Notre Dame defense stops Denard Robinson in 13-6 win over Michigan
By DOUG GRIFFITHS
ISL Correspondent
ISL Correspondent
NOTRE DAME, Ind. ” Irish linebacker Manti Te’o had never beaten Michigan in his collegiate career but Saturday night he played like a man on a mission, willing his 11th-ranked Irish to a 13-6 home victory over No. 18 Michigan.
The win improved Notre Dame’s record to 4-0 on the season, its best start since 2002.
It feels great to be 4-0, Te’o said. The sky’s the limit for not only this defense but for this team.
The senior not only put on an All-American performance, but at times resembled an All-World type player. Te’o, who had a game-high 12 tackles last week against Michigan State after the deaths of his grandmother and girlfriend, intercepted two Denard Robinson passes in the first half.
In the opening 30 minutes, Te’o and his defensive mates picked off an incredible five Michigan passes – four of those were thrown by Robinson. What’s even more remarkable is those five interceptions came on Michigan’s last five pass attempts of the first half.
Three of those turnovers came at critical moments as they occurred very deep in Irish territory – all coming in the red zone.
Two of those turnovers led to the only 10 points of the first half, and Michigan had to be feeling somewhat good that it only trailed 10-0 at the break.
Kelly was almost speechless when talking about his team’s defense following the game.
What can I say? Six turnovers, Kelly said. Limited what we felt is one of the most dynamic offensive players in the country to no touchdowns. Just an incredible performance by our defense.
And an incredible performance by Te’o, who finished with eight tackles (second highest on the team), and now will head to Hawaii to be with his family as Notre Dame won’t play until Oct. 6 when it faces Miami (Fla.) in Chicago’s Soldier Field.
It (the defense) revolves around him, his personality, his strength, said Kelly about one of the finest linebackers in the college game today. He’s a special guy. Take advantage while you’ve got him now because I’ve never been around a kid like that.
Kelly would be hard-pressed to find a defense he’s been around like Notre Dame’s during his coaching career.
The Irish just finished a two-game stretch against Michigan and Michigan State, supposedly two of the Big Ten’s better teams, and didn’t allow either of them a touchdown.
Our kids are bigger, they’re faster, they’re stronger, said Kelly talking about his defense. It’s just the evolutionary process of this defense over two-and-a-half years.
It was a Notre Dame defense that has shown tremendous improvement this season. On this night, it was a defense that finally figured out Robinson, who had made a living off killing the Irish in the past.
The Michigan senior, who was celebrating his 22nd birthday, completed just 13-of-24 passes for 138 yards with four interceptions and was sacked three times. Robinson ran for 90 yards, but needed 26 carries to do so.
The key to stopping such a dynamic player like Denard is everybody just has to get to him, Te’o said. You have to really emphasize 11 guys to the ball, and I think our coaches have done a great job in stressing the importance of everybody getting to the ball.
Michigan coach Brady Hoke wasn’t about to blame his quarterback for the loss. Rather he took responsibility.
It starts with me, he said. I need to do a better job of coaching the game of football.
After Michigan got on the board thanks to a 33-yard field goal to make it 10-3 early in the fourth quarter, Notre Dame responded with a 11-play drive that chewed up 6:24 of the clock. The drive ended when Irish kicker Kyle Brindza drilled a 39-yard field goal to give the hosts a 13-3 lead with 6:46 remaining.
The Wolverines got within a touchdown again when Brendan Gibbons hit a 31-yard field goal. But on the ensuing kickoff, Hoke elected to kick away rather than try an onside kick. His team never saw the ball after that.
On what turned out to be the final drive of the game, Notre Dame converted a third-and-four from its 31 when reserve quarterback Tommy Rees hit tight end Tyler Eifert with a 38-yard pass play down the Irish sideline, moving the ball to the Michigan 31. It was Eifert’s only catch of the night and his first since the Purdue game a couple weeks ago.
The Irish would convert another third down when Theo Riddick gained nine yards for a first down and as Notre Dame prepared to take a knee to seal the win, Te’o couldn’t hold back his excitement. He was seen on the field jumping up and down as the final seconds ticked off the Notre Dame Stadium scoreboard.
About midway through the second quarter and the Irish leading 3-0, Rees replaced Everett Golson, who threw a pair of interceptions after throwing just one pick in Notre Dame’s first three games of the season. Golson was just 3-for-8 passing for 30 yards on the night.
On his first series, Rees led the Irish on the game’s only touchdown drive, which was aided greatly by a pass interference at the goal line by Michigan. Had Wolverine safety Jarrod Wilson not interfered with Eifert, Notre Dame would’ve had to settle for a field goal.
Instead, the Irish got a first down and Rees scored his first rushing touchdown of his career from two yards out and the hosts led 10-0 with 1:21 left in the first half.
Rees finished the game completing 8-of-11 passes for 115 yards.
Michigan dominated the first quarter. But the Wolverines missed a 43-yard field goal and had two other drives end in Notre Dame territory.
The Irish were held to 94 yards rushing on 31 carries and 239 total yards of offense.
NOTRE DAME NUGGETS
– After the game, Kelly said Golson would remain the team’s starting quarterback.
– The last time Notre Dame intercepted five passes in a game was 1988 against Purdue.
– The last time the Irish forced six turnovers in a contest was in 2008 against Michigan.
– Before Saturday night, Notre Dame had not allowed six points or less to top-20 opponents in consecutive weeks since 1943.
