Under the lights of Notre Dame Stadium in South Bend, Indiana, the Michigan Wolverines and Notre Dame Fighting Irish met for the 42nd and final time. Notre dame recorded a 31-0 shutout. This rivalry started back in 1887, where Michigan won the inaugural contest, 8-0. In fact, the Wolverines led the series with a record of 24-16-1 before Saturday night’s game.
Last season, the Irish traveled to the Big House, Michigan Stadium, in Ann Arbor. Throughout that entire game, they were completely victimized by the many talents of quarterback Devin Gardner. Gardner threw for 294-yards and four touchdown passes while rushing for 82 more yards on 13 carries and scoring once on the ground. The Wolverines won the game, 41-30.
This time around, Gardner would not have the same kind of performance. Notre Dame’s defense forced him to throw three interceptions and lose a fumble, accounting for all four of Michigan’s giveaways. Usually a dangerous threat running the ball, Gardner found nothing but closed avenues through the Irish defense, gaining just five-yards on 11 carries.
Meanwhile, Notre Dame Quarterback Everett Golson continued making up for lost ground during the 2013 season. Golson made the Wolverines defense look slow and confused in a flawless effort. He completed 23 of 34 passes for 226-yards and three touchdown passes without an interception. The Irish did not commit a single turnover.
The end result was the first shutout in the history of this series. For Michigan, the loss dropped their record to 1-1. Notre Dame will hit the road next week as they will face the Purdue Boilermakers at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis. As for Michigan, they will return to the confines of the Big House and regroup for Miami (Ohio) University.
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