Tuesday Question - Are Michigan & ND Back?

Are Michigan and Notre Dame back? What are the expectations now for the two stories programs? Michigan's Tate Forcier and Notre Dame's Michael Floyd had a big week one generating a buzz again for both programs. The CFNers give their take in the weekly Tuesday Question.

Tuesday Question ... Sept. 1

Are Michigan & ND for real?

Tuesday Questions
- 9/1 Pick the winners

Pete Fiutak

Q: Do you really believe Michigan and Notre Dame are back, or close to it?  What are the realistic expectations now?

Not quite yet as far as being a national title contender, but both programs appear to be on their way. It might be a knee-jerk reaction to think that the teams are going to see the glory days are about to return after two big weeks, and with good reason. Remember, Notre Dame struggled to get by San Diego State to start last year. Michigan battled well against Utah, which looks better now than it looked at the time, but, of course, there were the nightmares the rest of the way including the clunker against Toledo. To come out and roll two non-BCS teams that will be in their respective conference races and will likely be bowl bound shows just how far each has come in 365 days. Of course, both the Irish and the Wolverines aren't above a horrendous gack of a game along the way, but don't blow off just how important the opening day stompings were.

We'll obviously see more on Saturday, but as a program, Notre Dame is ahead of Michigan as far as where it needs to be. Rich Rodriguez has his pieces coming into place, but the stars are true freshmen while Charlie Weis has a matured team that should be hitting its stride. Each program needed to be torn down and started from scratch with a new wave of players, and while they each have another recruiting cycle or two before possibly thinking about BCS Championship contention, the foundations appear to be far better than they were a few years ago.

As far as expectations, they haven't changed. Michigan should still be hoping for a nice mid-level bowl, the Alamo would be great, and a possible top four finish in the Big Ten, while Notre Dame has to shoot for a 10-2 season, with a BCS bid, but can more realistically hope for 9-3, 8-4 at worst, and a New Year's Day game.

Richard Cirminiello

Q: Do you really believe Michigan and Notre Dame are back, or close to it?  What are the realistic expectations now?

A: No and probably, respectively.

Hey, I was as impressed as anyone with the Wolverines’ opening day performance, but back? Not quite. As long as the two quarterbacks, Tate Forcier and Denard Robinson, are true freshmen, the program is going to be vulnerable to some un-Michigan-like performances, especially when the schedule toughens and the team ventures outside the campus. That said, it’s clear that Rich Rodriguez has his kids in a far better position to compete for a postseason game than he did in his debut season. And that’s still a reason to celebrate around Ann Arbor after last year’s implosion.

Notre Dame is closer to being back than Michigan, largely because the coaching staff has been in place for longer and the quarterback is on the brink of a Brady Quinn-like ascent. I’m not interested that Jimmy Clausen’s last two monster games were against WAC defenses. The strikes he’s thrown would beat Big Ten defenses as well. Just go back and check the film. He’s always had the talent, but his confidence took a beating in 2007 and 2008. That’s no longer a problem. A third year with Charlie Weis and a dynamite ensemble of receivers could be just what the junior needs to get on the tarmac. Plus, if the effort from the young Irish defense in Saturday’s shutout of Nevada is a harbinger of things to come, the program has the potential to win double-digit games and bowl in January.

Matt Zemek

Q: Q: Do you really believe Michigan and Notre Dame are back, or close to it?  What are the realistic expectations now?

A win over a WAC or MAC team does not a resurrection make, for one thing. Secondly, unless a team has a bushel of veterans AND is a particularly proven commodity in the college football world (Florida, Texas, and Oklahoma, for instance), expectations this early in the season are just not fair or healthy for a group of college kids. Rather than crank up the hype meter, let's wait for this Saturday's game, and then re-examine the Fighting Irish and Wolverines at the end of September, when most college football teams begin to acquire the identity they'll carry for the rest of the season. Hype is typically accompanied by emotional frenzy and coach-killer sentiments from overly rabid precincts of the booster population. Notre Dame and Michigan both deserve time, although Michigan demands more scrutiny because of the way in which Lloyd Carr was treated toward the end of his tenure, plus the fact that Rich Rodriguez has at least skirted the edges of scandal (unlike Charlie Weis).
 
Michael Bradley

Q: Q: Do you really believe Michigan and Notre Dame are back, or close to it?  What are the realistic expectations now?

Let’s not get carried away by the Week One success of the Wolverines and Fighting Irish. It was nice for their fans to see them slap around lesser opposition, and had either team retained its focus in the second half, things could have become particularly ugly. But heading into their showdown in Ann Arbor Saturday, it’s way too early to consider either team top-10 caliber. Michigan still has to find out whether freshman QB Tate Forcier can stand up to pressure, and the Wolverines need to know whether their young D has what it takes to shut down a BCS school’s attack. Notre Dame should be further ahead on its road to contention, but beating Nevada at home can give no real indication about what lies ahead for the Irish. Will Jimmy Clausen be consistent? Can the defense stop a physical ground attack? We just don’t know yet. Both schools are happy at 1-0, but each has significant challenges ahead and need to improve to surmount them. There’s no guarantee that will happen, so to proclaim them back and ready for inclusion in the national discussion would be premature.