Notre Dame Fightin' Irish v. Michigan Skunk Bears
Saturday, Sep. 7, 8:00 p.m. ET, Ann Arbor, MI
Key Matchup: Fightin' Irish DE Stephon Tuitt v. Skunk Bear OT Taylor Lewan - If Tuitt is gonna break Tuck's single season sack record, he'll have to pick up the pace starting against an elusive QB in Devin Gardner. His ability to do so will depend on his game-long battle against Lewan. If Tuitt can beat Lewan to the outside, he'll be able to pressure Gardner into making mistakes (hopefully much like his predecessor Denard did last year) while also containing him. If Tuitt can't do it to it, then Notre Dame might be in trouble.
Fightin' Irish Offense v. Skunk Bear Defense: Tommy 2.0 must continue to rise. I believe in the kid, and you should too. Over 110,000 retina-scarring maize t-shirts won't phase him, and neither will the Skunk Bears' swiss-cheese secondary. As long as his offensive line gives him enough time against a defensive front that has already exhibited its ability to get into the backfield (albeit against the less-than-mighty Chippewas of Central Mich.), he should be able to spread the ball around with ease. The Skunk Bears won't be able to key in on just one receiving threat, which means either Jones, Daniels, or Niklas will be open on every single play. All Tommy Gun needs to do is sling the rock their way.
Fightin' Irish Defense v. Skunk Bear Offense: The Fightin' Irish front seven must contain Gardner much better than they contained the Temple QB whose name is too irrelevant to look up right now (though he did show toughness after getting knocked to the turf quite often last Saturday). Gardner is no Denard Robinson. This is both a good thing and a bad thing. He won't pull off miracle moves in a phone-booth like Denard could, but he will probably turn the ball over less as well (It's pretty hard to turn it over as many times as Denard did last year). A key to the game will be whether the Fightin' Irish can apply enough pressure to fluster him while also maintaining their contain. If they do, expect multiple turnovers (probably not six like last year, but hopefully more than two).
Final Outcome: Tommy Gun slings it, Gardner throws a couple picks, Tuitt gets another sack, ESPN analysts insert their feet into their mouths, and Irish eyes go on smiling for another week.
Fightin' Irish: 27
Skunk Bears: 20
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