The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
6A - Friday, September 9, 2011
'M' readies for first night game at Big House
By STEPHEN J. NESBITT
Daily Sports Editor
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
wouldn't ever say he's scared
of the dark, but he's not a fan of
nighttime.
Not for football games, at
least.
"I do like twelve-o'clock
games," Hoke said.
"But I have no say, which is
okay too."
The Wolverines' "Under the
Lights" tilt with Notre Dame on
Saturday night may be the first
night game in Michigan Stadium
history, but the concept is old hat
for Hoke.
In 2008, Hoke's final season at
Ball State, the Cardinals' sched-
ule featured seven night games.
That left just seven more games
to be played during the daytime.
Michigan, it's safe to say, has a
different policy on night games.
Last weekend's matchup with
Western Michigan bled into the
early evening, but Hoke said his
team hasn't really had a late-
night practice in preparation for
Saturday's game.
During the Brady Hoke Radio
Show on Wednesday, Hoke
admitted that in hindsight he
should have held a few eve-
ning practices. But he said it's
more about keeping the team on
schedule.
"(I) never really have (prac- 18 passes, then-Michigan coach
ticed at night)," Hoke said. "It's Rich Rodriguez inserted Robin-
just how you structure the day, son, then a freshman.
from how you eat breakfast, Robinson led Michigan on a
when pregame meal is, when quick scoring drive to pull the
is chapel and devotion, walk- Wolverines within two points.
throughs and all that stuff. But a last-ditch pass turned into
"We all have a nervousness to an interception, marring Robin-
us - butterflies, whatever you son's first college night game.
want to call it. It's a long day." But it's not always the outcome
Most of the Michigan team that players take with them.
has experience playing on Satur- Fifth-year senior defensive tack-
day night. le Ryan Van Bergen remembers
the special night atmosphere.
"It just seems like the fans are
just that much more into it when
"That's what we the lights are on," Van Bergen
said. "I don't know why, but it
cam e here for ... does seem like it's more electric."
Robinson, who shone on Fri-
toplay mnthe day nights in Deerfield Beach,
Fla. in high school, is going back
big games. under the lights.
"Oh man - football is foot-
ball," Robinson said. "It's Satur-
day, and everybody wants to play.
The Wolverines played Penn It's a big game, and everybody
State under the lights in Happy should be ready to play.
Valley last season. In 2009, "It's the University of Michi-
Michigan traveled for a night gan, and that's what we came
game against Iowa. here for, is to play in the big
Denard Robinson remembers games."
that one. The game was his first Hoke emphasized that game-
significant playing time at quar- day is long enough as it is.
terback. Waiting for an 8 p.m. start on
After former Michigan quar- Saturday is borderline torturous
terback Tate Forcier struggled for the team.
early by throwing an intercep- Michigan will stay in the hotel
tion and completing just 9 of his for most of the day doing walk-
0
I
MARISSA MCCLAIN/Daily
Michigan Stadium has been under the lights before, but never like it will be on Saturday.
throughs, watching film, and Van Bergen said. "Coach is trying five."
taking walks to stay loose. But to keep you occupied, but you're The current forecast for Sat-
it's no relaxing afternoon. waiting to play a football game, urday evening is 69 degrees at
"Night games - they're fun as watching other football games in kickoff with a 40-percent chance
far as atmosphere and stuff, but your hotel room. of precipitation.
the thing that people don't real- "That's a big wait when you're After last weekend's fiasco, a
ize is how much it sucks when getting up at nine o'clock, and little rain wouldn't surprise any-
you're waiting around in a hotel," you're not leaving to go play until one.
Breakdown: Hype won't be enough against Notre Dame
By MICHAEL FLOREK
Daily Sports Editor
Saturday has turned from a
game into an event. The first
night game in Michigan Sta-
dium, the legacy jerseys, the
honoring of Desmond Howard
and the appearance of ESPN's
College GameDay have all taken
away from the fact that it's still
just a football game.
Despite the buildup and the
outside distractions, the match-
ups on the field may be the most
intriguing part. Here's our look
at them.
Michigan pass offense vs.
Notre Dame pass defense
Without many opportunities
against Western Michigan, it's
tough to judge junior quarter-
back Denard Robinson's prog-
ress as a passer this season. He
threw just 13 times, and while he
completed nine, he was never in
a position where he had to make
a throw.
That will change against
Notre Dame. Fighting Irish safe-
ty Harrison Smith is as good as
they come. After a 91-tackle sea-
son a year ago, he tallied six more
in Notre Dame's loss to South
Florida.
Smith is joined by fellow
returning starters Zeke Motta
and Gary Gray at safety and cor-
nerback, respectively. The unit
held the Bulls to only 128 yards
through the air last Saturday and
have the talent to match up with
the Wolverines' wide receiv-
ers, mainly redshirt junior Roy
Roundtree and fifth-year senior
Junior Hemingway.
Aside from a Hemingway post
route, the receivers followed
their quarterback with an aver-
age if not boring day last week.
The look of the passing game is
still a mystery.
It could be waiting to break
out, but Notre Dame's secondary
is a sure thing.
Edge: Notre Dame
Michigan rush offense vs.
