Irish jolt Michigan, get hope

The 28-20 triumph gave Notre Dame renewed hope for a turnaround.
SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) -- Notre Dame found a familiar way to make its problems go away -- beat Michigan.
"Anytime you knock off a top-10 team it is a big win. Our guys did something significant, but it was still one win," coach Tyrone Willingham said. "We can't get ahead of ourselves. Tomorrow we have to start all over."
Using the ingredients that vaulted the Fighting Irish to wins in Willingham's first eight games two years ago, Notre Dame used a stingy defense, an opportunistic offense and a key special teams play to beat Michigan 28-20 on Saturday.
Willingham and the Irish have been the target for much criticism while losing 10 of 15 since that 8-0 start in 2002. Now, there's renewed hope in South Bend for a turnaround after a third straight win over Michigan in South Bend.
The difference this time was an unexpected offensive standout for the Irish.
Walker sparkles
Freshman Darius Walker, who didn't even play a week ago in a loss to Brigham Young, ran for 115 yards on 31 carries and two fourth-quarter touchdowns. He is the first Notre Dame freshman to rush for more than 100 yards since Julius Jones had 146 yards against Navy in 1999.
"I didn't even know who that was running the ball," cornerback Marlin Jackson said. "He's a good player and he had a good game."
Notre Dame (1-1) earned its first win over a top-10 team since beating fifth-ranked Michigan 25-23 two years ago. Since that game, the Irish were 0-4 against top-10 teams, losing by a combined 164-27 -- including the 38-0 loss to Michigan last season.
The Wolverines (1-1) lost their opening road game for a fifth straight year -- again doing serious early damage to their national championship aspirations.
"I think if you check the teams we played, we played pretty good teams," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said.
Losses
The Wolverines have lost twice to Notre Dame and at Oregon, Washington and UCLA during that span.
The biggest surprise, though, was Walker and the Notre Dame running game, which produced just 11 yards in its opener.
Walker ran for 61 yards on 14 carries in the fourth quarter as Notre Dame took control.
"Basically, I was just worried about doing my job to the best of my ability and the best that I could," Walker said. "I just tried to block everything else out."
The Irish were trailing 12-7 late in the third quarter when Wolverines freshman Chad Henne threw high to Braylon Edwards. The ball bounced high off Edwards' hands and cornerback Dwight Ellick intercepted it at the Michigan 29. Brady Quinn completed a pair of passes to Maurice Stovall for 19 yards, the second pass to the 6-yard line. Walker ran around right end untouched for the TD to give the Irish a 14-12 lead.
Blocked punt
On Michigan's next possession, the Wolverines went three-and-out. On the punt, Jerome Collins broke up the middle and Chase Anastasio came in around the right end and they combined to block the punt. Corey Mays recovered the ball on the Michigan 5. Walker scored on the next play, this time going untouched around left end.
"That really changed the momentum of the game and got the fans back into the game," Carr said. "I thought it gave Notre Dame a lot of confidence."
The Irish pulled away in the fourth quarter when Rashon Powers-Neal caught a play-action pass from Quinn for an 8-yard touchdown to make it 28-12.
The Wolverines closed to 28-20 with 2:27 left on a 25-yard TD pass from Henne to Steve Breaston. Henne and Breaston then connected for a two-point play. But Notre Dame clinched the win when Stovall recovered the onside kick.
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