Quarterback:
Carlyle Holiday looked much better this week, but he still has a ways to go. He completed 8 of 17 passes for 154 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. The INT was inexcusable. He locked onto his receiver (Battle) and threw it right into the DB's hands who then returned it for a touchdown. That is one of Holiday's biggest problems, he locks onto a receiver and the DB's get good jumps on the ball. All of his short throws are also short and behind the receiver. He had Jared Clark for a first down in the first half, but threw it behind him and Clark couldn't keep his balance and it was then fourth down. The West Coast offense relies on the WRs to run after the catch and Holiday needs to do a better job at getting the ball in front of them where they can make a play. His deep passes looked good today though. He misfired on one to Jenkins down the middle, but connected with him twice in a row later in the game that set up Grant's second TD. Overall he played better, but he's got to cut down on the turnovers (1 int and 1 fumble). In his defense, he took a beating ALL game, ND needs to do a better job picking up the blitz and Holiday needs to be a better job reading the blitz and hitting his hot receiver.
Grade: C+

Runningbacks:
If Ryan Grant hadn't fumbled the ball away at the 1 yard line, most of his critics from the first two weeks would have gone away, but that fumble will still have enough people down on him. He showed this week however that he can be a big time back. He is only a sophomore and he put up 138 yards against Michigan. Everyone was ready to give up on him because he wasn't putting up huge numbers. He hit the holes better today and broke more tackles today than the first two games combined. He also improved on his blocking this week and picked up a couple blitzers. This week he was given the bulk of the carries and showed what he can do as the feature back. Rashon Powers-Neal had his least productive game but was slowed with injury. I admit I was on the Powers-Neal bandwagon after the first two games, but Grant was a prime time player today. If he stops the fumbling, he will have a fine season and should continue to get better as ND enters the softer part of the schedule coming up.
Grade: B+

Wide Receivers:
Maurice Stovall made a nice play on the 2nd play from scrimmage with a 41 yard reception. Omar Jenkins lead the team in receptions for the 2nd time in 3 games with three catches for 83 yards. Arnaz Battle caught a pass on the first drive, but had none after that - he needs the ball! Stovall looked good on the catch, he was WIDE open and Holiday hit him in stride. Rhema McKnight made a bad play with the block from behind on one of Grant's long runs, but other than that the receivers played well. Jenkins is a legit deep threat as is Stovall. I want to see some jump balls thrown to Stovall though. He is 6-5, who is going to out jump him?
Grade: B

Offensive Line:
Despite giving up 6 sacks, the offensive line played rather well. The sacks were the result of delayed blitzes and Michigan simply having more rushers than Notre Dame had blockers. The coaching staff needs to fix that. The Michigan defensive line wasn't doing too much, it was the linebackers and d-backs that were getting to Holiday. The backs did a better job blocking, but that can still be improved on. The line opened some nice holes for Grant who took advantage of them. The line is getting better each week and could be a force by the end of the season. Picking up the blitz is definitely something the staff needs to work on though.
Grade: B

Defensive Line:
Cedric Hilliard was a disruptive force this week after not being as much of a factor last week. He blocked a field goal and hit Navarre's arm on the final INT. The line also clogged the running lanes up nicely and help Michigan to 91 yards on 26 carries (3.5 ypc). Justin Tuck was also a force today. He didn't register a sack, but he was getting in at Navarre and forcing him to throw before he wanted to. He also gave the Irish 2 points when he was held in the end zone after beating his blocker. Tuck will be a damn good player by the end of the season. There was not much of a pass rush today other than Tuck and the Irish register no sacks.
Grade: B

Linebackers:
Courtney Watson was back and lead the team in tackles with 9 and also recovered a fumble. Mike Goolsby was around the ball a lot, but wasn't as impressive as he has been the last two weeks. Derek Curry played well on defense and special teams. Brandon Hoyte didn't see much action with Watson back which is a shame since he is a hell of a player and needs to be on the field more. Overall this group played well, didn't stand out, but didn't play bad either. Look for Watson to get better next week with a game under his belt since this was his first of the season and had been ill for the first two weeks.
Grade: B

Secondary:
Vontez Duff made a mental error when he took himself off the field and didn't let it known which resulted in 10 players on the field for ND on Michigan's last TD, but other than that he and is secondary counter parts played well again. Shane Walton got beat deep once, but the ball was over thrown so crisis was averted. Duff got beat once deep as well, but the defense held Michigan to a FG in that instance. Walton, Duff., and Sapp each forced a fumble and Walton, Duff, and Earl each recovered a fumble. Walton came up with 2 huge plays down the stretch when he blocked the Michigan 2pt conversion attempt and then made the game saving pick. He also very smartly slide instead of trying to return it for a TD. You could tell he looked to see if he had a clear path to the end zone and when he realized he didn't, he slid and preserved the win. The entire secondary is making strong cases for All American status as all four of the starters have been superb.
Grade: A

Special Teams:
Nick Setta had a field goal blocked, but all kicked the game winning 44 yard field goal in the fourth quarter. His kickoffs were good, booming two out of the end zone and placing the others where he wanted them. Joey Hildbold was strong punting the ball, kicking 3 of his 6 punts inside the twenty and averaging 43.0 yards a punt on the day. Kick coverage was decent, no real big returns, but there were a couple better than average returns. Battle needs to protect the ball better on returns because his fumble was very costly in the 2nd half. Duff and Walton both looked good returning punts. They don't go down to the first tackler ever. Duff mad 5 guys miss him on one of his returns so instead of ND getting the ball at the 10 they got it at the 22. And what was with Shelton taking the kick off away from Walton? He ended up not getting anywhere and the way Walton is playing, let the man touch the ball as often as possible.
Grade: C

Coaching:
Play calling was much better this week, but still was vanilla at times. Some people have been very critical of the play calling on the last drive, but I thought it was the right call. I loved the bootleg call on 3rd down, it looked like Holiday had more than enough room to get the first, but Michigan's closing speed was great on that play. If Holiday gets passed 1 guy he's got the first down and ND runs out the clock. It was also important to make Michigan use all of its time-outs. What good would a pass on 3rd down been had it fallen incomplete? Then Michigan gets the ball back with a TO remaining and can work the middle more. Deidrick sent his offense out on the field and gave them 3 plays to gain 10 yards against Michigan with Michigan knowing what they were going to run. A great team will go out there and gain the 10 yards, Notre Dame is quite there yet, but they definitely are getting there. The 10 men on the field was inexcusable and the coaches fault (which Willingham admitted), they need to make sure they have enough men on the field. It amazed me that NO ONE on Notre Dame noticed that.
Grade: B-

Overall:
This was a huge win for Notre Dame that could have been a blowout if they eliminated the mental mistakes (penalties, fumbles, 10 men on the field, etc). This is a very dangerous team since they are 3-0 and can still get a lot better on offense. Defensively, this team is there. Their defense is one of the best in the country, if not the best. They have the corners to blitz more though and need to start doing that. The offense is getting better and should keep getting better each week. This team has a VERY real chance at being 7-0 heading into Florida State. Next up is Michigan State however, and they need to focus all their attention on the Spartans. Notre Dame owes Michigan State badly. The Spartans have beaten the Irish five straight time while Davie was here. That streak needs to end next Saturday. The game will have special meaning since Ty is a MSU alum. I don't think he will allow his team to let down next week after this win especially since its Michigan State. He should show the team the '98 game tape first thing this week to show them what can happen when you get over confident after a big win.
Grade: B