Opinion: Rich Rodriguez fulfills a promise with an upset victory against Notre Dame

That demoralizing game in South Bend last year, Sept. 13, 2008, showed severe cracks in the foundation of Michigan’s program. After that game, everyone knew just how far the Wolverines had fallen. In the face of all that ugliness that day, Rich Rodriguez stemmed his anger long enough to promise one thing. “Michigan will be back,” he said, defiantly. “Michigan will be back,” he said again for emphasis. Michigan returned Saturday. It returned against the same Notre Dame rival that sent the Wolverines into their tailspin last year, winning 38-34 in a strong upset. On Saturday, the two schools entered their 2009 game merely hoping to make their rivalry relevant again. Instead, they played one for the ages. They slugged back and forth the entire game. Quarterback Jimmy Clausen and the veteran Notre Dame receivers tore apart Michigan’s secondary. But the Wolverines’ offense retaliated. Even when the Wolverines frittered away an 11-point lead late in the game, they never gave up, never looked flustered like last year. Gutted for 490 yards, the Wolverines’ defense nonetheless held when the team needed a stop the most - with about three minutes remaining in the game. With Michigan needing one more miracle, Tate Forcier took control. Michigan’s dynamic freshman quarterback, playing his second college game, looked magnificent, pushing the offense down the field and hitting Greg Mathews for the winning touchdown with 11 seconds remaining. The Wolverines hung on for one more wild play against Clausen and company for the 38-34 win, and pandemonium ensued at the Big House. Michigan football was indeed back. Back with a win over a Top-25 team, back playing with poise, if not polish. Back with an energy and confidence that the Wolverines sorely lacked last year. The thing about Saturday’s win, though, was even if the Wolverines had lost - even if their chances ended with that near-miss one drive before, when Forcier missed a wide-open Kevin Koger on third down - they had shown enough to fulfill Rodriguez’s promise. Win or lose Saturday, they were back. That’s how good they looked, with Brandon Minor smashing through the defensive line, with Forcier showing moxie, with the team rallying every time it looked like Clausen would strike the final blow. Resolve was the one quality Michigan lacked last season; they showed an abundant supply Saturday. Interesting part of Saturday’s win? It raises more questions than a loss would have. Namely, this one: How good is Michigan? Had the Wolverines lost, the post-game perspectives would have been filled with a lot of temperature-taking, using their effectiveness as a barometer for how far they’ve come since last year’s South Bend loss. A close loss, everyone could have nodded in agreement that yes, they were better than last year. Now, with a win, no one really knows the answer. A lot of holes still exist. That much was apparent Saturday. The defense had trouble handling two NFL-quality receivers. The offense misfired an awful lot when Forcier showed his freshman colors. But a 4-0 start is all but assured with games against Eastern Michigan and Indiana ahead, two teams that won’t provide a test like Notre Dame did Saturday. So the answer may not come until October, when the Wolverines have back-to-back road games against Michigan State and Iowa. No one really knows until then. But if there’s anything that came out of Saturday that we do know for sure, it is this: the Wolverines are going to be a lot of fun to watch this season, and more importantly, as Rodriguez promised, Michigan is back.

Pete Bigelow covers sports for Ann Arbor.com. He can be reached at petebigelow@annarbor.com or 734-623-2556.