Michigan vs. ND - The Line Continues to Move

Submitted by Mr. Rager on

ND opened -6 against Michigan, and that line quickly moved to -7 given the hype surrounding their victory against Sparty.  The line now sits at -4.5.  Do you think it will move lower?  I always thought Michigan should be a 3 to 4 point underdog in this game.  I feel as if the last 5 years has supported this, which is why the 7 point spread shocked me.  Of course we could always win or lose big this weekend, but I feel as if this "correction" is a good sign for us.  

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loosekanen

September 19th, 2012 at 10:15 PM ^

I got ND at -6 and doubled down when i was shocked to see the line go lower. All homerism aside i feel like their interior defensive line is going to make things very difficult for us Saturday. I sincerely hope Denard and Borges prove me wrong, but I like their defense in this matchup.

Joined: 10/03/2009

MGoPoints: 923

Soulfire21

September 19th, 2012 at 11:27 PM ^

Us in this game.

I have that "streak's gotta end" feeling, their front 7 is vastly improved (or so it appears) and that's going to limit Denard's running abilities.  And a Denard that can't run means Michigan loses, most likely.

There are some other things of note in our favor, though:

  • ND still has QB issues (every year, or so it seems)
  • ND's secondary is depleted

If we come out with a similar gameplan as we did against Alabama, it could be successful against the Irish because our receivers should get some separation and ND's defenders aren't semi-pro like Bama's.

Given our play vs. their play, and the fact that it's a night game in South Bend, I think the Irish take it.  Painful for me to say, but I do.

And then we feel maybe a bit lost at 2-2 but we've got a Big Ten Championship to play for.  The league is, despite it's MAC-level product on the field, going to be a wild and entertaining race.

Joined: 03/18/2010

MGoPoints: 22716

graybeaver

September 20th, 2012 at 9:03 AM ^

The line is moving for a couple of reasons. The 27 point loss to Alabama wasn't as bad as it looked considering what Bama did to Arkansas. If Denard can throw for 200 yards against Bama then he should have no problem throwing against a soft ND secondary. People are feeling good about Michigan's performance against UMASS even though it was UMASS. Personally, I have no idea about this team yet. This game will be a huge indicator of how good Michigan is heading into conference play.

Joined: 03/30/2012

MGoPoints: -700

TXmaizeNblue

September 20th, 2012 at 9:16 PM ^

Notre Dame dominated for 3 quarters, and Michigan benefited from many breaks that went their way down the stretch. Michigan appears to be much weaker in the trenches this year. If Denard is not on top of his passing game this could get ugly.

Joined: 09/22/2010

MGoPoints: 1433

UMMAN83

September 20th, 2012 at 10:44 AM ^

We expose the domer secondary early and consistently.

Mattison works up a sick defensive plan that confuses the young QB.

Plus I love the underdog factor and the fact that the pressure in on Rudy to not collapse again ... but they will.

Joined: 11/26/2009

MGoPoints: 1491

Darth Wolverine

September 20th, 2012 at 10:47 AM ^

I really don't know what to think about this game. Regardless of what the media and Domer fans want to believe, ND has not really been tested (I think it has been known for a while that Sparty is overrated), but neither has M (I don't count the Bama game simply because they are way out of M's league). This is the first true test for both teams.

Joined: 11/30/2009

MGoPoints: 2008