Blame Charlie Weis for the Irish loss to Michigan
#18 Notre Dame lost a thriller to the Michigan Wolverines in front of 110,278 fans at the Big House on Saturday. It was a break out game for the heralded freshman Wolverine QB Tate Forcier and a sign that Rich Rodriguez has Michigan on the right track. This was the game people were talking about last week, saying that one of these coaches needed to turn the corner. Rich did it, and once again Weis floundered. Weis is till in search of his signature win going into his fifth season as the Irish head coach.
Stat wise the game was close. Jimmy Clausen was 25/42 for 336 yards and 3 TDs, Forcier was 23/33 for 240 yards and 2 TDs with one interception near the end of the game that led to a short lived, go ahead TD for the Irish. Irish fullback Armando Allen had 21 carries for 139 yards and a touchdown, averaging over 6 yards a carry. Michigan’s Brandon Minor had 16 carries for 106 yards, also averaging over 6 yards a carry. ND finished with 490 total yards to Michigan’s 430.
But the bottom line in this game is that ND got outplayed by a team that they were supposed to beat. They were coming in with a veteran team that had all the tools to dominate this game. The offensive line committed costly holding penalties that brought back big plays and the defense looked porous and confused half the time. The Irish special teams also gave up a 94 yard TD return on a kick off in the first quarter.
The blame for this loss falls on the shoulders of Charlie Weis. ND was clearly out coached yesterday. There were some questionable play calls made, like a QB sneak on 3rd and 5 inside the red zone early in the game. Micheal Floyd almost looked like he was running free in the Michigan secondary against a defensive back that was getting beat all day, why didn’t Weis call Floyds number more?
With a three point lead and less than three minutes on the clock in the fourth quarter, ND had the ball and instead of running it and keeping the clock moving, Weis decided to call two pass plays that fell incomplete and stopped the clock. ND ended up punting, a sad little punt by the way that gave the Wolverines great field position which led to the game winning drive for Michigan.
Right now, there’s only grumbling out there, but this is only game two of the season. ND hosts Michigan State next week. Another team coming off a loss, and a team that seems to have ND’s number, especially at home. The loser of that game walks out with a 1-2 (got it right Creek) record. If the Irish lose next week, those grumbles could turn into roars.