Observations on the loss to Notre Dame, 6-13!
Michigan's offense lost the game with five red zone opportunities, and 6 points to show. Notre Dame converted 6 Michigan Offensive Turnovers into 10 points, and earned the win.
The last time a Michigan quarterback looked this bad was when Demetrius Brown threw 7 interceptions in the Michigan State loss in 1987 in an 11-17 loss. Denard Robinson threw 4 interceptions, and gave the ball away a fifth time with a red zone fumble. A senior quarterback gives away two red zone turnovers. Robinson was 13 of 24 for 138 yeards, and he was sacked 3 times. Robinson ran for 90 yards in 24 carries. Fitzgerald Touissaint had 58 yards in 13 carries. Vincent Smith threw the other red zone interception. Devin Gardner, Jeremy Gallon and Roy Roundtree had 3 receptions each. Michigan gained 291 yards of total offense, 19 first downs and were 9 of 16 on 3rd and 4th down conversions. We had a 7 minute time of possession advantage, but the offense couldn't use it to score points.
Defense forced two turnovers, one in the red zone with Thomas Gordon intercepting a tipped pass by J.T. Floyd. The other was by Ramon Taylor. Offense couldn't capitalize on either one. Jordan Kovacs and Desmond Morgan led the defense with 7 tackles each; Thomas Gordon and Kenny Demens had 6 tackles each. Notre Dame was only 3 of 9 in 3rd down conversions, and had 239 yard in total offense with 14 first downs. They only had two offensive turnovers, and Michigan couldn't convert them into points.
Brendon Gibbons hit two of three field goals. Matt Wile's 3 kickoffs were all touchbacks, and one punt was downed at the 9. Dennis Norfleet had 87 yards in 3 returns.
This team will be 6-6 or 7-5 with little chance to win their division. Northwestern is probably now the favorite with Michigan State, Minnesota and Nebraska all capable of winning the division and probably facing Purdue in the championship game since Ohio State can't go this year.
Box Score Player Participation Highlights Brady Hoke Post-Game Interview
Observations on the first half with Notre Dame
Game Notes for Notre Dame (Notre Dame Game Notes for Michigan)
Brady Hoke Pre-Game Interview on September 21
Brady Hoke Press Conference on September 19 Roy Roundtree Denard Robinson
Greg Mattison Press Conference on September 18 Al Borges
Brady Hoke Press Conference for Notre Dame on September 17 Devin Gardner Taylor Lewan