Notre Dame didn?t just end a three-game losing streak to rival Michigan on Saturday night. Didn?t just beat the Wolverines for only the second time in seven tries. Didn?t just move to 4-0 for the first time since 2002.
No, the 11th-ranked Irish accomplished something else in the 13-6 victory before a charged-up crowd in South Bend, Ind.
SN PHOTO GALLERIES: College football Week 4 | Big Hits
They took winning ugly to a whole new level.
Four times in the first half alone they intercepted nemesis Denard Robinson. In all, the Irish defense generated six turnovers.
And yet they mustered all of one touchdown and a couple of field goals?10 of those 13 points coming off, you guessed it, turnovers.
Michigan outgained Notre Dame, 298-239. Combined, there were barely half as many yards gained as the teams had (965) in last season?s 35-31 classic.
Like we said, ugly.
They have the quarterback controversy that just won?t quit, too. Everett Golson started again and was picked off twice in the first half, so coach Brian Kelly?in what has become his signature move?yanked his starter for Tommy Rees.
Rees didn?t do much to speak of, but he was efficient throwing the ball and didn?t make any big mistakes. And yet Kelly maintained after the game that he?s ?still committed to Everett.?
?This is going to be the situation all year,? Kelly said. ?Everett?s our guy, but Tommy (can relieve Golson) in a pinch.?
There were many positives for the Irish. Clearly?after holding Michigan State and No. 18 Michigan (2-2) out of the end zone in consecutive weeks?they have one of the best defenses in college football this season. And they have one of the best defensive players in the country in linebacker Manti Te?o, who continued his dominant play with two interceptions.
?Any time you play a Michigan team with Denard Robinson and hold them to six points ?? Kelly began, before taking a slight change of direction.
?It?s been a pretty consistent performance by our defense the whole year.?
Notre Dame started 4-0 in 2002 and wound up with 10 wins and a trip to the Gator Bowl, in Tyrone Willingham?s first season as coach.
The 2012 version looks at least as good as that team was. If the quarterback play improves, there?s no reason Notre Dame can?t put itself back into the BCS mix.
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
Just think about how close we came on Saturday night to all-out chaos.
No. 2 LSU?s 12-10 victory at Auburn wasn?t much (at all?) prettier than the Notre Dame-Michigan game, but it sure provided a whole lot of tension. Auburn had the opportunity on each of its final five possessions to take the lead but just couldn?t outfight LSU?s crazy-good defense.
?We were tested,? Tigers coach Les Miles said, ?and we answered the call.?
While Miles and the Tigers (4-0, 1-0 SEC) were in the throes of a second-half dogfight, No. 4 Florida State was down two scores to 10th-ranked Clemson in Tallahassee. Meanwhile, No. 6 Oklahoma was struggling to make anything good happen vs. 15th-ranked Kansas State in Norman.
The Wildcats (4-0, 1-0 Big 12) finished off their upset, 24-19, giving coach Bill Snyder just his second win ever over Bob Stoops. It officially made the Big 12 the most exciting, most wide-open race for first place in college football. Clearly the Sooners (2-1, 0-1) aren?t out of anything yet. K-State, Texas, West Virginia and TCU all look good enough to figure into the league?s championship equation. Can one of them go unbeaten and get to the BCS title game? No reason to rule that out yet.
But imagine if LSU had fallen. If FSU (4-0, 2-0 ACC) had fallen. If Notre Dame had fallen. Any losses in those games would increase the likelihood that at least one non-unbeaten would play for the title on Jan. 7 in Miami.
In other words, increase the chaos.
THIS AND THAT
? ?This one is probably on me,? Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones told reporters after the loss. We appreciate Jones? intent, but, no, it wasn?t on him. It was on the shoulders of Collin Klein, an unsurpassed leader in the college game this season, and he more than delivered. The senior quarterback rushed for a go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter and moved the chains with his legs on the drive that iced the game. His offense had zero turnovers; that was the stat of the night in Norman.
? An unreal day for the MAC, whose teams went a combined 7-3 and knocked off not one, not two, not three, but four opponents from BCS leagues. Central Michigan scored 10 points in the final minute to win 32-31 at Iowa. And the other three wins came on MAC home fields: Western Michigan over UConn, 30-24; Northern Illinois over Kansas, 30-23; and Ball State over USF, 31-27. See what happens when these non-BCS teams get to play in their own back yards?
? The Big Ten continues to humiliate itself, but aren?t we all numb to it by now? Forget Iowa?s gag; did you catch what happened to Illinois? Louisiana Tech happened to Illinois, to the tune of 52-24 in Champaign. Meanwhile, Northwestern and Minnesota are 4-0. That?ll get the Crimson Tide quaking in their boots.
? Tip of the cap to Colorado coach Jon Embree. Long-term, he may be in a hopeless situation with the Buffs (1-3, 1-0 Pac-12), but somehow he and his staff kept their players? hope alive even as they trailed 31-14 in the fourth quarter at Washington State. Worth repeating: This team lost by 55 points at Fresno State in Week 3. Who cares if quarterback Jordan Webb had three turnovers and was sacked five times in the 35-34 win? Webb was money when it counted. Even if the Buffs lose all their remaining games, at least they?ll have a fun memory.
? But Embree doesn?t win our Coach of the Day award. That goes to Mike Riley of 2-0 Oregon State. Not only has Riley brought his team from the depths of a disastrous 2011 to wins over ranked foes Wisconsin and UCLA to start this season, but he rewarded the Beavers before they left L.A. with an In-N-Out run. Double-Doubles for everyone!
? Florida (4-0, 3-0) already has three SEC wins, the latest a 38-0 mauling of Kentucky. Which factoid is worse, Kentucky?s 26 straight losses to the Gators or Auburn?s three losses before Oct. 1 for the first time ever?
? Big win for Miami (3-1, 2-0 ACC) at Georgia Tech, where the Hurricanes led 19-0, then saw the Yellow Jackets score 36 straight, then scored 23 in a row themselves to prevail 42-36 in overtime. What a streaky game. Freaky-streaky.
A SIX-PACK OF GAME BALLS
EJ Manuel, QB, Florida State. 27-of-35 passing, 380 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INTs; 12 carries, 102 yards rushing in a 49-37 win vs. Clemson.
David Harman, K, Central Michigan. 4-for-4 on FGs, including a 47-yarder with 11 seconds left, in a 32-31 win at Iowa.
Tavon Austin, WR, West Virginia. 13 catches, 179 yards, 3 TDs in a 31-21 win vs. Maryland.
Le?Veon Bell, RB, Michigan State. 36 carries, 253 yards, 1 TD in a 23-7 win vs. Eastern Michigan.
Kenny Cain, LB, TCU. 2 INTs, 1 fumble recovery in a 27-7 win vs. Virginia.
Bob Diaco, defensive coordinator, Notre Dame. Time to start giving this man some love.
THAT?S RIGHT, HE SAID IT
?Keep pounding them, keep pounding them, keep pounding them until the best team won.? ?Kansas State running back John Hubert (130 yards, 1 TD) on the Wildcats? strategy at Oklahoma
matt barnes hcm loretta lynn gene kelly zoe saldana zooey deschanel and joseph gordon levitt debra messing
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