Notre Dame Football: 3 reasons Irish will beat Michigan in Week 9

2. The Irish defense should thrive against Shea Patterson

While the Michigan defense has put up top 15 numbers in a few categories, the Wolverine offense hasn’t been much to write home about this season. Michigan has averaged under 30 points per game with quarterback Shea Patterson at the helm, with the majority of their damage coming against the likes of Rutgers and Illinois.

While the Wolverines haven’t been particularly effective in the run game, many of their struggles can be attributed to Patterson’s inconsistent play. In the five games he’s played this season, Patterson has failed to reach 200 yards on two occasions while managing to complete at least 60 percent of his passes only once.

What is of greater importance to the Irish is Patterson’s tendency to make at least one critical mistake per game. Patterson has avoided throwing an interception on only one occasion this season, throwing a total of nine touchdowns to four interceptions on the year.

Patterson will face a Notre Dame defense that has made a living out of forcing turnovers this season, tied for seventh in the nation in opponent turnovers per game. The Michigan offense is averaging two turnovers per game on the season, setting up a potentially big outing for the Irish defense in the turnover category.