Michigan and Notre Dame are far from playoff ready. Especially on offense.
The two top-10 teams will tumble down the AP Top 25 on Sunday after embarrassing losses. The No. 10 Wolverines were manhandled by No. 3 Texas in a 31-12 loss that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. And No. 5 Notre Dame followed up its 10-point win at Texas A&M in Week 1 with an embarrassing 16-14 loss to Northern Illinois. The Fighting Irish entered the game as 28.5-point favorites.
Both teams sit 1-1 largely because of their inability to pass the football effectively. Michigan didn’t add a transfer after J.J. McCarthy’s departure to the NFL and held a quarterback competition between Davis Warren and Alex Orji. After adding a transfer QB in Sam Hartman a season ago, Notre Dame went the transfer route again and signed Duke’s Riley Leonard for 2024. In addition to Leonard, Notre Dame re-hired former offensive coordinator Mike Denbrock from LSU, where he coordinated an offense that included Heisman winner Jayden Daniels and first-round picks Malik Nabers and Brian Thomas in 2023.
Neither Warren, Orji or Leonard has been an effective passer so far this season. Warren was named Michigan’s starter as Orji has seen limited playing time for the second straight season. After throwing for just 118 yards on 25 pass attempts against Fresno State, Warren wasn’t much better against the Longhorns. He was 22-of-33 passing for 204 yards, but many of those yards came after Texas went up 31-6. A big reason for that deficit? Warren’s two interceptions.
Warren’s story is phenomenal. The senior was diagnosed with leukemia in 2019 while he was in high school. He spent more than four months in the hospital getting treatments and is now starting games for the defending national champions. You cannot question his desire or perseverance.
But you can question the performance of the Michigan offense over the past two weeks. The Wolverines have scored just three touchdowns and 36 offensive points over the first two games of the season. Yes, Michigan lost a lot from its offense a season ago. Given the offseason change in Ann Arbor, it was realistic to expect some early growing pains as offensive coordinator Sherrone Moore took over as the team’s head coach.
It’s hard to find offensive bright spots, however. Jim Harbaugh’s offense was predicated on play-action pass plays off a dogged run game. So far, Michigan has recorded 57 carries for 228 yards. Are teams loading up even more to stop the run knowing that McCarthy is now in the NFL? Warren averaged 4.7 yards a pass against Fresno State and only surpassed that mark against Texas after the Longhorns knew the game was out of reach.
Leonard, meanwhile, has not displayed the traits that make some draft analysts believe he’s a possible first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. He’s averaging just over five yards per pass attempt over the first two games of the season and his second interception of the game on Saturday ended up being the pivotal moment.
With Notre Dame facing a second-and-short up by one with less than six minutes to go, Leonard fired this pass across the middle into a two-high safety look.
🚨UPSET ALERT🚨
Don’t count out Northern Illinois just yet 👀
Riley Leonard’s second interception puts the Huskies in BUSINESS
pic.twitter.com/HQKbOlMyaR— Always College Football (@AlwaysCFB) September 7, 2024
Northern Illinois then drove down the field and kicked the go-ahead field goal with 31 seconds to go.
The expanded playoff isn’t out of reach for either team. Alabama made the playoff a season ago after losing in Week 2. Notre Dame has a schedule that includes just two top-25 teams the rest of the season as of Saturday and Michigan will have opportunities for big wins against USC, Oregon and Ohio State.
But the margin for error for either team is pretty much zero. We’re not counting out Notre Dame and Michigan from the postseason, but we’re a lot more pessimistic than we were at the start of the season unless the passing offenses take a huge step forward.
Here are this week’s winners and losers.
Syracuse QB Kyle McCord: The Orange took down No. 23 Georgia Tech 31-28 on Saturday thanks to a strong performance by the former Ohio State QB. McCord was 32-of-46 passing for 381 yards and four touchdowns. McCord threw his first two TDs to Trebor Pena before hitting Oronde Gadsden II for two more scores. His TD throw to Gadsden with 8:39 to go turned out to be the winning score as Syracuse ran out the clock after Tech cut the lead to three with 2:31 to go.
Army: The Black Knights had no issue with Florida Atlantic. Army won 24-7 as it ran 58 times for 405 yards. FAU was helpless to stop Army’s rushing attack and also allowed a 44-yard TD pass on Bryson Daily’s only completion of the day.
The real highlight came from backup punter Matthew Rhodes, however. Look at his wheels on this 23-yard fake punt TD.
South Carolina: The Gamecocks were dominant on defense in a 31-6 drubbing of Kentucky in the first SEC game of the season. Kentucky quarterbacks Brock Vandagriff and Gavin Wimsatt were just 6-of-17 for 44 yards as South Carolina recorded five sacks and forced two turnovers. It was a huge win for South Carolina and coach Shane Beamer as the team looks to bounce back from a disappointing 5-7 season in 2023.
Louisiana-Monroe coach Bryant Vincent: The Warhawks got a huge 32-6 win over UAB. The loss drops UAB to 3-9 against FBS opponents in former NFL coach Trent Dilfer’s time as head coach. Dilfer was hired ahead of the 2023 season after Vincent spent 2022 as the team’s interim coach when he was promoted following Bill Clark’s retirement. Instead of keeping Vincent after a 7-6 season, UAB chose Dilfer. On Saturday, Vincent got a bit of revenge.
