Notre Dame beat writer says Irish QB Tommy Rees accurate and Michael Floyd looks good
Notre Dame will start an undefeated quarterback this week against Michigan, but he's also started just four times. Who is Tommy Rees?
Meantime, Wolverines quarterback Denard Robinson had more than 500 all-purpose yards last year against the Irish, but he's in a new system. How will Notre Dame attack him defensively and try to avoid a third consecutive loss to Michigan?
AnnArbor.com posed these questions and a few others to longtime Notre Dame beat writer Eric Hansen of the South Bend Tribune in advance of the game Saturday (8 p.m., ESPN).
Kyle Meinke: Notre Dame lost to South Florida in last week’s opener, which surely puts more pressure on second-year coach Brian Kelly. What is the Irish’s temperament right now, and how do you think they and Kelly respond against Michigan?
Eric Hansen: The team is saying all the right things and seem to be buying into the notion that they doubled USF in total yardage and that all their problems are fixable. What makes me second-guess my read is that so many of the mistakes in the South Florida game were committed by veteran players/team leaders. I think they'll play well at Michigan if they can get off to a good start. Kelly's teams are 118-21 when they score first, 140-11 when leading at the half -- including 85-3 since 2001. If they get down early, I think the offense is going to press.
Notre Dame quarterback Tommy Rees is 4-0 as a starter.
Associated Press
Eric Hansen: Rees' strengths are his accuracy and his unflappable demeanor. He is 4-0 as a starter. His accuracy could be a problem for Michigan's secondary, but he does throw interceptions and perhaps that's something Michigan can take advantage of.
Kyle Meinke: Denard Robinson set a school record for total yards in a game (502) in Michigan’s win against Notre Dame last season. What will the Irish do differently this year to try to contain the junior?
Eric Hansen: I couldn't get Brian Kelly to give me the game plan ... and really the game plan wasn't so much the problem last year as much as it was execution. ND struggled early in the season with the conversion to the 3-4 and outside linebacker play was abysmal during the early games. Denard was smart enough to spot the weaknesses and really took advantage of them. There won't be as many or as glaring weaknesses in this defense. It's deeper, faster on the edge and older. It still might not be enough to make Robinson flinch.
Michael Floyd.
Associated Press
Eric Hansen: I think the Wolverines will have a tough time matching up with ND receiver Michael Floyd. USF's secondary was really good, and he had a career-high 12 receptions against the Bulls.
Kyle Meinke: Michigan hasn’t beaten Notre Dame three consecutive times in 111 years. The Irish continue that run if ...
Eric Hansen: ... they outrush Michigan and win the turnover battle. The Irish were 7-0 last season and are 27-0 since the start of the 2005 season when they outrush their opponents. If ND goes turnover-free, that will be five fewer than the Irish had last week. ND is 57-4-1 since 1985 when it does not commit a turnover.
Eric Hansen is the Notre Dame beat reporter for the South Bend Tribune. You can follow him on Twitter @hansensouthbend.
Kyle Meinke is the U-M football beat reporter for AnnArbor.com. Follow him on Twitter @kmeinke.
Comments
Blu n Tpa
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 6:32 p.m.
OK where's Alice and the looking glass. Is there one verifiable source anywhere in this well written concept piece? We'll see.
allergictobs
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 3:10 p.m.
ND will join the Big Ten WHEN they can dictate the terms, not a moment sooner. I like TrueBlue's run down. ND + Texas + Big Ten, Mich, OSU, PSU, MSU, Iowa, Wisc, OMG I think I died and went to heaven. Let's hope it comes together. many folks will need to swallow some pride for this to happen.....I believe it will.
XTR
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 5:25 a.m.
Rees will be attacked the whole game no matter what, he will be looking at Kovacs more than Floyd. Floyd is a stud WR and will hard to stop unless the QB is stopped before he could throw. The running game by the RB's in the offense will open up Denard and the passing game. Depends on which ND team shows up, if Rees can't be pressured, Floyd is hard to stop.
TrueBlue95
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 12:57 a.m.
Cont'd Notre Dame has an interest in preserving its traditional rivalries, three of which occur already in the Big Ten, and creating a new national rivalry with a traditional powerhouse. The Big Ten believes that ND prefers independence, but realizes that it will soon have no choice but to join a conference. The Big Ten also believes that ND is trying to position itself so that if it must join a conference, it does so on the most favorable terms possible. Hence the return to the 8 game schedule and a protected game with national power Texas. The Big Ten will attempt to create a mutually beneficial environment for ND that allows it to preserve a great deal of independence to retain all its traditional rivalries within the conference context. The initial mood at the Big Ten to the terms provided by the two schools is "receptive."
TrueBlue95
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 12:54 a.m.
Cont'd Notably, there is a general discontent with the reporting of the situation by ESPN with specific regard to Texas. ESPN has, for self-serving purposes, drastically exaggerated the lean of Texas to the Pac12 conference in nearly all commentary. ESPN has essentially waged a propaganda campaign to drive support among the Texas stakeholders to the Pac12 conference. ESPN has gone so far as to attempt to accelerate the disintegration of the Big XII to pressure Texas into making an immediate conference change decision. Texas has steadfastly resisted change, and will do so until the appropriate time occurs for Texas to stand in a strong position to renegotiate television contracts, including with ESPN. In reality, the preference expressed by Texas' relevant leadership is to depart the Big XII for the Big Ten at the time that gives Texas the greatest leverage in negotiating a new television rights deal. The Big Ten and Texas agreed that Texas should do what is best for Texas, which they also both agree is a move by Texas to join the Big Ten Conference. Delaney's top priority has been to create an environment for Texas and Notre Dame to join the conference on mutually benefical terms.
