Rich Rodriguez:

On Notre Dame: Players understand the rivalry. We’re fortunate to have many. This one is always first. There is a section of the state that always asks about this rivalry first. They have a new coach and I’m sure their riding that wave of emotion.

Playing At ND: They’re very passionate about football. Its a very intimate setting. It seems like it always rains. The grass is usually high, it will be interesting because we have very similar interesting styles offensively.

Playing Against Bryan Kelly: He was at Cincinnati, I was at West Virginia. He has had great success and they recruit nationally. They have a lot of talent in South Bend and they’ve recruited very well. In the past few years they’ve beaten us for a few recruits.

On Denard vs. UConn: I was really pleased with Denard’s play. He made a few mistakes, but he graded really high. His composure and vision of the field were really good. I was really pleased with how he took care of the football, ran north and south and took command of the game.

Playing a Road Game: The biggest obstacle is the noise. We’ll crank it up this week in practice. Last week, we were really crisp and didn’t have any procedure penalties or bad snaps. Our offense used a lot of signals.

Preparing for Next Week: We made a lot of turnovers last time vs. Notre Dame. We need to take care of the football. Face the adversity well. They will have big plays and we will need a few big plays to win next week.

On Tate Forcier: I would prefer to talk about Denard’s performance and how he plays rather than another guys disappointment. Its a team game and all our guys understand it. Sometimes television will sensationalize something, but I’m not concerned with it, I’m focused on preparing for next week.

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The video used at Michigan Stadium before the UConn rededication of the Big House Game:

Coming in at 7th on our list of top 7 games in this rivalry is the 1999 clash with Tom Brady, Anthony Thomas and David Terrell leading the Wolverines to victory.

Bill Hewitt was one of those rare players that didn’t put “it” together until late in his career. And I’m not meaning at the collegiate level. Hewitt has admitted himself that he didn’t put it together and find his game until he was with the Chicago Bears. This was due to the fact he didn’t start playing football until his senior year in high school; then suffered a broken ankle in 1930 during his Junior season at U of M.

Hewitt donned the maize and blue from 1929 - ‘31, helping the Wolverines go 16-1-2, while setting the foundation for back to back National Championships in 1932 & ‘33.

While Hewitt missed on titles at Michigan, he came up big in the NFL. He is credited with calling the play that led to the winning touchdown for the Bears over the New York Giants in 1933. The play is immortalized with the picture to the right being in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Hewitt is considered by some to be the best two-way player in the history of the game, but became well-known for two things.

First of all, his ardent refusal to don a helmet until his final season when it became a rule gave him a reputation as an Iron Man. Second, fans referred to him as the, “The Offside Kid,” because they believed there was no way he could break up plays so regularly without going off-sides.

Hewitt finished his pro career with 103 receptions for 1,638 yards and 24 TD’s. Unfortunately, Hewitt died in a car accident at age 37 in 1947. He was posthumously elected to the NFL Hall of Fame in 1971 and the Michigan Athletic Hall of Honor in 2008.

• Name: Damon Knox
• Position: Defensive Tackle
• Height & Weight: 6’5” 255 lbs.
• High School: Muskegon Big Reds (MI)

HIGHLIGHTS

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• Name: Sean Price
• Position: Tight End
• Height & Weight: 6’4” 210 lbs.
• High School: North Marion Colts (FL)

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HIGHLIGHTS

ANALYSIS

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Brock Mealer walks out before the Game:

In an emotional moment that had many fans fighting back tears, Brock Mealer walked out before the team and touched the banner. After being in a horrible car accident, Mealer was given a 1% chance of ever walking again.

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First off a few important things that stood out to me.  1) Right off the bat I liked the defense taking the field to start the game. If this team is going anywhere, the defense needs to know it has Rodriguez’s confidence from day one. 2) Obi Ezeh is covering a lot more ground then last season. 3) Mark Huyge stepped up all day long. I viewed him as the weakness on the offensive line after his performance last season. He obviously worked on his game for his senior season and the competition Taylor Lewan provided didn’t hurt either. 4) That bobble-bobble-bobble reception will be blown up by Cameron Gordon next time, freshman mistake.

Football is often a game that comes down to one or two plays or even a mental  mistake.  I tracked every play in the game searching for the intangible plays that make all the difference in a close game.  Examples of negative plays I charted were missed blocks, blown assignments, mis-reads, being driven out of the play or simply showing poor tackling form.  Examples of positive plays would be the shedding of a block, beating a double team, staying in a proper lane or successfully reaching the second level on a block.  Ideally a great game by a player would result in no negative plays and a few positive plays.  On most plays there isn’t a mis-read or an extraordinary effort by a player.  Keep in mind that a negative play in the future could result in a QB being blindsided or a simple toss play turning into a 80 yard touchdown.