Notre Dame rush defense
Michigan coach Brady Hoke
wanted to bring the power rush
game back to Michigan. He did
it last Saturday, spending two
quarters running for minimal
gains before breaking it open
with two long runs in the third
quarter.
The Wolverines finished the
day with 190 yards in slightly less
than three quarters. Redshirt
sophomore Fitzgerald Toussaint
had 80 yards, but 43 of them
came on one run.
As for Robinson, his 258-yard
performance on the ground last
year against Notre Dame won't
happen again. The new offense,
to some extent, has bottled up his
rushing ability, and the Fighting
Irish are certainly aware of what
he's capable of this time.
All-America candidate and
Notre Dame linebacker Manti
Te'o will lead the charge against
him. He will get help from fellow
linebacker Darius Fleming.
But if Al Borges opens up Rob-
inson and the Wolverine linemen
can get to the second level like
they did last year, every Michi-
gan fan knows what Robinson
can do.
Throw in the return of red-
shirt junior left guard Ricky
Barnum from suspension and a
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Notre Dame defensive line that
lacks depth, and the Wolverines
hold a slight advantage.
Edge: Michigan
Notre Dame pass offense vs.
Michigan pass defense
Whether fifth-year senior
cornerback Troy Woolfolk is
healthy, Michigan has no one
who can cover Fighting Irish
wide receiver Michael Floyd.
After injury and legal trouble,
Floyd is back on the field and
back to torching secondaries -
no matter who throws him the
ball.
The last time he was at Michi-
gan Stadium he had 131 yards
and a touchdown. Last week, he
hauled in 12 catches for154yards
and two touchdowns. But there's
not much behind Floyd.
Theo Riddick is serviceable
and the Fighting Irish are
still breaking in their new
starter at tight end Tyler Eif-
ert.
If the Wolverine corner-
backs, mainly redshirt junior
J.T. Floyd and sophomore
Courtney Avery, can avoid
single coverage against Rid-
dick, Michigan has a shot to
win the battle.
Quarterback Tommy
Rees isn't going to make
it easy though. While he's
entrenched in a quarter-
back controversy, he clearly
outplayed his counterpart
Dayne Crist last week, going
24-of-32 and throwing two
touchdowns, although he
threw two interceptions as
well.
A good performance
against Michigan could
secure him the job. He'll be
ready. The only question is if
he'll be able to pick up on the
blitzes that Michigan defen-
sive coordinator Greg Matti-
son calls so well.
Edge: Notre Dame
Notre Dame rush offense
vs. Michigan rush defense
Both Hoke and Matti-
son were disappointed with
Michigan's defensive line
and linebacker play against
Western Michigan.
Although the Fighting
Irish lost just one starter
from last year's team, the
unit was 92nd in rushing
yards per game last season.
Running back Cierre Wood
is a returning starter and is
coming off a 110-yard perfor-
mance.
With Hoke, Mattison and
defensive line coach Jerry
Montgomery getting on the
line all week in practice,
captain and senior defensive
tackle Mike Martin will have
his unit ready to take on a
weak run-blocking offensive
line.
The Wolverine linebackers
have been hearing the criticism
as well (even with fifth-year
senior Brandon Herron on pace
for 24 defensive touchdowns
this season). Although redshirt
sophomore Cam Gordon's status
is still uncertain due to a back
injury that sidelined him in the
Western Michigan game, the
linebacking corps should play
better than they did last week.
Expect redshirt junior middle
linebacker Kenny Demens to be
a little more excited than every-
oneelse. He'll be playing against 4
his former high school teammate
Jonas Gray, Notre Dame's back-
up running back.
Edge: Michigan
Special teams
Michigan didn't attempt a i
field goal last Saturday and had
one extra point attempt blocked.
Freshman Matt Wile, thrust into
punting duties after sophomore
Will Hagerup was suspended
for the first four games this sea-
son, had just two punts against
Western Michigan, averaging 41
yards.
While the relatively low work-
load is what Hoke wants, there's
no proof that Michigan has
improved its dreadful kicking
game.
Adding to the woes, the Wol-
verines' kick-off coverage was a
problem all game as the Broncos
averaged more than 31 yards for
return. Notre Dame returns both
their kicker, David Ruffer, and 4
punter Ben Turk.
After going 18-for-19 last sea-
son Ruffer missed a 30-yard
field goal last week, the only one
he attempted. While neither is
likely to contend for any nation-
al awards, when facing Michi-
gan having a warm body in the
spot leads to an edge almost by
default.
Edge: Notre Dame
Intangibles
Playing under the lights and
in front of what is expected to
be the largest crowd in Michigan
history favors the home team.
Yet, it all may just be a distraction
that the Wolverine players can't
get away from. With the game
being Hoke's first test and first
rivalry game, the team will be
ready. Considering the circum-
stances, Hoke may have to calm
them down.
While Notre Dame doesn't
have the big crowd behind it or
a brand new coach to play for, it
needs this game more. Fighting
Irish coach Brian Kelly's sec-
ond season was supposed to be a
step forward. A loss to Michigan
pushes Notre Dame to 0-2 and
Kelly's seat gets a bit hot.
Edge: Push
Final Score Notre Dame 28,
Michigan 24
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