TrueBlue95
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 12:48 a.m.
According to a Northwestern poster. Once again take anything with a grain of salt but anything could be true at this point. ------- Earlier this evening, Notre Dame and Texas jointly presented the Big Ten Conference with their proposed terms of entry into the conference. These terms resulted from lengthy discussions among both schools and the Big Ten over the past several months. The major items include: 1. The preservation of an eight game (plus championship) conference football schedule. Both ND and Texas wish to preserve rivalries with non-Big Ten universities on a regular basis. This would require the Big Ten to abandon its current plans of a 9 game conference schedule. 2. The staggering of the schedule to allow for mid-season scheduling with non-conference football opponents. 3. The preservation of the status quo conference makeup until approximately 2014, unless the Big XII fails to retain key (NOT including A&M) conference members. This will provide the member schools, acting in unison, with the greatest leverage negotiating ongoing television contracts, particularly with ESPN. 4. Should Texas depart the conference for the Big Ten before ND due to the further disintegration of the Big XII, ND will remain independent until approximately 2014 5. The Longhorn Network would remain independent until approximately 2014, at which point the network would become a part of an expanded Big Ten Network (specifically referred to as "BTN2"), likely either in partnership with Fox, NBC, or less likely ABC The Big Ten just wrapped up a meeting to initially consider all of the terms presented by the schools, including the aforementioned.
Meangoblue
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 9:11 p.m.
There once was this guy that I know, he said that Michigan will be beating Notre Dame so bad by halftime that Rees, Floyd, Crist and even Bryan kelly will be out at section 72 at halftime waiting in line for my autograph session.....remember, I will be the guy surounded by voluptuos damsels wearing size 48 levis, a milwuakees best t-shirt and custom made blue and gold rhinestone cowboy boots and hat. See everyone at section 72!!!! MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEANchigan football is back...this i boast!! If y'all don't believe this, then just ask the ghost!!! THEO, Dusty, Portage, Lorraine.......awful quiet these days huh?
BlueGator
Fri, Sep 9, 2011 : 12:01 a.m.
@Meangoblue, We'll all be sure to look for you at the game. However, your main paragraph above was not entirely clear as to who would be wearing size 48 levis, you or the surrounding bevy of "voluptuous damsels." In case of the latter, it would be more socially correct to refer to them as "full-figured ladies," and you probably won't get as many guys visiting. In any event, enjoy the game and GO BLUE!!!
DonAZ
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 8:32 p.m.
Michigan runs Denard under center for every single play. They run off-tackle play after play after play. Oh, wait ... for a moment there I was thinking like those naysayers who had Hoke/Borges pegged as "3-yards-and-a-cloud" guys. Boys and girls, we may be in for a thrilling game ... if both teams can avoid stupid mistakes, this may be one of those games that people talk about for years.
DonAZ
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 9:47 p.m.
I am SO okay with that ... the team that consistently moves the chains is the team that wins.
David Vande Bunte
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 9:10 p.m.
well, going by what Toussaint and Shaw did last week, it should be renamed the 11 yards and move the chains offense.
missionbrazil
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 8:22 p.m.
Rees may be an accurate passer, but he is prone to making bad decisions and mistakes. Last year he threw 12 TD's and 8 INT's, and last week he had 2 TD's and 2 INT's. Look for Mattison and the D to put a lot of pressure on him, get him very uncomfortable out there, and force him to make mistakes. Another key will be to stop the ND running attack so they have to pass in long yardage situations. 3 in a row vs ND. Go Blue !
MRunner73
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 8:15 p.m.
Notre Dame will and should command respect. It could be a nail biter as it was last year, which was an away game for us or we could just blow them out. The reason for that is ND probably won't be able to correct all of the mistakes they made against South FL. It is hard to make a prediction because we won't know what ND team will show up. We want to see our Wolverines show a big improvement on both sides of the ball. I am confident we will be shaprer. I hope OC Al Borgess opens up the play book. Go Blue!!!
DonAZ
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 8:29 p.m.
"I hope OC Al Borgess opens up the play book." He said he barely scratched the surface against WMU. No reason to think he won't open it up as needed against ND. Perhaps not the full book, but enough to get the job done.
MikeB
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 7:45 p.m.
This sounds a lot like the 2009 game. A ranked Notre dame team, a clutch of stars; Clausen, Floyd, Tate, etc and an unranked UM team. On paper that ND team from 2009 was better and this Michigan is better than last years. They started out being favored and I agreed with that. Now I have it as a toss up game Tough game for either to win. I lack the courage to make a prediction but I am rooting for UM of course, Go Blue
David Vande Bunte
Thu, Sep 8, 2011 : 7:35 p.m.
Rees may be accurate, and Floyd is very good. But Notre Dame is a one-trick pony, just like Western Michigan was. Michigan will probably do the exact same thing to Rees they did to Carder, once they got going in the 2nd. Double up coverage on Floyd, and blitz like crazy. Rees is relatively inexperienced, and will be prone to mistakes under pressure. Notre Dame doesn't have a Nate Burleson to match their Michael Floyd version of Megatron, all they have are a few Bryant Johnsons.