Trav's Thoughts

Notre Dame receives the second half kick off in a driving rainstorm. They are unable to get a drive going and are forced to punt.

The report on Coach Weis is that he has torn the ACL and MCL in his knee. That's the same injury that ended the season for New England QB Tom Brady. He's back on the sidelines for the second half.

Michigan muffs the punt but manages to recover the fumble at their its own 10 yard line. And there goes that McGuffie kid again for a big gain. With the weather getting sloppy, he's going to be a factor in the second half.

Ruh roh. Maurice Crum, the excellent linebacker for the Irish, got caught up in a pile and hobbled off dragging his leg. Hopefully that's not serious.

The rest of the defense stands up and forces Michigan to punt.

Clausen to Tate. Irish fans are quickly getting used to that. Tate has caught 4 balls so far today for 127 yards. Part of that success is that the offensive line is playing much better than they did last week.

Although just as I was typing that, Michigan overpowers the ND front 5 and Clausen is forced to throw the ball away. That brings up 4th down and another punt.

Weather is definitely having an impact on the offenses now.

The Irish defense finally tackles McGuffie for no gain. The freshman RB for Michigan has rushed 19 times for 109 yards so far today.

Wolverine QB Steven Threet is hobbling on a bad leg, but he throws a beautiful pass to WR Martavious Odoms for a big gain. Then McGuffie breaks loose for another run, but he is tackled awkwardly and gimps off.

Dangit! Now there's pass interference on the Irish downfield and Michigan is threatening to score.

Fumble!!!! Irish recover! Woooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Notre Dame has gone to the power running game with Robert Hughes now. That's a good call deep in your own territory with the rain really pounding down. Ball security is critical here.

Michigan holds and forces ND to punt.

Rats! It's a low snap and the kick is partially blocked. The ball does travel forward, but the Wolverines will take over just outside ND territory at their own 48.

Wooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Fumble!!!! Irish LB Brian Smith scooped up the ball and returned it for a TD! And the score now is 35-17 to start the 4th quarter.

Did you see it? I just danced a little jig. Heheheheheheheheeeee!

Funble again on the kickoff! But Michigan recovers this time. The Wolverines have fumbled 7 times, with the Irish recovering 4 of them.

Notre Dame forces Michigan to punt again. It looks like a fake, but it's actually a play that some teams have adopted from punt formation. The punter takes the snap and the protection moves to the right or left with the punter running behind them. If an opportunity presents to try for the first down, the punter has the option to go for it. If not, he pulls up and kicks the ball.

The Irish were ready for a trick play, so Michigan went ahead with the punt.

/The Irish run off a little bit of time with a short sustained drive, and this time they are able to get the punt off cleanly. The key now is not to give up big plays or quick scores.

Michigan has gone to QB Nick Sheridan, who completes a couple of passes. There is also a defensive holding call on Notre Dame, and suddenly the Wolverines are in the red zone. And there's that McGuffie kid again, pinballing off tacklers for a short tough run.

Woooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Interception inside the 5 yard line by Irish Safety David Bruton, who returns the pick 40 yards! There is also a personal foul called on Michigan for a horse collar tackle.

Did you see it? I just danced another jig! Heheheheheheheheeee!

The Irish go for it on 4th down and would have had it to seal the win, but the pass is incomplete and Michigan will take over with about 5 minutes to play, needing 3 scores.

Woooooooooooooooooooo!!! Irish DB Gary Gray picks off the Sheridan pass and returns it 41 yards! That's the 6th Michigan turnover.

The Irish go for it on 4th and 1 with a pass into the endzone that is picked off by Michigan. I would have preferred that they kick the field goal there.

Wooops. There's some frustration from Michigan and it looked like one of the Wolverine players threw a punch. Yup. Replay showed that one of the Michigan kids smacked a ND kid in the head, and he has been thrown out of the game. That's a shame to lose your cool like that.

Now we'll get the victory formation! Clausen takes a knee twice to end the game, and Coach Weis gets the Gatoraide shower.

Well, it wasn't a shut out. But Notre Dame dominated Michigan in the second half, and I'll take that as pay back for the 38-0 thrashing at the hands of the Wolverines in Ann Arbor last year.

Hopefully the Irish can build on the confidence they gained from this win as they go to Michigan State next.

GO IRISH!