Cincinnati: Things were looking good for the Bearcats during the third quarter of their game against Pitt. Cincy had a 27-6 lead and looked to be on the way to an easy win. Instead, Pitt scored 22 unanswered points, including 15 in the fourth quarter, to steal a 28-27 win. Pitt’s game-winning points came with 17 seconds left on a 35-yard field goal by Ben Sauls as Cincinnati’s final four possessions ended in three punts and last-ditch fumble as time expired.
Auburn: The Tigers’ offense is far from a finished product in Hugh Freeze’s second season. Cal went to Auburn and got a 21-14 win on Saturday after forcing five Auburn turnovers. The Tigers fumbled once and QB Payton Thorne threw four interceptions. His final two picks came on Auburn’s last two drives of the game after the Tigers cut the Cal lead to seven with 6:06 to go. With a schedule that includes Oklahoma, Georgia, Missouri and Alabama, a win over Cal would have been a huge step for bowl eligibility. Instead, Auburn needs to get at least three wins in the SEC to make the postseason.
Arkansas: You were so, so close, Razorbacks. Arkansas was up 21-7 on Oklahoma State in the first half before the Hogs were outscored 24-10 in the second half in a 39-31 OSU win in double overtime. OSU’s first score came on a pick-six and Arkansas fumbled twice in the second half. Those turnovers led to 10 points by the Cowboys as they slowly crept back into the game. It’s a bad loss for the Razorbacks, but there’s still some reason for optimism. Oklahoma State is a Big 12 title contender and Bobby Petrino’s offense is working. Arkansas racked up 648 yards of total offense after scoring 10 TDs in 10 possessions in Week 1.
HOUGHTON COUNTY, Mich., (WPBN/WGTU) — A Michigan State Police trooper who helped save a woman’s life during a medical emergency in August reunited with her this week, months after she survived sudden cardiac arrest at a Hancock-area campground.
Trooper Lucas Lahnala, assigned to the MSP Calumet Post, met Thursday, November 13, with Rosie Danley, the camper he helped revive in August after she collapsed without warning.
MSP said Rosie was camping with family when she went into sudden cardiac arrest and became unresponsive. Lahnala was on duty nearby and rushed to the scene, where he found Rosie’s son already attempting to help her. The trooper immediately began CPR and connected her to an AED. After several minutes of life-saving efforts, EMS arrived, took over care, and transported her to the hospital.
Although medics were able to regain her pulse, early signs pointed to a grim prognosis. But Rosie not only survived, she has since made a full recovery and is back to work as a nurse.
“I’m really happy I was able to be involved and help,” Lahnala said. “As troopers, we respond to emergencies every day, but moments like this remind us why we do what we do. Seeing Rosie healthy and smiling means everything.”
Rosie expressed her deep gratitude to everyone involved. “On behalf of myself, my husband, four kids and thirteen grandkids, I would like to thank Tpr. Lahnala for being one of my heroes,” she said. “He was a Godsend in my life on Aug. 5. God had a plan, and he is part of my miracle story.”
MSP Calumet Post Commander F/Lt. Jason Wickstrom praised Lahnala’s actions, calling them an example of the life-saving work law enforcement performs every day.
“It’s very rewarding when we can share a story that has such a positive outcome and meet the people we have helped,” he said.
The department extended its thanks to Rosie’s son, EMS crews, medical staff, and MSP dispatchers who assisted. MSP also wished Rosie and her family continued health moving forward.
Seven Michigan high school marching bands are competing this weekend at the Bands of America grand nationals competition.
The competition is held each year in Indianapolis, Ind., at Lucas Oil Stadium, home of the Indianapolis Colts.
More than 100 high school marching bands will compete Thursday and Friday in the preliminary round of competition, then the top 32 bands will move on to the semifinal round on Saturday.
Only the top 12 bands will get the chance to perform their competition shows one last time Saturday night in the finals. Members of all 12 bands that make finals will receive medals for their accomplishments. The prize for the best band in the nation is a coveted eagle-shaped trophy.
On Thursday, three Michigan bands were scheduled to take the field throughout the day, including Huron Valley’s band at 9:45 a.m., Mt. Pleasant at 4:45 p.m. and Tri County at 8:30 p.m.
Friday, four more Michigan bands will perform in preliminary competition. Those ensembles are back-to-back state champions Walled Lake at 1:15 p.m., Rockford at 3 p.m., state champion Jenison at 4:30 p.m. and Plymouth-Canton at 6 p.m.
Additionally, the Michigan State University Spartan Marching Band will be performing in exhibition at the competition at 8:45 p.m. Friday night. The Spartan Marching Band will be performing a show of popular Broadway hits.
The Michigan high school bands will be competing against marching bands from states including Texas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Kentucky, Ohio, and, for only the second time ever, Alaska.
Marching bands will be judged on their music, their marching, their visual storytelling and more. Each band has been working since the early summer to perfect their 8-12 minute show, often featuring choreography, complex themes, props, costume changes and more.
To watch a livestream of the Bands of America Grand Nationals competition, visit the event website here. It is a paid livestream, with costs depending on which day and round of competition. To watch Thursday or Friday prelims, it is $20 per day. It costs $27 to watch semifinals on Saturday and another $32 to watch finals. To watch all rounds of competition, viewers can buy a $68 package.
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Washtenaw County residents protest Michigan Medicine’s overhaul on gender-affirming care
ANN ARBOR, MI — JJ McKillop, leader of the LGBTQ+ teenage group True Hope, was willing to bear about 45-degree temperatures Wednesday in Ann Arbor to protest her alma mater.
McKillop, a parent of a transgender child and 1994 graduate of the University of Michigan, said she is “ashamed” by Michigan Medicine’s August decision to end gender-affirming care for minors.
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