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Late Touchdown Propels Michigan Past Notre Dame

Denard Robinson may set a record for breaking records at this rate.

Michigan’s speedy signal caller tore up another defense for the second straight week, gashing Notre Dame for 502 total yards and scoring the winning touchdown with 27 seconds left as Michigan rallied late past the Irish, 28-24.

Robinson rushed for 258 yards and passed for another 244, breaking the Big Ten record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Last week, he rushed for a Michigan quarterback record 197 yards and racked up 383 overall in the Wolverines’ 30-10 win over Connecticut.

Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist had quite a game himself, completing 13 of 25 passes for 277 yards and two touchdowns, including a 95-yard toss to Kyle Rudolph that put the Irish up 24-21 with 3:41 to play.

Robinson wouldn’t be denied, however.

Michigan got the ball back and drove 72 yards in 12 plays, eating up most of the remaining time in the game. After driving to the Notre Dame 17 yard line, Robinson threw a strike to Roy Roundtree at the two yard line that set up the winning score. On the next play, Robinson punched it in for the winner on a quarterback draw. Robinson went 5 of 6 passing for 55 yards on the drive, and rushed for an additional 17.

For those keeping track, that's every single yard on the final drive attributed to the man known as "Shoelace."

Notre Dame had one last shot with six seconds left and the ball on the Michigan 27, but Crist’s Hail Mary sailed through the back of the end zone.

The Irish looked good from the start, as Crist picked apart the Michigan defense on a 71-yard opening drive that ended with the Irish quarterback sneaking in a touchdown from inside the Michigan 1. But Crist started having trouble seeing out of his right eye, and was taken out of the game for the rest of the first half and the Irish struggled as a result.

Tommy Rees replaced Crist and promptly threw an interception to Michigan linebacker Jonas Mouton on his first attempt. Robinson then hit a wide open Roy Roundtree on the next play to knot the score at 7.

After trading punts, Stephen Hopkins scored on a one-yard touchdown run to put Michigan up 14-7. Robinson closed out his amazing first half by rushing for an 87-yard touchdown, the longest run in Notre Dame Stadium history, giving him 175 rushing yards at the break.

When Crist returned after halftime, the Irish did as well. After forcing Michigan to a three-and-out, Crist hit T.J. Jones on a 51-yard strike to cut the lead to 21-14. The Irish then forced another three-play drive from Michigan and grabbed a field goal on their ensuing drive to make it 21-17.

The Irish outscored the Wolverines 10-0 in the quarter and prevented Michigan from converting a single third down.