Notre Dame got a nice boost heading into the Big Ten championship this weekend, defeating Michigan 22-0 in a wet, physical game. The Irish finish the regular season 4-1, losing only to Penn State and unable to reschedule its game against Indiana. The latter are traditionally the top two teams in the conference and have committed to the DI Elite championship in the spring. In other words, there's a berth to the DI fall playoffs ready to be won.

Flyhalf Rachael Shey gave Notre Dame an early 3-0 lead, converting a penalty from Michigan’s 22. But the scoreboard remained static for most of the first half. While both sides threatened each other’s try line, the weather hampered sustained phase play, and those finishing moves proved difficult. But the Irish were getting good go-forward from flanker Grace McGurn and No. 8 Katie Loughran, and the former turned one such line-break into a 40-meter try. Shey added the conversion for the 10-0 halftime lead.

“With only a 10-point lead at half, I told the players that they had to pick it up and finish the game strong,” Notre Dame coach Ricardo Ramirez recounted. “And they did. This game was an 80-minute battle of the elements, and the two teams played physically all day.”

The Wolverines continued to challenge the Irish defense, using center Meg Melton to pierce the line.

“She played well all game all over the field,” Ramirez praised. “She was someone we had to account for all game, and our fullback, Sophie Asah, made some key try-saving tackles.”

At the onset of the fourth quarter, the Notre Dame forwards consolidated their energies and powered down-field, creating enough momentum to stress the defense and produce an overload out wide. Shey saw the room and scored about 30 meters out, 15-0.

Notre Dame built on this momentum by focusing on ball retention, keeping the ball in hand and out of Michigan’s dangerous attackers’ possession. With 10 minutes remaining, McGurn broke through the center and finished the 15 meters in the try zone. Shey’s conversion made it 22-0.

“I was very happy the way the team pulled together and played with a lot of heart to overcome some frustrating errors,” Ramirez said. “They kept their heads and trusted in the system and each other.”

Few details regarding this weekend's Big Ten conference championship have been circulated, other than the date and location: Nov. 7-8 at Penn State. Information regarding the DI fall playoffs has yet to be released (other than date/location) but one would assume that this weekend's top finisher - behind Penn State and Indiana - would move onto the Nov. 21 fall quarterfinals.