The Final Lead Change is the One That Sticks: Michigan 38, Notre Dame 34

Clausen’s Hail Mary failed, and this back-and-forth slugfest is finally over. For those counting at home, there were so many lead changes today that you lost count.

Unbelievable.Michigan’s Tate Forcier threw to Greg Mathews for a touchdown with 11 seconds left. 38-34, Wolverines.

This team just capitalized on their momentum in a huge way. Following Allen’s touchdown, Clausen faked a pass and discreetly pushed the ball to Allen, who ran in for the conversion uncontested. 34-31, Notre Dame.

Allen, though, was called for unsportsmanlike conduct following the conversion, and Michigan stands to benefit with good field position.

Notre Dame’s Michael Floyd is hurt, but nothing is known about his injury just yet. This is a big loss for the Irish; Floyd has 131 receiving yards for the day.

Terrible possession for Tate Forcier. He attempted to get rid of the ball while on his way down and was almost intercepted. Moments later he seemingly couldn’t get on the same page with his receiver, and he was intercepted. All of a sudden, Notre Dame has all the momentum.

Over the last few minutes, Golden Tate suffered a couple of dropped passes. He held on to this bullet from Jimmy Clausen, though, and then spun to elude his defender and breezed to the end zone.

Notre Dame attempted to make it a three-point game, but failed the two-point conversion. Michigan 31, ND 26.

Rich Rodriguez has shown no faith in his fifth-year senior kicker, Jason Olesnavage, denying him a 50 yard field goal opportunity and instead putting the reigns in the hands of his true freshman QB, Tate Forcier, who in his two career games has already become a star on the college scene. On a fourth and four at the beginning of the fourth quarter on Notre Dame’s 31 yard line, Rich Rod called for a QB draw and Forcier sliced and diced his way to a 31 yard TD scramble.

Earlier in the game, Rodriguez called for a pooch point by Forcier on a previous fourth down play. Forcier, doing his best Jeff Feagles impression, planted the ball inside the five yard line.

Notre Dame’s Armando Allen has 14 carries for 92 yards, while Michigan’s Brandon Minor has accepted the ball 12 times for 97 yards.

And a few plays later, Michigan takes advantage of the fumble. Forcier tosses to Kevin Koger in the end zone, and Olesnavage converts the PAT. 24-20, Michigan.

The Wolverines’ Olesnavage shanked a field goal, albeit at a tricky angle. Moments later, though, Notre Dame running back Jonas Gray coughed up the ball.

Wolverines kicker Jason Olesnavage kicks a 39-yarder just before the half. The score is now 20-17, Notre Dame.

Notre Dame’s offense in the first half has been impressive. Jason Claussen is 13 for 18 with 190 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Armando Allen has produced 93 yards from 13 carries.

I’m a genius. I made the bold, foolhardy prediction that the Quarrelsome Irish would attempt more field goals today, and they have. Tausch is now 2-for-3 on the day.

Tate Forcier’s 40-yard pass to Greg Mathews sparked a drive that ended with Brandon Minor’s punch into the end zone. The successful extra point makes it 7-0, Wolverines.

Notre Dame kicker Nick Tausch managed to win the starting job from a junior this summer. His first-ever college field goal attempt didn’t pan out, but Michigan’s defense should ensure that he gets another chance or two this afternoon.

Michigan and Notre Dame fans watched their season opening games with nervous anticipation, while their rivals watched with anticipated schadenfreude. But both teams came out and comfortably handled their overmatched visitors, setting up this weekend’s big showdown in Ann Arbor. The Irish open as three point favorites according to Bodog.com, but for Notre Dame to win, Irish fans say the offensive line must give junior quarterback Jimmy Clausen time to throw:

The biggest problem for the Irish is going to be in the trenches. To keep the offense moving, they’ll need to contain the speed, size and talent of the Wolverine front. Brandon Graham is likely a future first round pick, and he’s joined by freshmen Mike Martin (red shirt) and Craig Roh (true). There’s some beef up there with a history of terrorizing Notre Dame quarterbacks, and this will be one of the tougher tests for the Irish offensive line after doing a very capable job in dealing with Nevada’s pass rush. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say the caliber of athlete on Michigan might be slightly more polished than those hailing from the great city of Reno. We will address this later, but unless the Michigan secondary has gotten considerably better, I’m comfortable with the passing attack being able to pick them apart if there’s time for Clausen to make any sort of read. If the line starts breaking down and chaos reigns, cover your eyes, as it’s going to be a long, drunk afternoon for the Irish faithful.On the other side of the hate-fest, Michigan blogger Brian Cook thinks the Wolverines front four present the kind of test Jimmy Clausen and his line haven’t yet mastered:

Notre Dame and Michigan renew their rivalry this weekend, a matchup full of tradition, pageantry, and mutual respect between opponents long accustomed to taking the field of battle, looking across the way, and seeing a mirror image of their own hard work and dedication to friendly, courteous competition.

Their fans, however, hate each other with the passion of a 100 volcanoes spewing magma at once. To wit: