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Charlie Weis said he was proud the way his defense and special teams stepped up against U-M.Irish are getting nasty under Weis
Team is starting to take on a toughness that its coach has preached since arriving of campus.
An aggressive play by Notre Dame's Tom Zbikowski stopped Michigan's opening drive in the second half.Related links
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ANN ARBOR -- A preacher? It's about the last occupation for which you'd have Charlie Weis pegged.
But, in truth, a sermon was the first task on the to-do list for Notre Dame's new head coach when he was hired away from the NFL last winter.
"I've been preaching since I got here about being a tough, physical team," said Weis, who also used the word "nasty" on more than one occasion in his introductory press conference in South Bend last December.
"I hate to include the 'nasty'," Weis added. "But that is part of being a winning football team."
Just two games into his inaugural season at his alma mater, it's clear Weis has put some of the fight back in the Fighting Irish, now 2-0 after Saturday's impressive upset victory over No. 3 Michigan. The 17-10 triumph, before a partisan home crowd of 111,386 at Michigan Stadium, was Notre Dame's first in Ann Arbor since 1993 and ended the Wolverines' 16-game home winning streak -- the third-longest active streak in NCAA Division I-A.
It also was the second straight victory over a ranked opponent on the road for the Irish, though Weis was quick to point out to his players before Saturday's game that Pittsburgh -- the team they'd beaten a week ago -- also lost Friday night at Ohio.
"I guess that means your win last week wasn't very important," Weis told his players, whose performance this week surely will quiet a few critics, their coach included.
Weis's goal this season was not just to wake up the echoes at Notre Dame. He also wants to return the confidence -- the "arrogance," Weis calls it -- that fans in South Bend have seen only flashes of since Lou Holtz led the Irish to their last national championship in 1988.
"It's said that you take on your coach's attitude, and I think we're starting to do that a little bit," said Derek Landri, a senior nose guard who came up big on Michigan's last-gasp drive in the final minutes. "I don't think we're there yet -- we've got a long way to go. But we play hard, we play physical and we never give up.
"You know, we're not as big on defense as other teams like Michigan. But we're quick, we'll run to the ball and we'll play hard."
They'll hit hard, too. The Wolverines learned that firsthand Saturday, and particularly early on. Notre Dame's defense helped set the tone for Saturday's biggest surprise: a low-scoring struggle between these two rivals.
"I think the defensive line -- and you could say the front seven and even throw the safeties in there -- they were doing some hittin' out there," Weis said. "I mean, if you weren't standing on the sideline, that was a physical game. Because you could hear the hittin' going on out there."
The biggest hit might have been linebacker Corey Mays leveling Michigan tailback Mike Hart late in the first quarter, a play that would end Hart's afternoon because of an apparent hamstring injury.
Michigan only ran five plays in Notre Dame territory in the first half. They managed just 191 yards of total offense through three quarters. And the Wolverines' first three drives inside the Irish 20 on Saturday resulted in no points -- Notre Dame forced two turnovers and stopped Michigan on downs.
"I'm proud of the way the defense stepped up today," Weis said. "But the special teams were challenged with (Michigan's Steve) Breaston and I'm proud of the way they stepped up today."
"They're starting to figure it out. That's two weeks in a row now. That's a really happy locker room right now and they deserve it."
You can reach John Niyo at john.niyo@detnews.com
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