ND defense and DR

ND has a strong front line , that being said I thgink DR himself will slow their rush some, becuase if they blow through he can expose their rush and find seams in it . If ND rushes to hard they could make hole for the shiffty QB to go through. I see a more controlled rush from ND to contain DR to a space and make him beat you with his arm

I'm not impressed with ND. I watched the Navy game. Navy is horrible. I watched part of the Purdue game, and they struggled. Purdue is decent. I watched most of the MSU game and it is shocking how bad the MSU O-line is and Maxwell is a statue back there.

My only concern is that can UM stop the run and contain Golson. I'm going with a 31-24 UM win.

I am not sure how you can not be impressed with a 20-3 win on the road at night. I realize MSU is breaking in a new QB but he has been descent so far. Bell is a stud. I hope you are right Fish and in November we look back and see MSU is horrible on offense. Three games into the season I can't make that judgement.

I am still worried. ND shut us down the first half last year. I keep seeing flashbacks of the MSU game. Our running game can be stopped. I hope we do not become one dimensional on Saturday. I hope Borges does not call a game like he did against Bama. DR needs at least 15 rushing attempts on Saturday. We also need enough of a passing game to keep them honest.

I agree it could be a nail-biter, but I've read in so many places that ND's defensive weakness is their secondary. And remembering how badly we exposed it in that last-second drive last year, and realizing not only that Denard, Gallon and Roundtree are a year older, but that Funchess almost replaces Junior as Mr.JumpBall, I think we could well exploit that secondary again.

Of course, on the road it won't be as easy.

I don't know about Fish's score (31-24), but his 7-pt margin sounds about right. But one thing I am friggin' convinced of: if we enter the 4th quarter down 17, we will not pull it out this time around...we gotta strike earlier---much earlier---than in '11.

And no turnovers... If Denard gives away any interceptions, Michigan is in trouble. Keep the ball and get the win. After playing against Alabama's front seven, they should be far better prepared for a ND defense that doesnt have those kind of horses.

I have a feeling this is going to be more of a grind it out kind of game.

i think Denard is going to do the exact same thing he did last year: open up the pass w/his legs....i expect he will be accurate enough to make some big plays:

35-31 Meechigan

EJinGA wrote:

I have a feeling this is going to be more of a grind it out kind of game.

Here's hoping you're wrong, EJ, because I'm of the conviction that in such a contest, we would
not be the team with the advantage. If we couldn't stop the running game of, nor generate OL
push against, AIR FORCE AT THE BIG HOUSE...

I'm hoping the big play---perhaps a couple big runs by DR but mainly the passing game---is what
determines this outcome, because in that arena, I definitely feel we have the upper hand.

I was at the big house while Notre Dame was playing Purdue so I couldn't see any of that game. Statistically, ND had about 130 more yards of offense but Purdue tied them late in the 4th quarter. I don't know if this is proof that Purdue is better than people think or ND was just playing a close game against a bad opponent.

Whatever the case, I have a feeling the Notre Dame team we'll see is the one that played MSU, not the one who played Purdue.