The Wolverine Now

SEPT. 4, 2013 Moving Beyond The War Of Words Game Facts Off-Field Comments Have Fans Boiling, But On-Field Performers Will Decide Game's Outcome O By Michael Spath n Tuesday, Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly opened his press conference acknowledging the Fighting Irish's matchup with Michigan is "a great and historic rivalry," doing his best to quell the din that sprung up two days earlier when he told reporters he didn't consider the Wolverines a historic, traditional rival for ND. And so it is that the week of MichiganNotre Dame, when two Midwest powers meet for the second-to-last time (for the foreseeable future), the conversation has not focused on the terrific potential of this night game but about comments from the coaches. U-M's Brady Hoke, speaking before alumni over the summer, delighted the VIP guests by expressing his belief that Notre Dame was "chickening" out of its series after Irish athletics director Jack Swarbrick informed his Michigan counterpart, David Brandon, that 2014 would be the final contest between the two. While fans on both sides are riled up — claiming the other side has been disrespectful, while at the same time arguing the slights have supposedly not bothered them one bit — Kelly disarmed his media contingent the moment Hoke's blustering was raised. "I know Brady. He's never been one to show disrespect to anybody," Kelly said. "It's really about two programs that share a border — it makes sense to play. I get that. I can see the frustration that would be there from Michigan's side, but he's a first-class guy. I know he wants to continue to play, and we'd like to oblige him, but right now it's difficult with the agreements we have." Now that the grandstanding is over with, the focus can return to the players' performance, which will actually decide the game's outcome. For Notre Dame, that means taking advantage of more opportunities to score after managing only 28 points despite 543 yards in a season-opening victory over Temple. In the second quarter alone, ND had 161 yards of offense but just one TD, wasting two seven-play drives. The Fighting Irish needed only six plays on their first two series to cover 77 and 87 yards, with senior quarterback Tommy Rees depositing a pair of 32-yard passes into the arms of junior wide receiver DaVaris Daniels for touchdowns. The two — quarterback and play-making receiver — were question marks heading into fall camp, but for one week anyway, Rees and the Blue and Gold wideouts qui- Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly has led the Fighting Irish to a 29-11 record since the beginning of the 2010 season. photo by joe raymond eted their critics, connecting on an NCAAbest five completions of 30 yards or more against the Owls. "They don't have that one guy like a Michael Floyd or Tyler Eifert that they've had in the past, but they have a committee of receivers, and if Rees can make the right read, ND has the weapons to make plays," Blue & Gold Illustrated assistant editor Dan Murphy said. Rees has been much maligned in his career, largely stemming from his penchant for inexplicable, and ill-timed, turnovers, throwing an interception once every 26.4 passes coming into the season (with a handful of bad fumbles to his name as well), but he was on target against Temple, completing 16 of 23 attempts (69.6 percent) for 346 yards with three touchdowns and zero turnovers. A year ago, when Notre Dame went 12-1, What: Michigan vs. Notre Dame. When: Sept. 7 • 8:12 p.m. TV-Radio: ESPN will televise the game nationally. The game can be heard on the Michigan Sports Network (950 AM in the Detroit area and on SiriusXM) with longtime partners Frank Beckmann and Jim Brandstatter, and sideline reporter Doug Karsch. Coaches: Michigan: Brady Hoke (20-7, third season). Notre Dame: Brian Kelley (29-11, fourth season) History: Michigan leads the series with Notre Dame 23-16-1, last beating the Fighting Irish 35-31 in 2011. Notre Dame Notes: ESPN College GameDay will make its sixth appearance for a Michigan-Notre Dame matchup … Playing left tackle and center against Temple, Zack and Nick Martin became the first pair of brothers to start at Notre Dame in the same game since 1978 … ND will face all three of Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue for the 12th consecutive season … The Fighting Irish are 42-26-2 all time in road night games … Michigan has been Notre Dame's first road opponent 13 times, and ND is just 4-9 in those contests.

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