Wolverines take advantage of national stage to make bold statement
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By Bob Wojnowski
Columnist
The Detroit News
September 17, 2006
SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- They had been waiting so long -- at least a year, maybe a couple of years -- waiting and listening and stewing. You wait that long, you store that much, you've got a lot to unleash and unload.
The Wolverines fully unleashed their defense, and finally unloaded on one of their most persistently annoying rivals. We're not sure where Michigan went last season, when it stumbled to 7-5, but it was back in a shocking way Saturday, back in attack mode, back in the national buzz, back with a fury we’ve almost never witnessed.
The Wolverines pummeled Notre Dame, 47-21, stunning the home fans almost from the game’s first play. In the process, they crushed all sorts of gripes and troubling numbers. They won here for the first time since 1994. They won their road opener for the first time since 1999.
Oh, and they also severely damaged Brady Quinn’s Heisman candidacy and temporarily halted the ascension of Irish coach Charlie Weis to full-fledged deity.
This was the day we were going to learn so much and, well, we learned so much. We learned the Wolverines politely declined to show much in their first two mundane victories, opting to save it for their showcased revival. We learned, when thoroughly motivated, they still can find their way around an opponent’s stadium, locating the Michigan marching band in one corner for a raucous post-game celebration.
There was no holding back in this one, a punishing and gutsy performance, from quarterback Chad Henne, who rebounded from a bad early interception, to speedy receiver Mario Manningham, who caught three touchdown passes, to tailback Mike Hart, who rushed for 124 yards and a touchdown.
But what gives this victory real weight, and generates real title talk, is the defense. You never know in college football, week to week, and the Big Ten opener against Wisconsin is a bit of a trap. But when you have a defense as fierce and fast as U-M’s appears to be, anything is possible.
"I knew our defense was a special group, so really, I’m not surprised at all,” defensive tackle Alan Branch said. “We’re energetic and we know what we can do. I really see no limit to our talent.”
This was a slice of vengeance for Lloyd Carr, who took most of the heat for the program’s recent woes and all those late-game collapses last season. The running game had to be fixed, and in this 3-0 start, it looks fixed.
Just as important, the defense had to be fixed, had to lose weight and gain aggressiveness. Carr’s new defensive coordinator, Ron English, looks like a rising star, churning his athletes so quickly, Quinn and the Irish couldn’t know what leveled them.
With very little blitzing ordered by English, the Wolverines pounded Quinn, who probably has bruises today in places he didn’t know could hurt. U-M sacked him three times, intercepted three passes -- two by swift linebacker Prescott Burgess - and collected two fumbles. Burgess and defensive end LaMarr Woodley each had a touchdown return, which means they scored more than Notre Dame tailback Darius Walker, held to 25 yards and no touchdowns.
Needing a victory is one thing and U-M needed this one. Desperately wanting a victory is something else, and the Wolverines went after it like a team starving to be respected again, and feared again.
“This was a game for us to quiet a few people who were talking about Coach Carr and our team and wondering if we can come out of September undefeated,” said Woodley, who has been spectacular. “We’ve definitely proved a lot, but there’s more to prove. A lot of people judged us off of last year, but this is a totally different team.”
It’s a totally different defense, that’s for sure. It has the potential to be as good as the 1997 defense that helped win a national title, and I don’t care if that’s borderline blasphemous.
Don’t get me wrong. Before we start handing out any titles, we’ll remind you U-M has concerns. Henne still can scare you, but when he has the time, he throws a phenomenal deep pass.
This game began in such a bizarre way, it was hard to figure which way it would turn. Burgess’ 31-yard interception return put U-M on top. But then Henne threw a pass straight to Irish safety Chinedum Ndukwe, who took it 51 yards to U-M’s 4.
After it was 7-7, U-M’s defense took over. Notre Dame didn’t collect its initial first down until nearly five minutes into the second quarter. When the Wolverines were up 34-7, the Irish barely had as many total yards (35) as U-M had points.
“We went in with the idea if we were going to have a chance, we had to pressure Brady Quinn,” Carr said. “We felt we could because we have an excellent front. It’s the best front we’ve had probably since I’ve been at Michigan.”
The front four -- Woodley, Terrance Taylor, Branch and Rondell Biggs -- is quick and athletic. The linebackers -- Burgess, David Harris and Shawn Crable -- are doubly quick and athletic. And cornerback Leon Hall was everywhere, smothering receivers all day.
It was a wild afternoon, a revealing afternoon, an afternoon when one storied team saw what a whiff of desperation can do to another storied team. The Irish came in ranked second (overrated, surely), with U-M 11th. We’re not saying the teams automatically will switch spots, although the Wolverines will jump up.
We are saying U-M picked the perfect opponent and the perfect place to officially announce its return to major national relevance. Carr and his staff and his band of athletic defenders found their way back. Now all they have to do is make sure they stick around the whole season, all the way to the end. |
