The Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish always play early in the season when they do play each other. This makes their meeting so full of importance for both sides.
Michigan Wolverines @ Notre Dame Fighting Irish
Saturday, September 6th – 7:40 PM ET
Odds: Notre Dame -4.5
Why The Wolverines Will Cover
They are turning the page as a team, especially because they have a new offensive coordinator who shows signs of getting the most out of his offense. Doug Nussmeier replaced Al Borges as Michigan’s offensive coordinator in the offseason. Nussmeier had been working with the best, serving as Alabama’s offensive coordinator under Nick Saban. Moving to Michigan gives Nussmeier a chance to help a struggling program. Nussmeier can therefore be seen as a fixer-upper as a coordinator, which could help him to become a head coach very soon. If Michigan quarterback Devin Gardner plays a strong game and shows the better habits Nussmeier has been trying to instill into his repertoire, the Wolverines will become a very different team on offense.
Notre Dame doesn’t know just how good it is yet, either. The Fighting Irish offense looked really good in week one against Rice, but that’s part of the issue. Rice is not as strong a team as Michigan, so the Irish might be caught off balance if the Wolverines can start this game with purpose and intent. Depth doesn’t mean everything this early in the season, but with the four suspended players from the academic cheating scandal, Notre Dame might be a little shorthanded if this game is close in the fourth quarter. Michigan has to make sure that the fourth quarter will matter first.
Why The Fighting Irish Will Cover
They have the far superior quarterback. Everett Golson was unable to play in 2013 for academic-related reasons. This dealt Notre Dame a big setback during the season, but the benefit of all that is that it gave Golson a full year in which to study football more closely and develop his physical strength. Golson entered this year without accumulated bumps and bruises. He was physically primed and rested. He didn’t have any real health issues to deal with. He was ready to go, and his performance in the season opener against Rice this past Saturday showed as much. Golson accounted for five touchdowns against Rice, two of them passing and three of them rushing. Golson also threw a number of other long passes that weren’t caught by his receivers, but should have been. Golson is a complete player, and he’s a much better quarterback than Gardner is for Michigan. That’s going to matter if this game is close in the fourth quarter. Golson has led a team to the national championship game. He knows how to lead a team and respond to the biggest of situations. That Notre Dame plays at home won’t hurt the Irish, either.
Outlook
If Michigan has improved, it’s hard to count on that improvement just yet. Michigan did not play a tough team in week one, cruising past Appalachian State. Both teams are unknowns, but Notre Dame’s unknowns are the ones you’d probably trust more here.
Pick: Notre Dame -4.5
