After falling behind 24-7 in the third quarter, the Michigan Wolverines rallied with 28 fourth-quarter points to defeat the Notre Dame Fighting Irish, 35-31, in front of 114,804 fans -- an NCAA record -- on hand Saturday for the first-ever night game at Michigan Stadium, as well as a national TV audience on ESPN. Denard Robinson completed the thrilling comeback with a 16-yard touchdown pass to wideout Roy Roundtree, who made his first grab of the night and maintained possession while being knocked out of bounds.
Early on it was all Notre Dame, as the Fighting Irish tallied the contest's first 14 points, courstesy of a TD pass from quarterback Tommy Rees to Theo Riddick, followed by a short rushing score from Cierre Woods. Michigan seemed to settle down in the second quarter, and Robinson got U-M on the board with a 43-yard toss to wideout Junior Hemingway, who lunged with the ball and brushed the pylon for the score. A David Ruffer field goal made it 17-7 in favor of Notre Dame, a lead it took into halftime.
After the Fighting Irish netted a TD on a third quarter pass from Rees to T.J. Jones, the Wolverines took off in the final stanza, with Robinson scooping up a fumble and dashing into the end zone on a 1-yard run, Jeremy Gallon hauling in a 14-yard throw from the Michigan signal caller, and Vincent Smith taking a well-executed screen pass and sprinting to paydirt 21 yards later, which put U-M in front for the first time with just 1:12 left in the Under the Lights matchup, featuring both schools in throwback jerseys. But Notre Dame had a comeback of its own, with Riddick grabbing his second TD pass, this time a 29-yard effort with only 30 seconds remaining, putting his squad back on top, 31-28.
Even so, Robinson wasn't finished. The electrifying Maize and Blue QB found Gallon wide open down the field, and the sophomore receiver dashed all the way to the Fighting Irish 16. A field goal attempt could have tied the score with eight seconds left, but Michigan head coach Brady Hoke opted to put the game in his star player's hands one more time. The gambit worked as Robinson found Roundtree along the right side of the end zone for the winning points with a mere two seconds on the clock, moving the Wolverines to 2-0 on the college football season and making the Fighting Irish 0-2.
Robinson finished 11-24 passing on for 338 yards, with four TD passes and three interceptions. He added 108 yards and one score on the ground, accounting for five total touchdowns on the night. Hemingway led all receivers with 165 yards on just three receptions, with Notre Dame's Michael Floyd was a close second with 159 yards on 13 catches. Michigan's official athletic website, MGoBlue.com, has the full box score, as well as postgame quotes from players on both sides, in addition to Hoke and Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly.
U-M takes on Eastern Michigan at the Big House next Saturday, September 17, with kickoff scheduled for noon ET. Meanwhile, the Fighting Irish travel back to South Bend for a meeting with Michigan State, beginning at 3:30 ET.
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