Notre Dame football looking for playoff resume-booster at Michigan

Notre Dame football takes on Michigan on Saturday night in prime time at the Big House in Ann Arbor. Here’s a preview, prediction and how to watch.

The No. 8 Notre Dame Fighting Irish travel to Ann Arbor Michigan to tangle with rival No. 19 Michigan in the Big House Saturday night.

In many respects, this game is a must win for both teams. The Wolverines need to win this game to gain a measure of respect from the college football community. Jim Harbaugh wants to show everyone that he can beat a good team. The Fighting Irish need this win to keep the glimmer of hope they have for a return to the playoff alive and confirm what many people think is too high of a rank.

Michigan is coming off a loss at Penn State and Notre Dame has won three in a row after their loss to No. 10 Georgia.

This brings us to one of most intense rivalries in college football. Historically USC is Notre Dame’s biggest rival, and of course Ohio State is Michigan’s most hated. However, this rivalry, played 42 times, can get quite chippy.

Proximity plays a big part of this game’s intensity. South Bend and Ann Arbor are less than a three-hour car ride from one another on I-80/94 East. This rivalry dates back to 1887, and played sporadically through the 1970s — the Irish and Wolverines played every year from 2002 through 2014 during Notre Dame’s “Big Ten swing”.

Here’s more information on the game:

Date: Saturday, Oct. 26
Time: 7:30 p.m. ET
Location: Ann Arbor, Mich
Venue: Michigan Stadium
TV: ABC
Live Stream: WatchESPN

Keys to Victory

Both the Notre Dame Fighting Irish and the Michigan Wolverines want to do the same thing. Both teams want to run the football and play physical defense. These are two of the better defenses in college football.

This one might just come down to which quarterback is able to make plays down the field. If that’s the key to the game, Michigan might have the advantage in this one. The Wolverines have both the quarterback with the arm strength and the receivers capable of getting downfield; they just haven’t done it. The question for Michigan is can they block Notre Dame’s pass rush long enough for those downfield routes to develop?

The most important question for Michigan, however, is can quarterback Shea Patterson take care of the ball? Patterson has turned the ball over in every game save one; he fumbled against Illinois, but recovered.

Notre Dame wants to run the football with their stable of running backs, and the big question for the Irish surrounds the health of Jafar Armstrong. If he’s ready to go, the one-two punch of Armstrong and Tony Jones Jr. might be too much for the Wolverines to deal with. According to Brian Kelly, Armstrong is ready to go. The big concern for the Irish is when they load the box is there anyone that can make a play down field.

Odds

Courtesy of The Action Network

Line: Michigan -1
Over/Under: 51

Prediction

This one is tough. It promises to be a physical affair with these two tough defenses. Both offenses boast big physical tail backs that won’t blow by anyone, but will deliver punishment to opposing tacklers.

Notre Dame looked good for most of the USC game until they let them back in the game, but they aren’t looking at an air-raid scheme against Michigan. The concern in South Bend is their offensive inability to throw down field, and their offense can disappear at times. Michigan played tough against Penn State; they didn’t lie down like they did against Wisconsin. This game is in the Big House as well.

Final Score: Notre Dame 20, Michigan 24