[dropcap]B[/dropcap]rian Kelly and his team did something Saturday night that no Notre Dame had ever been able to do in 41 previous meetings. The Irish shutout and shut down Michigan.
And in dominant fashion, too. Notre Dame rolled Michigan, 31-0, to end their storied rivalry.
“It feels great that we’re the first team in the history of Notre Dame football to shut out a Michigan team,” Irish Head Coach Brian Kelly said. “So, our kids can take that with them. It’s something that they’re proud of.”
Michigan, who hasn’t been shutout since October 20, 1984 against an Iowa team, actually had more total yards offensively by a differential of nine yards at 289 yards, but four total turnovers and great field position set Notre Dame up for the win.
As in week one against Rice, Everett Golson shined yet again. The senior went 23-for-34 in the air for 226 yards and three touchdowns. Golson targeted seven different receivers with six of those seven earning 18 yards total or more.
Golson’s favorite targets were Will Fuller and Amir Carlisle. Fuller was targeted successfully nine times for 89 yards and a touchdown while Carlisle caught seven passes for 61 yards and two touchdowns. Carlisle’s scoring passes were the first of his career, a statement night for the senior receiver.
“Most definitely,” Carlisle said in response to being asked if it was a statement game for him Saturday night. “It’s one of the most storied rivalries in college football and like I said earlier, this was definitely a team effort. This is a great team that we have and we’re really unified, we’re a family. ”
Carlisle said that while this game is now in the books, he would like to build on his personal performance through the remainder of the season. Coach Kelly agreed that this was a statement game for Carlisle as well.
“I was impressed with him tonight,” Kelly said. “That’s one area, the slot receiver position, (that) has been an area that has been a bit of a concern for me.”
Kelly went on to say that they found the answer to the position in Carlisle, who made some “terrific catches in traffic.”
Carlisle’s first touchdown came with 3:58 left in the half. Notre Dame started the play on the Michigan one. A short one-yard pass by Golson to Carlisle put the Irish up 14-0. Minutes later, Golson and Fuller would connect for a 24-yard touchdown pass that left Michigan with just 34 seconds left in the half to cut into the 21-0 lead.
Golson and Carlisle would connect again with 3:02 left in the third quarter on a 12-yard pass to put the Irish up 28-0. A field goal in the fourth put Notre Dame up to the final of 31-0.
Kelly said that the team had 19 first-year players out there for the Irish and that they handled themselves in an electric atmosphere that allowed them to beat Michigan in the manner that they did.
Michigan had trouble on the field offensively, allowing turnovers and penalties to hinder their ability to get anything going. Devin Gardner went 19-for-32 for 189 yards, but he was intercepted three times.
The final interception came in the closing seconds of the game. Gardner’s pass was picked off by Elijah Shumate and returned for a touchdown that caused Notre Dame stadium to explode in roars. As the teams and media took the field, refs had to rush everyone off. Notre Dame had committed a penalty that set them back to their own 40-yard line, with a second left.
Early in the fourth, Cody Riggs intercepted a pass from Gardner, which then led to the field goal that gave Notre Dame their final. Max Redfield intercepted a pass at the Notre Dame 45-yard line in the third for a 17 yard return, though that turnover didn’t yield a score on the following drive.
Gardner fumbled in the final minute of the third quarter for the second Michigan turnover.
“They were really balanced back there,” Gardner said following the game. “They bought pressure when we did not expect it, and when we did expect it they did not bring it. They had a good game plan. They executed, hats off to them.”
Gardner targeted Devin Funchess nine times for 107 yards on the day. Funchess took a nasty hit in the fourth after completing a pass that saw him leave the game with what appeared to be a knee injury.
With Saturday night’s victory over Michigan at home, the overall record between the teams ends at 24-17-1 in Michigan’s favor, though Notre Dame possess a winning home record now of 10-9-1.
“We temper it by knowing that we got a long season ahead of us and it counts as one; it doesn’t count as two,” Kelly said. “If it counted as two, we would probably be a little bit happier, but it counts as one.”
Notre Dame will face Purdue next Saturday at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. Kickoff for that game is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
