The last two meetings between these teams were sloppy blowout games and neither team ended up having a good season. But this year both squads look to be back on track and the rivalry is being revived.

Last week, Michigan coasted to an easy 31-7 victory over Western Michigan, scoring all of their points in the first half. Freshman quarterback Tate Forcier solidified himself as the starter for the Wolverines while fellow freshman Denard Robinson flashed the speed and big play ability that quarterbacks in Rich Rodriguez’s system are known for having.

Rich Rodriguez’s spread option offense was effective against the Broncos, as Michigan racked up 242 rushing yards from 8 different ball carriers. The problem for the Wolverines is they are currently without a go-to running back. Backup quarterback Denard Robinson was the leading rusher with 74 yards.

In Notre Dame’s season opener, the Irish shut out Nevada 35-0 with Jimmy Clausen throwing for 4 TD’s. Claussen showed poise in the pocket, completing 15 of his 18 attempts.

Charlie Weis and the Fighting Irish look ready to make it back to another bowl game this year, and possibly even compete for a BCS bid. The offense that was in complete disarray two seasons ago is now finally coming together.

Saturday’s matchup between these two bitter rivals is an intriguing one. Both teams have shown vast improvement from last year, but this will obviously be the first real test for each squad with Rodriguez and Weis both seated firmly on the hot seat to bring their teams back to the elite level of college football.

Before we get into an analysis of the matchup, let’s take a quick look at the particulars:

#18 Notre Dame (1-0) at Michigan (1-0)

• Notre Dame-Michigan Date: Saturday, September 12th
• Notre Dame-Michigan Time: 3:30 ET
• Notre Dame-Michigan TV: ABC
• Notre Dame-Michigan Location: The Big House in Ann Arbor, Michigan
• Notre Dame-Michigan Point Spread: Notre Dame -4.5
• StubHub: Michigan-Notre Dame tickets for as low as $95
• StubHub: Michigan football tickets
• StubHub: Notre Dame football tickets
• StubHub: all College Football tickets

Notre Dame-Michigan Preview and Analysis

Notre Dame comes into the game a slight favorite and rightfully so. Clausen is starting to fill in the void that was left when Brady Quinn left for the NFL draft. (Side note to Notre Dame fans: please don’t treat Claussen like the “golden boy” as you did with Quinn. Thank you.)

To win the game, the Irish must provide strong pass protection for Clausen and allow him to spread the ball around. Michigan, on the other hand, needs to pressure Clausen and limit his ability to locate WRs Golden Tate and Michael Floyd down the field. If Michigan tries to get in a shootout with Notre Dame, the Wolverines won’t be able to keep up with the Irish’s high-octane offense.

If Claussen can put up 300-plus yards passing Michigan won’t have a chance. Tate, a speedy and talented young receiver, could be the X-factor with his big play potential.

Michigan needs to control the pace and the clock by running the football over and over. Forcier looked good passing the ball last week, although he only put the ball in the air 20 times. He completed 13 of those passes for 175 yards and tallied 3 TDs. You might look at those stats and think the Wolverines should throw more.

On the contrary, Forcier’s efficient passing was set up by 50 rushing attempts at 4.8 yards per pop. Michigan would do well to follow attain a similar run:pass ratio. Forcier will have to be smart with the ball again when passing plays are called. An improving Irish defense picked off two passes last week and will be licking their chops going up against a freshman making only his second start.

Notre Dame-Michigan Prediction

This game can go either way and will likely be decided by one or two key plays. Notre Dame comes in ranked #18, but when playing in the Big House all rankings go out the window. [Editor's note: as do Division 1-A and 1-AA classifications...right App State?]

Rich Rodriguez will have the Wolverines amped up to start the game and the Irish will have to take the fans out of the game early. Luckily for Notre Dame fans and the embattled Weis, the Irish have an experienced quarterback to rely on in Jimmy Clausen, who is no stranger to pressure, expectation, and hostile environments.  

In this high profile matchup between two of the all-time giants of college football, Clausen’s experience will most likely be the difference.

My prediction for this game: Notre Dame- 31 Michigan- 24

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* – Notre Dame / Michigan helmets image credit: The Onion

* – Charlie Weis photo credit: AP Photo/Carlos Osorio via WSBT-2

* – Denard Robinson / Tate Forcier photo credit: Said Alsalah/Daily via Michigan Daily

* – Jimmy Clausen in high school photo credit: Pre Pro Sports

And up in the Great Northwest, in Washington — where sports teams and franchises go to die (seriously – every team in that state blows), there is an intriguing matchup between two men who will always be linked: Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis (pictured left…thanks KVB) and Washington coach Tyrone Willingham.

