Someone told me long ago,
There's a calm before the storm,
I know, and it's been comin' for some time.

When it's over so they say,
It'll rain a sunny day,
I know, shinin' down like water.

I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
I wanna know, have you ever seen the rain
Comin' down on a sunny day?

I don't think it would be an understatement to say that the 2006 game against Michigan was a turning point for the Irish program.  Coming for a 41-3 smoking of Penn State and a tough road victory at Georgia Tech, Notre Dame were favorites to knock off the Wolverines and roll into a climatic, end-of-season throwdown with the Trojans.  Instead, September 16^th, 2006, is a day that will live in infamy for 21^st century Irish football.  It originated the first Yakety Sax game recap and put the '06 Irish into a downward spiral that probably should have included losses to Michigan State and UCLA (and would have, if not for some last second miracles).  It also opened up a whole "quitters vs. losers" debate about the game and perhaps turned some fans on a team that didn't seem to care at times or have its head screwed on correctly at others.  Obviously the 2007 season and opener against San Diego State did little to correct this, meaning there was still something to prove in regards to this team making any sort of Leap.

Not to give too much importance to a win over a likely-to-be-.500 team that included a bunch of gift-wrapped touchdowns on offense and drive-enders on defense, but I think Irish fans may see September 13, 2008, as a turning point, much like the Michigan game two years ago put the Irish on an awful path.  It was inspiring to see the way the crowd embraced the leaders of this team, (including Brian Smith, Sergio Brown, Golden Tate), ate up the "Crank Me Up" cheer and operated at full throat the entirety of the game despite a monsoon.

via multimedia.detnews.com

I'm not predicting the Irish win out the rest of the season - or even win out the rest of the month, with a very difficult game at Michigan State this weekend - but I think Saturday's game was a solid step in the right direction.  Charlie Weis finally put his best offensive players on the field and utilized them (Grimes, Floyd, Tate and Hughes at the same time!  Consistently!) and attacked deep when the conditions allowed it and the circumstances dictated it.  The offensive line held up against a Michigan front four that will probably be the best they see before the late November trip to Troy, protecting Jimmy Clausen against a Wolverine defense that was among the best in the country at recording sacks.  Granted, there were few cleat-cut passing downs where the Winged Helmets were coming for the quarterback, but they also managed to scrap out enough yardage on the ground to move the chains a few times when the passing game was dismissed due to the lead and weather conditions.

There were obviously some problems that need to be addressed before the trip to face the Spartans (and beyond), but this is a solid step forward, even if the victory was just as much a result of Wolverine failures as Irish successes.

Well, if it rains, I don't care

Don't make no difference to me. . .

While it's not polite to bury the lede, I think perhaps the biggest thing to come out of Saturday was the fact of just how damned much it rained, accumulating 11 inches over the weekend.  It started raining Friday night on the way back from the bars, kept pouring as the gameday tailgates were being set up, cleared up around noon and stayed dry until halftime, at which point the skies opened up.  One of the gentlemen working the Stadium souvenir shop at halftime opened a separate line just to buy ponchos for cash, and I think that was as smart of an entrepreneurial move as one could make.  Things couldn't have worked out better for the Irish in regards to the weather, as it was just clear enough for them to throw long enough to get a lead, then the heavens opened up on the Wolverines as they tried to make a comeback.  Although they needed Tate and Clausen to recover their own fumbles, the Irish did a solid job of controlling the ball considering the conditions.  While the rain in Spain may fall mainly the plain, I'm pretty sure the rain in Indiana was focused on the South Bend area Saturday.

All I can say is that my life is pretty plain

I like watching the puddles gather rain. . .

 Other than Charlie Weis' knee injury, perhaps the most commonly texted comment from Saturday's game was in reference to Sam McGuffie, who lived up to every YouTube mixtape you've seen in slicing and dicing the Irish defense.  If I'm Rodriguez, there's no hesitation in who gets the lion's share of the carries for the rest of the season, because McGuffie (I can't say it without sounding like the theme song for SNL's "MacGruber") seems like a threat to take the ball the distance every time he touches it.  This may have more to do with the Irish defense than anything, but once the spread reaches its full capacities in the coming seasons, McGuffie is going to be a star.

Of course, McGuffie might not have rolled up the offense he did if the biggest problem if the defensive line for this team was a little deeper and a little bigger.  Ethan Johnson was into the mix and made some contributions, and Irish fans can only hope that the younger players can earn their way into the rotation sooner rather than later and help out up front.  While the blitzing was ineffective in generating big plays for the second week in a row, it'll be interesting to see how effective the Tenuta is when going against a more traditional offense.  San Diego State decided to throw balance to the wind and dink-and-dunk their way through the game, while Michigan's spread is rather unique among Irish opponents.  There's a chance every team takes the Aztec approach, which would be fantastic considering how well the linebackers and defensive backs are cutting off yards after catch (McGuffie excluded, obviously), but I find it unlikely.  Mark Dantonio's Javon Ringer-heavy offense is going to be a nice test on Saturday afternoon, as the Irish will be forced to stop a great running back over and over and over again in what is not forecasted to be monsoon-like conditions.  If they can force the Spartans into some third-and-mediums to longs, perhaps the blitzes will be a little more finely tuned and find their mark in Brian Hoyer.

(Or maybe somebody can steal whatever pictures John Ryan has of Weis, Brown or Tenuta that allows him to play every down despite never really affecting the game in any way, but that's whole other post.)

"Raindrops keep fallin' on my head
But that doesn't mean my eyes will soon be turnin' red
Cryin's not for me
'Cause I'm never gonna stop the rain by complainin'
Because I'm free
Nothin's worryin' me"

One issue that needs to be worked out regarding the Irish offense is the use of the tight end.  Kyle Rudolph and Will Yeatman have been rotating in and out, but it seems Weis is having some difficulty developing a rhyme or reason for their usage.  Yeatman is a considerably better blocker, but Rudolph a much bigger passing threat.  While it seems odd for a Weis offense not to utilize a tight end after guys like Anthony Fasano and John Carlson, if the position is just going to be used as an extra blocker in pass protecting (which is fine), then go with Yeatman in most downs until Rudolph gets a little more seasoned.  Maybe Rudolph just needs to catch a few easy balls to get into a rhythm, but there needs to be some sort of system established between the two players who both are capable of bringing a lot to the offense.

via www.bluegraysky.com

Before we depart from this game, we'll turn to Michigan safety Steve Brown, who isn't very good at his job but still, to his delusional credit, feels good about his team:

"We don't have our heads down because we know who the better team was," defensive back Steve Brown said, referring to Michigan. "They beat us today. It happens, but in our hearts we know we're the better team."

For those of you keeping track, there is no recorded instance in the history of Michigan football where they were not the better team, even in a loss.  It is a conspiracy composed of the Fates, the officials, Lady Luck, the Stonecutters, Jim Tressel and the Cigarette Smoking Man anytime the Wolverines fall.

*

For the rest of the week we'll turn from Michigan to their bitter Big Ten sibling, the Spartans, who appear to have a better team than their more heralded brethren this season.  For those who you missed it, Ringer went for 282 yards against a respectable Florida Atlantic squad, and unless the Irish can clean up some of the gaps in their run defense, he's going to have a similar day on Saturday.