Michigan beats No. 18 Notre Dame 38-34 in thriller

By LARRY LAGE, AP Sports Writer Sep 12, 11:01 pm EDT

Preview | Box Score | Recap
  • Print

ANN ARBOR, Mich. (AP)—Tate Forcier lifted Michigan to its biggest win under coach Rich Rodriguez.

Charlie Weis provided an assist.

Forcier’s 5-yard touchdown pass to Greg Mathews with 11 seconds left capped a game-winning drive and lifted the Wolverines to a 38-34 win over No. 18 Notre Dame on Saturday.

“It will go down in history as one of the greatest games in the Michigan-Notre Dame rivalry,” Mathews said. “I’m glad I got a chance to play in it.”

Weis called for two passes, both of which fell incomplete, late in the game with a three-point lead and Michigan got the ball back at its 43 after a punt with 2:13 and two timeouts left.

“I think it was mistake that they were throwing the ball because they let us save our timeouts,” Forcier said. “Those timeouts definitely came in handy.”

Weis defended his choice to put the ball in the air after Armando Allen, who ran for 139 yards, opened the pivotal drive with a 13-yard run and twisted an ankle. Robert Hughes then got the ball for the first time all day and was stuffed at the line.

“They loaded up the box and made it clear that they weren’t going to let us do that, so we had to throw the ball,” Weis said. “On third down, we could have run and made them use a timeout, but we were trying to win the game.”

The Fighting Irish (1-1) were in a position to do just that after Allen ran for a TD and got the 2-point conversion on a nifty Statue of Liberty play with 5:13 left.

But Weis’ questionable decision to throw and his defense’s inability to deny Forcier set up yet another loss for a once-proud program.

Weis will likely face a lot of second-guessing as he tries to address what went wrong at the Big House and why he hasn’t been able to win many big games in his five seasons. Two years ago, Notre Dame lost a school-record nine under Weis and dropped six more last season.

The former Super Bowl-winning offensive coordinator with the New England Patriots fell to 30-22 with the Irish.

“This is a very disappointing, disheartening loss,” Weis said.

Rodriguez, though, didn’t have much sympathy.

“You think they would’ve felt bad for us?” Rodriguez asked. “Charlie is a good football coach and he’s got a good football team. They’re going to win a lot of games. The quarterback is an NFL guy. They’ve got two of the best wide receivers I’ve seen in years and their running back is a big-time player.

“And did you see the size of the linemen? They could eat peanuts off our guys’ helmets.”

A season after losing a school-record nine games, Rodriguez has college football’s winningest program at 2-0 for the first time since 2006 with a rout of Western Michigan and an emotional win over the rival Irish, whose winning percentage ranks second in the nation.

Rodriguez made a couple of savvy moves Saturday—such as calling a timeout early in the game that led to a TD getting overturned by review and relegating the Irish to a field goal.

Michigan, which didn’t get any votes in The Associated Press preseason poll, just may have done enough to earn a ranking Sunday.

“If they stay humble and hungry and keep getting better,” Rodriguez said, “then some of that national respect that all of us want—our fans and players — they’ll get it.”

Forcier has earned some himself, after the way he played.

He was 23 of 33 for 240 yards, two TDs and an interception. He ran for 70 yards and a score—squirting up the middle on fourth-and-3 to put Michigan up 31-20. In the opener, Forcier threw three TDs before halftime against Western Michigan.

“For a freshman, I thought he managed the game very well,” Weis said.

Forcier’s 31-yard TD run on a fourth down gave the Wolverines an 11-point lead early in the fourth quarter. He threw an interception on his next drive to aid Notre Dame’s comeback, but he bounced back by converting a third down with a pass before his clutch connection with Mathews in the front corner of the end zone.

“I don’t get nervous,” Forcier insisted.

Jimmy Clausen completed 25 of 42 passes for 336 yards and three TDs, but missed some throws throughout the game that proved to be costly. Tate and Michael Floyd combined for 16 catches, 246 yards and three TDs, and Michigan cornerbacks Donovan Warren and Boubacar Cissoko struggled to contain the duo all day.

After Weis spoke to his team, Clausen did.

“I told them the same thing that Coach said,” Clausen said. “We have to decide how we’re going to go from here.”

