ANN ARBOR — It doesn’t matter if it’s during the day or under the lights, Michigan quarterback Denard Robinson is an excruciating pain for Notre Dame.
Robinson led the Wolverines to a comeback win for the second straight year in this rivalry Saturday night at Michigan Stadium, finding Roy Roundtree in the corner of the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown with two seconds left in an epic 35-31 win. The score was set up by a 64-yard catch-and-run by Jeremy Gallon.
The game appeared to be over just seconds before when ND quarterback Tommy Rees found Theo Riddick for a 29-yard touchdown with 30 seconds left. On the previous drive, Robinson hooked up with Vincent Smith for a go-ahead touchdown, erasing a 17-point deficit, with a little more than a minute left.
Robinson rolled right, looked to be in trouble, and threw back to Smith who made several shifty moves for a 21-yard touchdown. It was the 21st unanswered point scored by the Wolverines, who trailed 24-7 entering the fourth quarter.
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Before a Michigan Stadium record crowd of 114,804, the Irish appeared to deliver the dagger with 2:13 left in the third quarter. ND receiver TJ Jones came across the middle on a third-down catch from Rees, made safety Jared Van Slyke miss, and tiptoed the visitor sideline for a 15-yard touchdown. It was 24-7 at that point, and Michigan’s offense had been impotent.
But Robinson then hooked up with Junior Hemingway for their second big gain of the night. With his knees buckling and his jersey being clung to by the Irish’s Kapron Lewis-Moore, Robinson delivered a strike down field to Hemingway, who finished off the 77-yard reception to the Irish’s 6-yard line.
Three plays later, the Wolverines got lucky — very lucky. Short-yardage running back Stephen Hopkins fumbled on third-and-goal from the 1, and somehow, the ball bounced directly back to Robinson who made it a 10-point game with his first touchdown of the season.
Michigan caught another break on the ensuing possession when the Irish’s Ben Turk shanked a punt out of bounds at the Notre Dame 40. Wolverines linebacker Brandin Hawthorne induced the punt with a big stop in the backfield on third down.
Robinson cashed in on the opportunity, connecting with Gallon in the end zone from 14 yards out. Gallon made a perfect adjustment to the underthrown ball, stopping quickly and making the snag to cut the lead to 24-21.
Robinson had a crummy first half, completing just two of nine passes and getting intercepted by Gary Gray on a weakly-thrown ball that hung in the air forever. It seemed as if Michigan’s game plan was to attack Notre Dame deep, but Robinson’s offerings were off target with the lone exception being a 43-yard toss to Hemingway.
Hemingway broke off his route at the 5, turned, and won a jump ball against Gray before lunging at the pylon and cutting the deficit to 14-7.
Unlike Robinson, Rees was efficient in the first half, minus the two times he was intercepted.
He and star receiver Michael Floyd continued their great rapport from last year, when Rees went 4-0 as a starter in the final four games. Floyd had seven catches for 112 yards in the half, setting career program records for most receiving yards and most 100-yard games (15). The Rees-Floyd connection did not end in the second half, as Floyd kept beating his defender on slant routes, and Rees kept delivering him the ball.
Rees completed his first eight passes of the game, nearly duplicating the 9-for-9 start by Western Michigan’s Alex Carder a week earlier.
The Irish’s first drive ended just like Western’s first drive — with a TD. A Rees to Riddick six-yard score ended an impressive seven play, 57-yard drive. ND went up 14-0 after its next drive, as Cierre Wood capped a 10-play drive with a four-yard run.
Contact Ryan Autullo at: rautullo@theblade.com or 419-724-6160 Follow him on Twitter @RyanAutullo.
First Published September 11, 2011, 12:39 a.m.
