Well, that certainly hurt! Notre Dame got an old-fashioned butt-whupping from the Michigan Wolverines at South Bend today, losing 47-21 and looking poor in almost every facet of their game. Even Fighting Irish head coach Charlie Weis had to admit it:

No. 11 Michigan finally put a Big Blue bruising on the second-ranked Fighting Irish in a 47-21 rout Saturday -- the most points scored against Notre Dame at home in 46 years.

"They deserve their just due," Irish coach Charlie Weis said. "I think it's important to understand that team just came and whupped us pretty good."

Indeed, they did. Chad Henne threw three touchdown passes to Mario Manningham, and Michigan intercepted Brady Quinn three times, forced him to fumble and shut down the rest of the Irish offense.

Michigan ended a two-game losing streak against the Irish and a three-game slide at Notre Dame Stadium. The win likely silenced doubters who questioned Michigan after a 7-5 season and two less-than-impressive wins to open this season.

The loss could hardly have been any more devastating. Brady Quinn misfired most of the day, tossing three interceptions and barely moving the Irish offense at all. Receivers dropped balls and the running game never got on track. Meanwhile, the Wolverines ran all over the vaunted Irish defense and rolled up 340 total yards within sight of Touchdown Jesus. Five turnovers killed any Irish hopes of a comeback.

Needless to say, the national-title hopes went down the drain, along with Quinn's contender status for the Heisman Trophy. Only the eighth time that the Irish have given up 40 or more points at home in their entire history, the result will likely push the Irish all the way out of the Top Ten ... and deservedly so.

Next week, the Irish have to go on the road to face Michigan State, which has given them no end of trouble over the years. They need to regain their composure and their A-game quickly if they expect to compete for a BCS bowl bid this year.

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