Updated Sep 12, 11:01 pm EDT
digg del.icio.us
more

Head to Head - Week 2

Team Total Yds Pass Yds Rush Yds First Downs 3rdD% Pen./Yds Turnovers Time of Poss.
Notre Dame 490 336 154 27 42.9% 9/75 1 31:25
Michigan 430 240 190 21 35.7% 6/59 1 28:35
NCAAF

791 Comments

Post a Comment
  1. andrew
    791. Posted by andrew Sat Sep 19 4:55pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    ok kids if u wanna start blaming it on Nd players not playing the whole game. our best WR didnt play a down in the game do 2 injury in game before
  2. Mitchell
    790. Posted by Mitchell Thu Sep 17 5:23am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Michigan was very fortunate to beat Notre Dame: Freshman WR averaging 29 yards a catch, missed the final 2 series..., the best RB missed the final 3 downs to give UM the ball with an injury, and Weis was Weis with his decision to pass the ball twice under the circumstances. That being said, Notre Dame can salvage their season if they play well over the next 2 games: MSU and Purdue. If they lose either game, USC game could make or bread their season! Winning the game would give them another big game on television, and still leave them in the bowl picture regardless of the outcome. A record of 2-3, would mean a lot of moans and groans from the Notre Dame alumni, and put the Irish in danger of playing earlier than the New Years day spotlight they desire. As far as Michigan is concerned, with 2 victories in their next 2 games, they can make the trip to East Lansing become a high stakes trip! Because it is Michigan, that stadium will have a lot of energy! Spartans will play their best games against the IRISH this week (they will need it because IRISH HATE their losing streak against MSU) and especially against Michigan! It is too bad they have NOT learned to channel their energy into each game, and have very few seasons that they come close! It would be nice to see a great MSU / ND game!
  3. uofm6574
    789. Posted by uofm6574 Tue Sep 15 4:24pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    In the word of Sean Connery from the Rock " Loser always complain about being the best........ Winners go home an F@#k the prom queen. Calls from the officials went both way Cheeseburger Charlie. Instead of whining about the loss to Michigan, why don't you get your team ready for MSU. I would love to see the Spartans lose, so take the doughnut out of your mouth and start coaching.
    GO BLUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  4. Mike F
    788. Posted by Mike F Tue Sep 15 10:00am EDT

    Report Abuse

    we were trying to win the game i thought we were ahead at that time
  5. Mike F
    787. Posted by Mike F Tue Sep 15 9:53am EDT

    Report Abuse

    if allen did say that he should have the flag and tossed out there is no more sportsmanship left in any sport they should act like players and not dumb asses
  6. hans g
    786. Posted by hans g Mon Sep 14 11:01pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    melissa you sure ae a cutie are you in mich
  7. Wingsfan JT
    785. Posted by Wingsfan JT Mon Sep 14 7:04pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    PatrickF:

    If you had not yet heard, the personal foul on allen was apparently not because of the "Shhh" gesture, but rather because of what he screamed to the fans. Apparently he let out a "shut the **** up, you ***gots" while the referee was about a foot and a half away from him. I guess that's what got the job done.

