Fortuna Files: Notre Dame is playing its best ball at the best time
And Jeremiyah Love is making a very strong Heisman Trophy case
Leading this column with Notre Dame and Michigan? Forgive me for the brand bias. (And blame both for playing well on Saturday.)
1. Is anyone playing better football than Notre Dame these last three weeks? The Irish have beaten Navy, Pitt and Syracuse by a combined score of 156-32. Jeremiyah Love is making a strong Heisman push, rushing for four touchdowns of at least 45 yards during this stretch. His stat sheet from Saturday’s 70-7 win over Syracuse was out of a videogame: eight carries, 171 yards, 3 TDs. It’s hard to make a Heisman case in a 63-point win, but Love managed to do just that. Hell, his team was up 21-0 before it even took an offensive snap, and it was up 42-0 one play into the second quarter. This team is more dangerous now than it was at this time a year ago, and last year’s team made it all the way to the national championship game. It would take some creative seeding from the committee to engineer a rematch with Ohio State in the title game, but who wouldn’t sign up for a 1 vs. 8 quarterfinal matchup between the two at the Rose Bowl?
2. Michigan sure picked a good time to play its best football, huh? I didn’t exactly have the Wolverines on upset alert at Maryland, but I did have the Terps at +14.5 as my best bet of the week. (Hey, can’t win ‘em all.) Whereas Ohio State seemingly used its game against Rutgers on Saturday as a tune-up, Michigan stomped out Maryland, 45-20, with relative ease. It was the Wolverines’ first ATS road win of the season. Much more importantly, it was by far their best offensive performance in conference play. The 45 points were a season-high in Big Ten games. And although the 443 yards were less than last week’s 496 at Northwestern, last week’s output featured five turnovers to this week’s zero. Bryce Underwood had two much-needed TD passes and got the offense into a nice rhythm. It seems hard to believe that these guys will beat the Buckeyes, but we are all guilty of saying that (and being wrong) before. Buckle up for next week. And for the Playoff fallout if Michigan pulls off the upset again.
3. Maryland, we must remind you, is now 9-36 in regular-season November and December games since joining the Big Ten in 2014. The Terps close out their season next week against Michigan State at Ford Field. Somebody has to win.