Defensively, these players beat double teams, shed a block or mis-read a play.

Defensive Intangible Leaders:

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Denard Robinson:

How big was the win: Real big, we’ve been working hard all summer, we just wanted to get this victory.

On the offense: We were focused, knew what we had to do; we came out and did it.

Change anything against Notre Dame: I’m not changing anything.

Rich Rodriguez:

On UConn: They’re going to win a lot of games this year.

On Expectations: Hopes and expections at the University of Michigan is to win championships.

On Brendan Gibbons: The extra point was a snap and hold problem. The field goal I blame on the wind, it liked it would be good, but fell short.

Going into Notre Dame: I would rather coach after a win then a loss. If we had loss, our guys have faced so much adversity that they would be able to overcome it regardless.

Comparing Denard to Pat White: Yeah, he runs fast. Very similar to Pat, at least today, Denard showed a sense of feel, the game slowed down for him today.

On James Rogers: I have to watch the film to get a better feel. He made a couple nice plays. As a team, we’re going to kick ourselves that we missed a few interceptions.

On Jeremy Gallon: Yeah, he fumbled one, the wind was in his face. He’ll improve.

On the fumble recovery: That was huge, you got to keep playing every play. They up-tempo-ed us, but I think our defense was ready after facing the offense in practice.

Will Denard start next week: Stay Tuned

David Molk:

On Denard Robinson: Its amazing how far he has progressed in such a short amount of time, especially with the lack of game experience.

Finally. We're here. We can put all the negativity and "drama" as Rich Rodriguez calls it behind us, and begin another season anew. At least until the first loss, and the rumor mill spirals out of control. 
So much uncertainty surrounds the 2010 Wolverines. From the unproven talent in the secondary, to starters at the RB and QB positions. One thing is certain, we will find out a lot about the future of Michigan Football on Saturday.

When this game was announced as the "Re-dedication" game of the beautifully updated Big House, many, myself included, scoffed at the inclusion of UConn to our schedule. At that point, they were barely half a decade removed from Div 1-AA play, and hardly looked poised to make this game more than a tune up for ND.

Boy how things have changed. UM is embattled in a slide to a combined 8-16 record since, and UConn is winning bowl games against USC (South Carolina mind you lol).

Randy Edsall brings a very experienced team, littered with talent on both sides of the ball. ND transfer Zach Fraser leads the offense along with tailback Jordan Todman, and 4/5 of their offensive line from 2009.  While their leading receiver graduated, several candidates with extensive playing experience from last year return, along with big TE Ryan Griffin, who could give Michigan's LB and inexperienced secondary fits.

Key for Michigan will be in stopping the run. Like most games Michigan will be in this year, limiting carries to 2-3 yards, and forcing a more predictable 2nd and 3rd down call will be crucial. Due to lack of experience in the  secondary, expect to see more cover 2 and 3, and opponents dink and dunk to combat it. One advantage Michigan "SHOULD" have is overall team speed. Providing they take proper angles and converge on the ball, they can be ok. I fully expect UConn to put up 25+ points, as well as many teams on this years schedule. Not saying this defense won't eventually be dependable, but proof will be in the pudding so to speak. If injuries don't take its toll, the defense on the field in October and November could be much closer to the middle of the pack in the Big Ten, than where it stands today. There is no doubt there is talent in the secondary, but quite unproven and inexperienced. 

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Counting Down Michigan’s Greatest Season Openers

Lloyd Carr’s first game at the helm. Michigan was be led by Scott Dreisbach, Tshimanga Biakabutuka, Mercury Hayes & Jarrett Irons. Tiki Barber helped Virginia take a 17-0 lead in the 4th quarter with 12:55 remaining. The rest is history:

My Top 5 Memories are in chronological order:

1) My first Michigan game will never be forgotten. On September 24, 1994, #4 Michigan was defeated by #7 Colorado 27-26 on a miraculous Hail Mary.  Now I was only ten years old and all I remember is only being able to see the ball in the air from my vantage point standing on the row in front of our seats, then after the catch, everyone sitting down and being able to watch the Buffaloes celebrate in a dead silent Big House.

2) I vividly remember enjoying this game as I watched it with my dad in seats at the 50 yard line. I told my dad Philip Brabbs was about to have a Remy Hamilton moment at the start of the final drive.

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