The not-so-classic
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Since 1887, when a team of Michigan players first taught a group of Notre Dame students to play the game, the rivalry between the Wolverines and the Fighting Irish has evolved into one of college football's greatest.
It's made players like kicker Remy Hamilton easy to remember and - unfortunately for Michigan fans - losses like 2005 hard to forget.
And tomorrow's game at Michigan Stadium will add another historic note to the storied series. For rarely, if ever, in that 120-year span have the teams met when they were so, well, bad.
As other fans around the country cackle in delight, the teams have started their seasons 0-2 - and an embarrassing 0-2 at that. Last weekend, they lost by a combined 53 points.
Their offenses have looked flat and their defenses porous; not once in their last seven non-season-opening matchups has Michigan or Notre Dame entered the rivalry game allowing more points or scoring fewer.
And for the first team since The Associated Press poll was created, the teams will square off unranked.
Michigan running back Mike Hart tried to spice up things up by a guaranteeing a win after last week's game. But even Notre Dame coach Charlie Weis wasn't biting.
"He probably watched our games the last two weeks," Weis said at a press conference this weekend. "If I had watched our games the past two weeks, I'd probably make a guarantee myself."
But you don't even need to see the game tape to know the Irish have struggled.
Its defense has given up 68 points in two games. Its offense ranks dead last in the nation.
Michigan hasn't fared much better.
Both its offense and its defense sit at the bottom of the Big Ten. Turnovers have killed the Wolverines offense against Oregon, and their defense has failed to stop a spread offense in two straight games.
Along the way, Michigan also managed to lose in the greatest upset in college football history.
In addition, both teams will hand the ball to freshmen quarterbacks - one out of necessity, the other by choice.
With Chad Henne injured, Ryan Mallett will run the Michigan offense after a 6-for-17 performance last weekend.
Although a week of preparation will surely help, the rocket-armed freshman will need to show better touch than he did last week.
Coming off a 17-for-32 showing against Penn State, the much-hyped Jimmy Clausen will lead Notre Dame. He'll need better protection than the Notre Dame offensive line has been giving him - its 15 sacks allowed is more than any other team in the nation.
Despite the so-far subpar play, the game still has one thing going for it: It's Michigan vs. Notre Dame.
The players insist that's all that matters come Saturday.
"It's a huge game, a huge rivalry. I love playing in this game," Michigan captain Jake Long said. "Just two great storied programs going at it. It's just a lot of history. It's a lot of fun to play in."
And although Michigan coach Lloyd Carr might not have been thrilled by Hart's guarantee, it didn't stop him from making one of his own.
"I think (the series is) a great thing for college football," Carr said. "I guarantee you, it's something the players don't forget. You don't forget that game, because you know it's a special game."