pass defense after last night’s performance. However, Michigan is 2-0 and beat a good Irish team by double-digits. Still not good enough to crack my Top 10, but the goal for Michigan should be to continue to improve and be at their best for a tough November schedule.
Up Next: Michigan gets a break with Akron this week. The Zips come to the Big House with a 1-1 record and coming off a 35-33 win over James Madison – a FCS school. Akron has given up 71 points in two games this season and has one of the poorest pass defenses in the country – ranked 111th in the nation. It should be a good week for the Wolverines to get their young players, most notably Shane Morris, a good amount of playing time.
Garrett’s Top Five: 1. Oregon 2. Alabama 3. Clemson 4. Stanford 5. Ohio State
