Article published September 16, 2007
UM back to basics - winning
Hart's 2 TDs back up boast to beat Irish
Michigan's Mike Hart (20) beats Notre Dame's John Ryan to the goal line in the first quarter.
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THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
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By STEVE JUNGA
BLADE SPORTS WRITER
ANN ARBOR - Sometimes, when people are down on their luck, supportive folks like to advise them not to feel too bad because, somewhere, someone else has it much worse.
For the University of Michigan's football team, that "someone else" arrived yesterday. Notre Dame's Fight-less Irish came to Michigan Stadium and absorbed a 38-0 pounding before a crowd of 111,178, resuscitating a Wolverine squad that had opened with embarrassing losses here the previous two Saturdays.
As embattled UM coach Lloyd Carr now knows, Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis has things much worse with his Irish (0-3) losing their fifth straight game dating to last year's regular-season finale at Southern California.
The victory - which included a dominant 379-79 edge in total offense - saved UM from matching its longest losing streak (five games) in 40 years.
"We made some progress and hopefully we can take some of the things we did today and continue to improve as a football team," Carr said.
"When you're coming off a situation like we faced it's a challenge to your ability to focus and concentrate and pay attention, because there's so many things swirling around you. But if you've got good people and people with good character, they will respond, and I think we responded today."One week earlier, after his team was throttled 39-7 by visiting Oregon and a spread offense that piled up 624 yards, Michigan senior running back Mike Hart had the bravado to "guarantee" a UM win over the Irish.
It may have been a bold act in light of Michigan's humbling back-to-back losses to Division I-AA Appalachian State and Oregon, especially with senior starting quarterback Chad Henne projected to miss the game with a leg injury.
UM’s Shawn Crable, left, Will Johnson and Tim Jamison bring down Notre Dame QB Jimmy Clausen, who was sacked eight times.
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THE BLADE/ANDY MORRISON
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But Hart set the tone with 187 yards on 35 carries, including UM's first two touchdowns on runs of 2 and 3 yards in the first half. In the process, Hart eclipsed the 4,000-yard mark in career yardage and tied Anthony Thomas' Michigan record of 22 career 100-yard games.
"When I guaranteed a victory it wasn't out of disrespect towards Notre Dame at all," Hart said. ""It was to fire myself up and to fire the team up. During the week it was just something to keep me focused."
Hart's teammates followed suit, including true freshman QB Ryan Mallett, who replaced the injured Chad Henne for the second half of the Oregon loss. In his debut as a starter, the 6-foot-7, 252-pounder from Texarkana, Texas, was more than adequate. He completed seven of his 15 passes for 90 yards, including first-half TD hookups of 26 yards to Greg Mathews and five yards to Adrian Arrington, as Michigan built a 31-0 halftime lead.
"It was everything I dreamed of," Mallett said. "A win. That's all I wanted my first start. My team played great, and we're improving right now."
"They just told me to play my game and I think I did that pretty good. But there's still room for improvement, and that's what this next week's for. We've got to show up like we did today." Mallett added a 13-yard scoring strike to Mario Manningham with 4:10 left in the third quarter to complete the game's scoring.
But the real story of the Michigan turnaround was on defense. Burned for 73 points here the first two weeks, including a 624-yard yield to the Oregon offense last week, the Wolverines put a chokehold on the Irish and their freshman quarterback, Jimmy Clausen
"We made a lot of mistakes in our first two games," UM senior linebacker Shawn Crable said. "Our coaches have been simplifying the defensive play book and not running so many things. We weren't catching on as fast as they wanted us to, and that's what hurt us the first two games."
On Notre Dame's first play from scrimmage a direct shotgun snap from center John Sullivan sailed over the head of freshman halfback Armando Allen for a 17-yard loss to the Irish 1.
Not much went forward after that either as Michigan held ND to minus-6 net yards on 33 rushes, sacked Clausen eight times for losses totaling 48 yards, recovered two fumbles, and intercepted two passes.
"We knew if we got on top of them it could turn very well for us," Weis said. "But when you turn the ball over three times in the first half of the game leading to 17 points, we obviously started the game the wrong way."
Notre Dame's deepest penetration of the game came on its final possession, when it reached the Michigan 26. It was only the second time the Irish - who have been outscored 102-13 in three games - crossed midfield.
"There's still a lot of games to play and there's still a lot of pride," Notre Dame senior safety Tom Zbikowski said. "As long as there are games to be played, you're lucky."
Contact Steve Junga at:
sjunga@theblade.com
or 419-724-6461.
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