Time to pray, Notre Dame. Denard's waiting.

Eighteen months ago my good friend Brandon and I made a pact to travel from our respective homes at opposite ends of the country to attend a Michigan game. We settled on the contest between the Wolverines and the Fighting Irish last September at Michigan Stadium, and we chose wisely.

Michigan won a thriller, 38-34, after gutsy final drive led by then-freshman quarterback Tate Forcier. I’ve never seen the Big House in a frenzy quite like that.

The triumph was significant for Rich Rod’s bunch, which had no notable victories in his first season as the Michigan coach. It was a signature win, by all means, and it brought with it laughably premature and unwarranted national championship talk, as well as ill-conceived “Tate for Heisman” proclamations.

One year later, many Michigan fans no doubt feel similar positive feelings of promise and hope, although the quarterback they’re clamoring over dons dreads, not sun-streaked blonde hair.

Denard Robinson, not Forcier, is the new face of Michigan football. His performance in the Wolverines’ season-opening win Saturday over UConn was impressive, and he made it look effortless. The kid can play, but can he endure an entire season in the Big Ten -- against tougher and much more physical competition than he faced versus the Huskies? We shall see. (But if we see more of the same, then we can talk about that trophy that’s passed out every December -- and Denard’s chances of hoisting it.)

In the meantime, Notre Dame presents a major challenge for the young Wolverines, who will be without a few key guys after injuries suffered against Connecticut. If Denard can put up similar numbers to those ones he dropped in Week One, however, the injuries will not matter.

The Dreadlocked Wonder was wonderful, magnificent, glorious, great. There aren’t enough adjectives. I don’t know if I’m more impressed with his 197 rushing yards or his 19-for-22 day through the air. He did it all, and he was in full command every time he had the ball. He was the man. There should be no ambiguity for the remainder of the season about the team’s quarterback. Next to No. 1 on the QB depth chart there should always be a No. 16.

He will have his rough patches, and he may have them this week. Notre Dame’s defense is better now than it was a year ago in Ann Arbor, when it allowed 38 points and a-million-and-a-half yards of offense to the Wolverines. And the Irish also have a new coach in Brian Kelly, who has won wherever he has stopped. Say what you want about the guy, but he can coach, and he can win. He’ll have the Irish as ready as they can be.

(I personally think Kelly is a chop. He managed to rub Lloyd Carr the wrong way a few years back when Michigan considered him for its head job. He also left Cincinnati last season in cowardly fashion, lying to the kids who had bled in the Bearcats jerseys for him. Without that, he wouldn’t have had a shot to be Notre Dame’s guy.)

But how ready can you be for No. 16? I don’t know. Michigan still has its weak spots, but perhaps the quarterback play can trump all of the deficiencies this week and get the Wolverines off to another 2-0 start. I’d say it’s a safe bet -- even though some people in this universe of ours call Notre Dame “God’s team.”

I believe in God, but even He couldn’t tackle Denard Robinson.

You can contact Roger Garfield on Facebook or at rlouisgar@gmail.com.