Notre Dame Football: 3 takeaways from blowout loss to Michigan

Notre Dame took on the Michigan Wolverines in the primetime game of Week 9. Ultimately, it didn’t go quite as planned for the Irish.

The Notre Dame Fighting Irish knew they were going to have their hands full in Week 9 when they traveled to Ann Arbor to take on the Michigan Wolverines.

Despite Michigan having two losses on their record, one of which came last week to Penn State, they stayed at No. 19 in the polls. Notre Dame entered the game with a 5-1 record and were coming off a bye week, which undoubtedly should have given them an advantage over the Wolverines.

Let’s take a look at some of the takeaways from this sudo-rivalry matchup.

3. Weather impacts

The weather completely changed the narrative of this game. The rain was absolutely pouring all game long. This had such an impact on the first half that the Notre Dame offense was only able to average 1.8 yards per play. That’s not to take away from the stout Michigan defense, but rather to express how dramatically it impacted the Irish.

Shea Patterson was much more successful than Ian Book in leading his offense in the first half. The Wolverines entered halftime ahead, 17-0.

Wind gusts of over 20 miles per hour continued to swirl in “The Big House” creating problems in the passing and kicking game for both teams. However, the Wolverines continued to be successful in overcoming the elements.

Eventually, the wheels on the Notre Dame bus completely fell off and Michigan pulled away, winning 45-14.