It's Notre Dame Week in Michigan (well, I guess it's Florida Atlantic Week in some parts), but this calls for an extensive look at Michigan football.
Have you submitted your OPC Predictions for this week yet? Go here to do so. Do you believe FSU can snap Oklahoma's home win streak with a healthy Christian Ponder? Do you think a talented Michigan team can run past Notre Dame with Touchdown Jesus watching? Weekly winners get respect, but if you win the overall competition, you get something better than respect, like a hoodie from your favorite team.
Media Fun!
There's been some good stuff to come out of Ann Arbor lately, from Denard Robinson's breakout first game to my intriguing interview with Coach Rodriguez. So let me give you a couple more fun things, like an awesome "4 Days with Michigan Football" video and the amazing photos that came with it.
Notre Dame...Key Points
Last year, the Wolverines gave up 5905404 passing yards to Jimmy Clausen. This year, shockingly enough, the secondary is less experienced and less deep...and yet I have more faith in their ability to stop the Irish. Yeah, I'm a blogger, I know what I'm talking about. But I explained this in my Wolverine win prediction earlier:
Michigan’s offense is vastly improved from last year, which (most likely) will lead to a less weary defense and better game score scenarios. These improved playing circumstances should make the horrendously young and inexperienced secondary less susceptible to give up 300 yards through the air.
There is no Jimmy Clausen this year, no Golden Tate, and there is a functional Michigan offense that can burn more clock and help the defense stay fresh.
Can anyone slow Denard? Injuries seem to be what everyone is talking about because the thought that a 190 running quarterback can survive the Big Ten season...seems a tad far-fetched right now.
Will Notre Dame roll everyone up to the line and dare Denard to throw 30 times? That's what I would do, but defensive toughness was sorely lacking in 2008 and 2009 for the Irish. The can do it with their 3-4, but Michigan's greatly improved offensive line has given a lot of people joyous feelings.
Conclusion
Oh God I'm so nervous. I don't think this is Michigan's biggest game of the year (Michigan State takes that cake), but as my co-worker said: "I expect Notre Dame to win every home game"...and I hate hearing that. The Spread has helped Denard SO MUCH because it has minimized his reads and helped Michigan pick up third and shorts. If Shoelaces can continue his one game streak of being healthy and the defense can not give up an astronomical amount of yards, I have much faith in the Wolverines' chances.
EXTRA CREDIT
If someone has some time, take a look at the OPC contest and let me know the percentage of people who picked Michigan to win this week. I figure that's an interesting statistic.