As I’m sure you remember, Notre Dame fired Tyrone Willingham while Willingham still had years left on his contract. This was the first time that Notre Dame had gotten rid of a coach before his contract was up. They replaced him with Charlie Weis, who was coming off another Super Bowl win with the New England Patriots. Over his first couple of seasons in South Bend, Charlie Weis led the Fighting Irish to great success. He received a 10-year extension while Tyrone Willingham was forced to take over a Washington team that has gotten progressively worse since he has been there.

On Saturday, at 8:00 EDT on ESPN2, the 4-2 Notre Dame Fighting Irish and Charlie Weis will take on the 0-6 Washington Huskies and Tyrone Willingham at Husky Stadium. To add even a little more spice to the matchup, guess who will be calling the game from booth…

That’s right, the Ben Stein of football announcers: Bob Davie. You remember Bob Davie right? He took over for Lou Holtz and bridged the gap to the Tyrone Willingham era. The South Bend Tribune published an interesting article that looked at this intriguing reunion of three coaches who do not seem to be the best of friends. And just think, if ESPN had practiced a little disciplinary consistency and given Lou Holtz some well-deserved time off for using an ill-advised Hitler reference, he could have been there too and made it a quartet. Can you imagine? I think Beano Cook’s turkey neck would explode. (And maybe Ron Powlus could bring his three Heisman trophies for everyone too?)

Anyway, this Notre Dame-Washington game doesn’t really have many implications other than the fact that Notre Dame seems to be rebounding from their awful 2007 season, and a victory would push them one game closer to bowl eligibility. You’d have to think they’ll win, but something tells me that Tyrone Willingham’s team will be ready to at least make it a fight. Willingham does seem to inspire loyalty and passion among his players, even if he is not the greatest X’s and O’s coach in the world. (Charlie Weis, however, is the greatest X’s and O’s coach in the history of mankind and all civilization. Just ask him.)

I think Washington can keep this one close, but I do see Notre Dame pulling it out. Jimmy Clausen seems to be coming into his own as the leader of this Irish offense, and Notre Dame simply will be too talented for the undermanned Huskies.

The real excitement of this game, however, won’t really be the play on the field; but the subtext that surrounds it. There are few jobs in coaching as prestigious and pressure packed as being the head football coach at Notre Dame. Amazingly, the last three men to hold that title will all be involved with this game on Saturday. I am sure that nothing “controversial” will happen and it will just be a pretty normal football game, but it will still be a worth a glance during the commercials of Ohio State and Penn State.

(Photo Art by Midwest Sports Fans and Flash Sports Tonight; and yes, that is Charlie Weis’ head in the Touchdown Jesus mural.  If you are offended, eat a pickle spear and get a sense of humor.)

[tags]charlie weis, tyrone willingham, notre dame football, washington huskies, college football, ncaa[/tags]

Thanks to the good folks over at CollegeFootballTalk.com, we were informed tonight about a potential cheating scandal involving Charlie Weis, head coach of Notre Dame. (Of course, he should already be brought up on charges of fraud for taking so much money and putting such a crappy product out on the field this year and last year.)

Anyway, apparently officials had to remove a laptop from the coaches’ box during today’s Flailing Irish drubbing at the hands of stud Javon Ringer and Michigan State. Laptops are not allowed in coaches’ boxes (just as videotapes are not allowed on NFL sidelines, for the record). Weis offered what seems like a reasonable excuse and explanation, but considering his background with Bill Belichick, I am definitely taking it with a grain of salt and withholding judgment until we get more information.

This seems to still be a developing story, so there is not much more to write about at this point. But this was a great excuse to use the famous Charlie Grimace picture, created originally for Flash Sports Tonight, and unquestionably the greatest photoshop creation of our very own KVB. It is also an excuse to use this picture (after the jump), and to answer the question of what exactly Charlie Weis sees in quarterback Jimmy Claussen that gets him so excited:

(Make sure to pay special attention to Touchdown Jesus…it’s the funniest part of the picture.)

Anyway, I am now done humoring myself with funny photos of Charlie Weis and Jimmy Claussen.

Wait, no I’m not. Here’s one more. (This is not an original creation of one of our writers, as the two above are, but no less hysterical):

Not sure where the original picture came from, or if this is photoshopped at all. Either way, it’s funny. And what’s with Notre Dame QBs having all these ambiguous photos floating around online?