Sep 16, 2007, 1:06 GMT
Ann Arbor, MI - Mike Hart ran for 187 yards and two touchdowns, as the Michigan Wolverines blanked Notre Dame, 38-0.
The defeat sent the Fighting Irish to their second 0-3 start in school history.
Freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett, making his first career start for Michigan (1-2), went 7-of-15 for 90 yards and three touchdowns.
'We played Michigan football today,' said Hart, who guaranteed a victory for Michigan following last week's disappointing outing versus Oregon. 'The defense came out and played, the special teams came out and played and the offense came out and played. When you have that, it's hard to lose.'
Notre Dame's offense was held to an abysmal 79 total yards. Through three games, the Irish have been outscored, 102-13. After allowing 31 sacks in all of last season, Notre Dame has already allowed 23 sacks in 2007.
Notre Dame head coach Charlie Weis had little explanation for the lackluster effort of the Irish.
'I'm embarrassed about our performance out there and as I always do I will take full accountability for it,' Weis said. 'I'm responsible for our team playing like that, but the bottom line is that we're really not getting good at anything and the only way we can fix it is by starting training camp, we'll be doing that tomorrow.'
The Irish fumbled six times (lost two), including five in the first quarter. The team has now lost five straight games for the first time since the 1985-86 season. Notre Dame began the 2001 season 0-3. Next weekend, the Irish welcome Michigan State to South Bend.
Facing constant pressure, Jimmy Clausen went 11-of-17 for 74 yards and an interception for an Irish (0-3) offense that has yet to score a touchdown this season. Clausen was sacked eight times, as Notre Dame finished with negative- six yards rushing.
The effort of the Michigan defense was not lost on head coach Lloyd Carr.
'Defensively, we played together and had leverage on the football,' Carr said. 'We tackled well and we had good pressure on the quarterback.'
Michigan's first points came on a 39-yard field goal by Jason Gingell with 10:53 to play in the first quarter.
At the 7:34 mark of the opening quarter, Mike Hart crossed the goal line on a two-yard run to open up a 10-0 lead for the Wolverines.
Hart's second touchdown of the game came on a three-yard run in the opening minute of the second quarter.
Three minutes later, Mallett connected with Greg Mathews for a 26-yard scoring strike to open up the flood gates for Michigan.
Mallett, making the start for Chad Henne who is nursing a lower leg injury, was excited about the opportunity to say the least.
'It was everything I dreamed of -- a win,' Mallett said. 'That's all I wanted in my first start. My team played great. That's what we want to do. We're improving right now.'
The Wolverines went into the half with a 31-0 lead, after Mallett found Adrian Arrington for a five-yard touchdown pass in the final minute of the second quarter.
Mallett's 13-yard touchdown pass to Mario Manningham at the 4:10 mark of the third quarter accounted for the only points of the second half.
© 2007 The Sports Network
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