Birk's Eye View: Michigan out to make a statement against Notre Dame

Win, and you can file that vacation request for the last week of December. It won’t be Pasadena, but with home games against Eastern Michigan, Delaware State, Indiana and Purdue still on the schedule, Michigan will spend the holidays somewhere warm.

Lose, and the consternation returns.

Yes, the Wolverines are better. But how much and how soon they regain their footing atop the flawed Big Ten remains to be seen.

“Not to take anything away from Western. They are a great team. They’ll contend for a MAC title,” guard Steve Schilling said earlier this week. “But Notre Dame is a team we can send a little bit more of a statement if we can come out and play for four quarters.”

The statement: Michigan, under Rich Rodriguez, is back.

Beating Notre Dame is by no means a cure for all that ails the Wolverines. The university’s investigation into alleged NCAA violations remains ongoing, the defense has serious depth problems (especially a secondary that will be severely tested by the Irish), and with two true freshmen playing quarterback the offense is prone to inconsistency.

Still, this is the type of game a resurgent program wins. At home. On a national stage. Against a good-but-not-great opponent with blemishes of its own.

Beano Cook’s BCS Championship Game prediction aside, Notre Dame is not one of the 10 best teams in America this year. What the Irish are is an elite collection of offensive talent whose schedule affords them an opportunity for a rebound.

No one would fault Michigan for losing. The smartest people in the room - the Las Vegas oddsmakers - actually expect it.

But make no mistake the importance of this game. Pushing around a Mid-American Conference team for two quarters is one thing. Outclassing the Irish on the way to what should be a perfect September is something entirely different.

“This as an excellent opportunity for us to not only show that Game 1 was not a fluke or anything, but just to set the tone for the whole season,” cornerback Donovan Warren said. “If we get this win under our belt, we can get some momentum rolling and carry it on throughout the whole season.”

Dave Birkett covers the University of Michigan football team for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at davidbirkett@annarbor.com