Michigan-Notre Dame: Irish Matchup Will Reveal Wolverines' True Colors

Defense, Special Teams Must Carry the Load for Wolverines After a frustrating home loss to a decent but unspectacular Utah team, and a frustratingly narrow win over local MAC opponent Miami (Ohio), the Wolverines now travel to South Bend for their first road game of the Rich Rodriguez era. Fans, unfortunately, are no closer to knowing who the real Michigan team is, although we suspect this week will tell us. After falling behind early to Utah, the Wolverines staged an admirable comeback, which fell short in large part because Utah's special teams managed to put four field goals on the board.  Similarly, Miami used excellent punt and kickoff team play to keep the Wolverines starting inside their own 30. Michigan must generate better results from punt returner Donovan Warren and kickoff returner Boubacar Cissoko, because the offense sputtered most of the game, only putting together two drives of significant length. If Rodriguez once again decides to alternate between Steve Threet and ... (link)