FootballSaturday, October 25, 2019

Free and open to the public 
 | wallacehouse.umich.edu/events

“The 1619 Project: Examining the Legacy 
of Slavery and the Building of a Nation”
Nikole Hannah-Jones, reporter, The New 
York Times, discusses her groundbreaking 
work on “The 1619 Project”

“Duterte’s Facebook-Fueled Rise to 
Power: Manipulating Public Opinion 
to Capture an Election”
Davey Alba, reporter, The New York 
Times and 2019 Livingston Award winner 

“What Big Tech Owes Us: Ethics and 
Transparency in the Social Age”
Kara Swisher, co-founder and executive 
editor of Recode, interviews former 
Facebook executive Alex Stamos

“International Trolling Networks and the 
Hidden Threats to Female Journalists”
Elodie Vialle, Reporters Without Borders 
and 2020 Knight-Wallace Fellow and Rana 
Ayyub, author and investigative journalist 

1/28/20 | 6-7:30 PM 
RACKHAM AUDITORIUM

1/29/20 | 4-5:30 PM 
FORD SCHOOL, ANNENBERG AUDITORIUM

3/18/20 | 6:30-8 PM 
HILL AUDITORIUM

3/24/20 | 3-4:30 PM 
RACKHAM AMPHITHEATRE

WALLACE HOUSE PRESENTS

2019-2020 SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

8B

All starts in the run game
After a boon in attention at the 
start of the year, Zach Charbonnet 
reminded fans that he’s the most 
talented freshman running back 
Michigan has had in quite some 
time. His two touchdowns against 
Penn State marked his fifth and 
sixth of the season — only trailing 

Mike Hart and Tyrone Wheatley 
(each with nine) for the most in 
a rookie campaign. Smart money 
lies on his topping that.
He looked spry against the 
Nittany 
Lions, 
seeming 
fully 
recovered from an injury that 
kept him limited for a few weeks. 
This week seems to be a prime 
opportunity for 20-plus carries, 
coming against a solid — but 

still vulnerable — Fighting Irish 
defense.
The Irish have allowed 100-plus 
yards rushing in each game this 
season except one — including two 
200-plus yard games. On average, 
Notre Dame allows 154 rushing 
yards per game, sitting a middling 
64th in the country.
“Establishing the run” can 
be 
one 
of 
those 
colloquial 

football cliches that ostensibly 
means nothing, but it would be 
surprising if Michigan didn’t 
make a concerted effort to involve 
Charbonnet and the other running 
backs early and often. This is 
particularly true if Patterson’s 
health permits a true read on some 
of those read options.
Turnover margin
Oh, great, another football 
cliche!
But one of the Wolverines’ 
most fatal flaws this year has 
been its propensity to turn the 
ball over at will. They’ve lost nine 
fumbles of 17, and Patterson has 
four interceptions — including a 
maddening misfire on a screen 
pass last week that led directly to 
seven points. 
Notre Dame has the best 
turnover margin per game of any 
team in the country — plus-1.67 
turnovers per game. The easiest 
way to quell a team trying to build 
momentum is to snag an easy 
turnover and pin Michigan in a 
difficult spot, perhaps an early 
deficit. 
If a scenario like that unfolds, 
it could be deja vu for the 
Wolverines, and the clear recipe 
for yet another big-game loss.
The Pick:
Michigan hasn’t lost in the Big 

House in 698 days, which is also 
the last time it wasn’t favored in 
a home game. 
The 
Fighting 
Irish went to 
Georgia 
and 
nearly 
beat 
the 
Bulldogs 
between 
the 
hedges 
earlier 
this season, so 
they 
certainly 
aren’t going to 
be 
frightened 
by 
a 
road 
game 
against 
a 
limping 
Michigan team. 
And 
they’re 
better. 
Maybe 
not 
substantially 
so; maybe Michigan’s offense has 
truly turned a corner; maybe the 
unforced errors and turnovers 
are a thing of the past; maybe the 
focus is there, and the team truly 
has put last week behind it; maybe 
the defense is in for a signature 
performance, shirking the early-
game, big-play struggles.
But that’s a few too many 
hypotheticals for my liking. I’ll 
take the better, more proven 
football team.
Notre Dame 24, Michigan 20

From Page 7B

ALEXANDRIA POMPEI/Daily
Freshman running back Zach Charbonnet (#24) must get out to a strong start against a porous Notre Dame run defense.

Notre Dame 
at Michigan

Matchup: 
Michigan (5-2 
overall, 3-2 Big 
Ten) vs. Notre 
Dame (5-1)

When: 
Saturday, 
7:30 ET

Where: 
Michigan 
Stadium

TV: 

ABC