Notre Dame Takes Charge at Michigan

They came back. They saw it all again. And for the first time in a long time, they conquered, leaving the field triumphant against a team that dubs itself in song as “the Victors.”

Notre Dame’s 17-10 upset Saturday of third-ranked Michigan marked the first time in seven games the road team has won in this series, and the first time since 1993 the Irish have won in Michigan Stadium.

The Irish effort was not always pretty, but the result began to erase the bitter memories they had of their last visit here when the Wolverines embarrassed them, 38-0, in 2003.

“The way it played out, I’m really happy for our kids,” said Coach Charlie Weis, who became the first Irish coach to win his first two games on the road since Knute Rockne in 1918. “They’re starting to figure it out. That’s a really happy locker room, and they deserve it.

“I told them to enjoy this tonight, but not too much. You don’t want to have a big win, then lay an egg at home next week.”

No. 20 Notre Dame plays host to Michigan State next Saturday.

There were plenty of potholes on the road to Irish happiness.

Notre Dame fumbled three times, losing one. Midway through the second quarter, receiver Rhema McKnight went down with what looked like a twisted knee and is out pending the outcome of an MRI exam. And Notre Dame converted only four of 15 third downs.

But the Irish smoothed their path with a strong start.

“The first drive is the most important drive in the game,” said running back Darius Walker, who gained 32 of his team-leading 104 yards rushing on Notre Dame’s opening drive. “We wanted to come out [for] the first drive and put seven points on the board.”

They did just that. After receiving the opening kickoff, the Irish capped a 12-play, 76-yard drive with a five-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brady Quinn to McKnight.

Michigan wouldn’t score until the beginning of the second quarter, with Garrett Rivas’ 38-yard field goal cutting the Irish advantage to 7-3.

Then, with 4:24 remaining in the half, Notre Dame increased its advantage to 14-3, again ending a 12-play drive with another five-yard touchdown pass from Quinn, this time to receiver Jeff Samardzija.

The Wolverines couldn’t keep up, their offense, minus star running back Mike Hart, stumbling, bumbling and fumbling through the second half.

Twice in the fourth quarter, Michigan squandered first-and-goal opportunities, managing only two yards on four plays the first time. The second time, quarterback Chad Henne fumbled into the end zone, where Irish safety Chinedum Ndukwe was ruled to have recovered the ball after an officials review.

The Wolverines finished with 337 yards, 93 more than the Irish. But they were far less efficient, with Henne suffering through a miserable 19-for-44 day.

Michigan’s downfall, though, was its mistakes. In addition to its two wasted first and goal in the fourth quarter, it also squandered an opportunity on its first drive of the second half when safety Tom Zbikowski intercepted Henne’s pass on second and nine at the Notre Dame 12.

“We had some great drives, but we stopped ourselves every time,” Coach Lloyd Carr said. “Our defense made an outstanding effort. Now we need to get the other side of the play straightened out.”

Quinn, who finished 19 for 30 for 140 yards, said the Irish needed to do the same. “Offensively we had a lot of mistakes, a lot of missed assignments,” he said. “On tape, we’ll be able to see what we were doing wrong and fix a lot of things. I don’t think tomorrow will be a good film session for us offensively.”