Still feeling the sting from last year's 35-31 loss to the Michigan Wolverines, in which they held a 24-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter, the No. 11 Notre Dame Fighting Irish know what they must do in order to emerge victorious from Saturday's matchup in South Bend, Ind. They must stop Michigan star quarterback Denard Robinson.
Easier said than done. The Irish have lost to the No. 18 Wolverines in three consecutive seasons, including twice to Robinson, who in two career starts against Notre Dame has passed for a combined 562 yards and run for another 366.
In 2010, Robinson racked up a school-record 502 total yards against the Irish. Last season in Ann Arbor, Mich., Notre Dame contained Robinson through much of three quarters, but he became unstoppable in leading a thrilling, fourth-quarter comeback.
Beginning the quarter down by 17 points, Robinson ran for a touchdown and threw two more to give the Wolverines a 28-24 advantage with 1:12 to play.
Notre Dame seemingly regained the lead for good with 30 seconds to go on a 29-yard touchdown pass from Tommy Rees to Theo Reddick.
But Robinson stunned the Irish, first connecting with Jeremy Gallon for a 64-yard reception and then lobbing it up to Roy Roundtree in the endzone for a 16-yard touchdown with two seconds left on the clock, capping off a dramatic win and leaving Notre Dame hoping its third time against Michigan's star brings a little more luck for the Irish.
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