– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Despite the constant raindrops that fell throughout Saturday night’s prime-time showdown, the Michigan Wolverines football team was finally able to make the game plans of a Top-10 opponent all wet under head coach Jim Harbaugh.
Running back Zach Charbonnet ran for 74 yards and two touchdowns, leading a rushing attack that marched through the rain to the tune of 303 rushing yards, as the No. 19 Wolverines dominated No. 8 Notre Dame 45-14, only the second win over a top-10 opponent in 12 tries during the Harbaugh regime.
Shea Patterson was efficient during the few times he was asked to throw the ball, completing 6-of-12 passes for 100 yards and two second-half touchdowns.
The Michigan faithful have gotten used to “good, but not good enough” performances under Harbaugh against elite competition, including a 28-21 loss to No. 7 Penn State two weeks ago when a sure touchdown pass that might have tied the game went through the hands of wide receiver Donovan Peoples-Jones.
Heartbreak did not linger into Michigan’s next contest, only dominance from the start against the Irish. After a promising drive stalled and the Wolverines settled for a field goal to take a 3-0 in the first quarter, Charbonnet and fellow running back Hassan Haskins dominated the end of the first quarter and carried over to the second The two back combined for 142 rushing yards in the first half, and it was Charbonnet’s 7-yard score early in the second and his 1-yard plunge with 9:52 remaining in the half to give the Wolverines a 17-0 lead.
Notre Dame finally got on the board late in the third when quarterback Ian Book threw a 7-yard touchdown pass to tight end Cole Kmet with 5:27 remaining. However, Michigan scored a touchdown on the next drive, capped off by Patterson’s 8-yard score to Peoples-Jones for a 24-7 lead with 2:37 remaining.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with all photos taken by Detroit-area photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on the first photo to enlarge the picture, make sure to press the left and right arrow buttons to scroll through the rest of the pictures. There are 21 pictures in total.
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