    So I don't know if it's a homer call, per se. I think even howard stern would have flagged that one. Too bad for Allen, who played a heck of a game. Take care all.
  8. <i>tyrantsparky</i>
    784. Posted by tyrantsparky Mon Sep 14 6:48pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    dg700- If the ball was touched before it went out of bounds, would'nt that make it a safety? You watched the game three times? What, did you think something was gonna change? I'm not complaining about bad calls. You're right- part of the game. Don't act like you overcame all the bad calls, and ND got all the calls. I can think of a few pass int. calls that were never made. Again, part of the game. But Michigan fans- you did not win a championship. You won a tough fought game at home against a heated rival.
  9. <i>tyrantsparky</i>
    783. Posted by tyrantsparky Mon Sep 14 6:41pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    I will give Michigan credit. They played a wonderful game. Well, actually they pulled one out at the very end, at home. If Notre Dame is so terrible and their season is over, where does that leave Michigan. There was no domination. If the game is in South Bend, it may have been different. So don't think you are some phoenix rising from the ashes. Good luck, we'll get you next year. Hopefully.
  10. <i>bj1891</i>
    782. Posted by bj1891 Mon Sep 14 6:00pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    @ John B...nowhere in your inchoherent rambling did you even come close to what sane people recognize as a rational thought...i award you no points...and may God have mercy on your soul.
  11. PatrickF
    781. Posted by PatrickF Mon Sep 14 4:17pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    So what is michigan in comparison to nd. We are in the same boat buddy, OSU will blowout michigan just like the past 5 years. And how is clausen overrated, he is consistent and he is throwing to one of the best receiving cores in the nation
  12. Phouangsavanh
    780. Posted by Phouangsavanh Mon Sep 14 3:47pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    lol John B, ND is done for the season. Yes, they blewout a weak team for their opener but really...OVER RATED cuz they are a tradition team and everybody wants to jump on their bandwagon. ND Quarterback, OVER RATED! GO BLUE!
  13. PatrickF
    779. Posted by PatrickF Mon Sep 14 3:38pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Now I understand that Michigan won the game. Congratulations for that. The zebras did have some ridiculous calls though. And for all those people who said ND held every play, listen to your own coach. He said that his players would leave the ground, and subsequently get manhandled by the larger stronger ND line, also the announcers agreed with this point. And why is it not a penalty when one of the Michigan safeties gets up from tackling Michael Floyd, then many seconds after the play go backs down and shoves Floyd back to the ground. And when Armando Allen shhhhed the crowd was called a personal foul, that is total b.s. compared to Michigans touchdown with 12 seconds left. These two calls don't cover up Weis' iffy play calling with 2 minutes left, but they handed Michigan an extreme advantage. Also why do the refs sprint off the field following the game... And isnt true that the referee receive extra money if a team from their assigned conference goes to a larger bowl game?
  14. Melissa
    778. Posted by Melissa Mon Sep 14 2:11pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    go blue
  15. John B
    777. Posted by John B Mon Sep 14 1:48pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    whats unbelievable is when i read mich articles there arnt a bunch of whinney irish fans complaining about anything. but everytime i wanna read an nd article all the comments are about how terrible nd and coach wies are maybe you guys should learn a little more about your own team. ill bet most of you so called mich fans didnt even no you had a good qb. sad part is last week you guys had no plans on beating us and now that u did ur so shocked and u dont no enough about your own team so u just complain about our team. GO IRISH BEAT USC AND ALL IS FORGOTTEN
  16. <i>dgz700</i>
    776. Posted by dgz700 Mon Sep 14 12:28pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    Its unbelievable how ND fans and Wies can complain about penalties. THAT'S PART OF THE GAME. You violate the rules, you get penalized. Holding is a penalty. ND was holding all game. They should have been called for more. The reason it went down to 9 seconds is because the ND player touched the ball before it rolled out of the back of the endzone. Time expired because the clock does not stop until the fumbled ball hits the ground out of bounds. The review officials up in the booth clearly saw something we did not that showed over-turnable evidence that his foot touched the out of bounds line. I watched the game 3 times and ND lost fair and square, but like little kids you look for others to blame. The only people making these false claims are people from ND. Everyone else only talks about what a great game it was. Which proves these people are simply just SORE LOSERS.
  17. <i>anchorbayniac</i>
    775. Posted by anchorbayniac Mon Sep 14 11:59am EDT

    Report Abuse

    I've always preferred college football over the NFL... The intensity and emotion involved make the games a lot more entertaining. The flip side to that is the fans tend to share those emotions, but I've yet to figure out how it got to the point of absurd. I've always been a Michigan fan [I grew up there] but I didn't go to the school nor did any of my family members. I wonder how many ND or OSU fans are out there, just like me, with no connection to "their school" other than being a fan.
    Talking a little trash is part of the fun, but the obvious hostility is rediculous and I know it's more than just talk. I now live in Tennessee and I can recall an incident back in '97 that made the small-town paper here where a local guy was charged with assault after he punched a man in the face at a gas station. The victim was a middle aged man wearing a Michigan T-shirt and the assault was by a Tennessee fan, disgruntled over Peyton Manning losing out to Charles Woodson for the Heisman Trophy. I mean, you gotta be bull @#$%in' me!!!
    I guess there will always be those who live vicariously through others [or a sports team], but remember this, guys and gals... Unless you're part of that team and out there on the field, YOU never beat anyone or got beat by anyone.
    Celebrate the sport and spirit of competition. The truth is, if we all really were half the college football fans we claim to be, we would all unite, organize and boycott until a playoff system is installed to determine our national champions.
  18. Mike L
    774. Posted by Mike L Mon Sep 14 11:36am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Go Blue! Go Blue! Go Blue! Enough said.
  19. ~Walls~
    773. Posted by ~Walls~ Mon Sep 14 9:55am EDT

