Wolverines Rout Rival No. 8 Notre Dame Under Big House Lights

Saturday, October 26

Ann Arbor, Mich.

7:30 PM

Michigan

6-2 , 3-2

Notre Dame

5-2

1st

2nd

3rd

4th

Notre Dame

Michigan

Hassan Haskins

Wolverines Rout Rival No. 8 Notre Dame Under Big House Lights

10/26/2019 11:59:00 PM | Football

Box Score Watch: Highlights vs. Notre Dame Postgame Notes Player Participation PDF Boxscore In the Trenches Podcast: Notre Dame Postgame Photo Gallery

By: Dave Ablauf, Chad Shepard

» Hassan Haskins rushed 20 times for a career-high 149 yards; Zach Charbonnet ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns.
» The Michigan defense held Notre Dame to 180 yards of total offense and just 47 yards on the ground.
» Freshman defensive back Daxton Hill recovered a pair of Fighting Irish fumbles.

Site: Ann Arbor, Mich. (Michigan Stadium)
Score: #19 Michigan 45, #8 Notre Dame 14
Records: U-M (6-2), ND (5-2)
Attendance: 111,909
Next U-M Event: Saturday, Nov. 2 -- at Maryland (College Park, Md.), noon

• Press Conferences: Coach Harbaugh | Players

ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Behind 303 rushing yards, the No. 19-ranked University of Michigan football team dominated No. 8 Notre Dame, cruising to a 45-14 win on a rainy and windy Saturday night (Oct. 26) at Michigan Stadium. The Wolverines posted their third-largest margin of victory against the Irish to put an exclamation point on the rivalry as it enters a 14-year hiatus.

After the Fighting Irish pulled within 10 points in the third quarter, Michigan reeled off 28 unanswered points and overpowered Notre Dame at the line of scrimmage on an evening where weather played a big factor. Sophomore Hassan Haskins had a career day, rushing 20 times for 149 yards, while freshman Zach Charbonnet added 15 carries for 74 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Behind a superb performance from the offensive line, U-M averaged 5.3 yards per rush and held the time-of-possession edge by more than nine minutes (34:37 to 25:23).

Senior quarterback Shea Patterson went 6-of-12 passing for 100 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while junior Dylan McCaffrey threw a touchdown pass of his own. Freshman Mike Sainristil, junior Donovan Peoples-Jones and junior Nico Collins combined for six receptions, 117 yards and three touchdowns.

The Michigan defense played lights out, holding Notre Dame to just 180 yards of total offense and only 47 yards rushing. Quarterback Ian Book was ineffective, going 8-for-25 for only 73 yards. Sophomore Cameron McGrone led the Wolverines with 12 tackles.

Notre Dame appeared to get the first big play of the night when it partially blocked a Will Hart punt deep in Michigan territory, but Jonathan Jones could not come up with the ball cleanly and freshman Daxton Hill recovered it at the Michigan 33-yard line.

The Wolverines took advantage of the miscue. Facing a third-and-7 on the Michigan 36-yard line, Patterson threw it up to Collins, who drew a defensive pass interference penalty and an automatic first down. Three plays later, Charbonnet busted a 35-yard run all the way down to the Notre Dame 4-yard line. The Wolverines stalled there, however, and settled for a 21-yard field goal by sophomore Jake Moody for a 3-0 lead.

Michigan took it to Notre Dame on the ground, running behind Haskins five straight times to end the first quarter -- including a 25-yard rush to get the Wolverines on the edge of the red zone. Charbonnet finished it off with a seven-yard touchdown run on the third play of the second quarter to push the lead to 10-0.

The defense continued to hold strong and provided the offense with more possessions. Facing a third-and-7 on Notre Dame's 37-yard line, Patterson rolled right out of the pocket and found Sainristil for a 13-yard gain, ending a streak of 18 consecutive rushing attempts. Patterson returned to the run game on the next play, keeping it for a 22-yard gain down to the Notre Dame 2-yard line. Once again, it was Charbonnet completing the drive, scoring a touchdown from one yard out to make it 17-0.

With 6:20 left in the half, Notre Dame started its drive with great field position at the Michigan 42-yard line, but the defense shut it down, shunning the Fighting Irish on a fourth-down attempt. The Wolverines went into halftime up 17-0.

Notre Dame got on the board with 5:27 left in the third quarter on a seven-yard touchdown pass from Book to Cole Kmet. The Wolverines appeared to have the Fighting Irish stopped on a third-and-10 when Book threw into double coverage and junior Brad Hawkins intercepted the ball, but the referees flagged Michigan for defensive pass interference to give Notre Dame an automatic first down.

Michigan took momentum right back on the next drive, fueled by a 49-yard run up the middle by Haskins. The Wolverines drew two defensive pass interference penalties to keep the drive alive until Patterson found Peoples-Jones in the corner of the end zone for an eight-yard touchdown and a 24-7 lead.

The Wolverines dominated the fourth quarter. After the defense forced a Notre Dame punt, Patterson marched the offense down in four plays, hitting Sainristil for 34 yards to get in the red zone. On the next play, Patterson threw a fade to Collins in the end zone for a 16-yard touchdown.

Down 31-7, Notre Dame replaced Book with backup quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who promptly ran four times for minus-10 yards. On the next drive, U-M scored in two plays: a 20-yard pass from Patterson to Peoples-Jones and a 27-yard touchdown run from senior Tru Wilson.

The Wolverines capped the scoring off a turnover when a Jurkovec fumble was recovered by Hill in Notre Dame territory. McCaffrey entered the game and threw a 26-yard pass to Sainristil, who broke a few tackles for the touchdown. The Fighting Irish added a late touchdown, but it was far too little, too late, ending the game at 45-14.

The Wolverines will return to Big Ten action next Saturday (Nov. 2) at Maryland. Kickoff at Maryland Stadium is set for noon, and the game will be broadcast on ABC.