I don’t know about you guys, but this week is moving mighty slow. While last Saturday’s game certainly had a high stakes feel to it, the date with the Wolverines feels amplified. Win, and the Irish go to 4-0, with a much needed week of rest to get healthy and continue into uncharted territory. A loss, well — it gives Irish fans 14 days to contemplate how Michigan once again broke their hearts.
With thousands of fans ready to descend on South Bend for what might be the most important home game since Pete Carroll and the Trojans came to town in 2005, we caught up with Josh Flynt of UND.com’s Strong and True blog. While the other two members of the Irish Blogger Gathering (Subway Domer & Her Loyal Sons) might get a little feisty with their questions, we kept things in check.
I posed Josh some questions, and he answered. On his blog, he asked me some questions and I answered. Funnily enough, they were pretty similar.
1. We can spend all afternoon talking about the match-ups and the supposed advantages the Irish have as they prepare to take on a Michigan team that looked less than impressive against Michigan and Air Force. Does it matter? They’ve got Denard Robinson, who has crafted his lore basically on destroying Notre Dame. What do you think needs to happen to make this Saturday night different than the last three?
I don’t know, maybe I’m delusional, but I think Notre Dame was better than Michigan in each of the past three seasons. Instead of looking to avenge three straight losses to the Wolverines, the Irish could probably be going for their fifth consecutive win over the team from Ann Arbor.
Unfortunately, that is not the case. The Irish turned the ball over five times last year and allowed 28 points in the fourth quarter at Michigan Stadium. They committed nine penalties for 75 yards.
But this season is different. Notre Dame has given up the football just twice, and has allowed only 30 points through three games.
Denard will make a few big plays. The key for the Irish will be limiting both how often, and when he makes them (ex. not on his team’s last drive). If the Notre Dame offense continues to protect the football and the defense plays with the same level of intensity it exhibited last Saturday, I’m confident the Irish will be 4-0 heading into their bye week.
2. During that fateful fourth quarter, the Michigan wide receivers had their way in a few jump ball, one-on-one, match-ups. Most of those guys are still in uniform for the maize and blue, and the Irish secondary will be even more inexperienced. With the Irish front seven pretty stout against the running game, do you expect the Wolverines’ offense to try to make their mark in the air?
While Denard can make plays with both his arm and his legs, he’s not exactly known for his passing ability. That said, I still expect Michigan to try to beat Notre Dame through the air. It just makes sense for the Wolverines offense to try to exploit the less experienced group.
Holding Le’Veon Bell to only 77 yards, I think the front seven showed it deserves to be considered among the best in the country. So hopefully the Irish can force #16 to make some hurried decisions, rather than allowing him to dance around in the pocket before breaking off a big run. If Nix, Tuitt, etc. play like they have recently, even with a young secondary, I really like our chances.
3. Last year’s night game against USC was a success right up until the Irish took the field. Then it turned into a depressing movie many Irish fans have already seen before, with the whole Crazy Train debacle adding in some gallows humor. Do you think the football team learned anything from the experience? Do you think the marketing / stadium P.A. team learned any new songs?
Improving the stadium atmosphere is definitely a work in progress, but the good news is that it has become a collective university effort. The athletic department launched the “Take a StaND” initiative before the Purdue game, and Director of Athletics Jack Swarbrick has expressed that he wants to bring back the home field advantage at Notre Dame Stadium.
I’ve always felt that when it comes to building a raucous stadium environment, winning cures all. When asked about the atmosphere on Tuesday, Coach Kelly seemed to express asimilar mentality. “I continue to believe that if we play great football, if we do the things we did against Michigan State, then it’s going to be plenty loud enough in that stadium,” he said.
With the Irish sitting at 3-0 for the first time in a decade, I think the House That Rockne Built will be the loudest I’ve ever personally seen it on Saturday (Keep in mind, I’ve only been coming to games since I was a freshman in 2007, but still, I believe this is the biggest home game since USC 2005 – not to say the two are comparable).
For reasons I’ll never understand, Crazy Train is part of our nation’s sports culture and is used everywhere – it was played in Dublin and at Michigan State, and I can’t tell you how often I’ve been watching other football or basketball games on television and have heard it in the background. The main problem against USC was that it was the third down song, in a gamewhere Notre Dame struggled to stop a third down.
I know the Leprechaun Legion has offered its input and against Purdue, I thought there was a good mix of music – a share of classic stadium anthems, but also a few unique tunes that I’d like to see more often. (I can’t remember specific song titles, but I will keep an ear out this weekend).
Also, I know it’s a student favorite, but I really can’t stand Seven Nation Army. Sorry, y’all.