    Report Abuse

    capt brittles is about as smart as a box of rocks...if your gonna comment know what your talking about first...the overated university down in columbus has to travel this yr...
  20. Nate P
    772. Posted by Nate P Mon Sep 14 5:00am EDT

    Report Abuse

    both these teams are overratted who cares who won this game the only reason we talk about these teams year after year is because they are so prestigious neither one of them has been good for the last 5 years, get off there jock, every time they will play a decent team either one of them they will both lose I wouldn't be surprised if they both lose 4 or 5 games each this year, they both suck!!
  21. Bryce Harte
    771. Posted by Bryce Harte Mon Sep 14 12:32am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Michigan and more than a half dozen zebras beat Notre Dame. UM's defense is porous at best. If they hadn't had so much help from the zebras, Notre Dame would have scored at least two more TDs. Forcier played well, but he's brittle. Bet me somebody will take a shot at him and put on the shelf. It's gonna happen, folks. Also, Charlie Weis made a really stupid call late in the game when the Irish had second and 10 on their own 31. If he runs the ball twice more, Michigan is forced to use their remaining timeouts. Then if the Irish have to punt, Forcier is forced into a real hurry-up offense. Without those two timeouts, chances are greater that he would fail. With them, well, you saw the result. Shame on you, Charlie Weis, for screwing up just like you did two years ago when you had a chance to beat Navy with a field goal and opted to pass on 4th down, sending the game into overtime where the Middies whipped your boys and broke the string.
  22. <i>sean_diaz@...</i>
    770. Posted by sean_diaz@... Mon Sep 14 12:05am EDT

    Report Abuse

    Michigan all the way!!!
    They gonna whoop some @ss!!

    Florida has the weakest schedule in all of the NCAA but if they lose at least one game, they just suck balls
    and the big hype of USC, they play like one - two good teams, and everyone gives them credit saying they are the best when they barely win. they play more weak teams, just like Florida.

    the only real team that has an acceptable schedule and ready to demolish is Cal
  23. matthew b
    769. Posted by matthew b Sun Sep 13 11:47pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    All of you who think your a part something because your team won need a life. Are you part of the team? No. Be real and get a life! If Michigan won because of this or that, Does it matter? As a football fan in general, I choose not to let a team represent me, I represent myself. That being said, michigan fans, your christmas came in early in form of a nice F-U from the officals to Notre Dame. And Ohio State you team just falls short in every big game except when you play those boys north of you. This weekend just goes to show all you classless losers always calling for your coaches need to shut your mouths and get back to rub your @#$% ass getting dick. Rick rod is good and so is Charlie Weis.
  24. Mark G
    767. Posted by Mark G Sun Sep 13 9:12pm EDT

    Report Abuse

    745. Posted by andy
    Starting and Stopping the Clock
    ARTICLE 2. a. Free Kick. When the ball is free-kicked, the game clock
    shall be started when the ball is legally touched in the field of play, or when
    it crosses the goal line after being touched legally by Team B in its end zone.
    It is subsequently stopped when the ball is dead by rule. (out of Bounds)
    Happy?
Sign in to post a comment, or sign up for a free account

No upset!

42%
of College Pick’em users chose Michigan to win the game

Did the Yahoo! Sports Experts make the right picks?

Top Performers

 Top Performers
 Notre Dame
J. Clausen J. Clausen, QB
25-42, 336 yds
3 TDs
 Michigan
T. Forcier T. Forcier, QB
23-33, 240 yds
2 TDs, 1 INT
13 Rush, 70 yds, 1 TD

Conference Scoreboard

NCAAF - Week 2

YAHOO! SPORTS

ALSO ON YAHOO!

THINGS YOU CAN DO

- Site Map - Additional Terms

Copyright © 2009 2009 STATS LLC and The Associated Press. All rights reserved. The information contained in the STATS/AP News report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without the prior written authority of STATS LLC and The Associated Press.