The stakes just got raised in the annual college football war between Michigan and Notre Dame. Charlie Weis has seen to that.

Michigan played just as expected in the Wolverines' season-opening 33-17 win over Northern Illinois. In that game, the Michigan offense looked explosive with Chad Henne, Mike Hart and Jason Avant all making big plays throughout. That was the expectation prior to kickoff.

The defense caused more than a few headaches for head coach Lloyd Carr. While the unit did come up with five takeaways, the Wolverines also surrendered 411 yards to Northern Illinois, including a 76-yard TD run by Garrett Wolfe in the second quarter.

Notre Dame exploded for 42 points and 502 yards in its season-opening win over Pitt and Carr knows the Michigan defense has to step up or they could find themselves losing to the Fighting Irish for the second straight year.

"Defensively, I'm very, very disappointed in the way we played, particularly in the front seven," Carr told the Detroit Free Press. "We're just not where we need to be. We need to play harder, and we need to play more physical, and that is our intent. So there's going to be some changes in the lineup because we're not going to sit and watch that type of effort."

Those changes include David Harris moving to the starting ILB position in place of Scott McClintock. Senior NT Gabe Watson started against Northern Illinois, but he could be replaced by freshman Will Johnson against Notre Dame. The official depth chart does not list a starter, stating merely that Johnson or Watson will line up with the first team against Notre Dame.

Michigan remains confident that it will improve defensively and that the team's strength at the point of attack will take hold.

"I still believe that a lot of defenses beat themselves," defensive lineman Pat Massey said. "There are definitely some big offensive numbers being put up, but I still believe that a good defense should be able to stop a good offense."

If Michigan does have a good defense, it will get a chance to show that against Weis, QB Brady Quinn and the rest of the Notre Dame offense this week.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: This is potentially the best unit in the Big Ten. The Wolverines got off to a brilliant start in the first half against Northern Illinois as RB Mike Hart and QB Chad Henne were dominant. There appears to be even more to Hart's game as a sophomore than he showed as a freshman because he now appears to be a very good receiver. WR Steve Breaston brings an explosive quality to the passing game.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: If the Wolverines don't show significant improvement this week, they could get embarrassed by Notre Dame. The Irish lit up Pitt in Charlie Weis' first game as head coach, and he has the films of Northern Illinois having no trouble moving the ball against Michigan. Lloyd Carr has made a couple of changes in the lineup and could make a few more moves before kickoff.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "We need to play harder and we need to play more physical, and that is our intent." -- Michigan head coach Lloyd Carr on the play of his team's defense in the first game of the season against Northern Illinois.

THIS WEEK'S GAME: vs. Notre Dame, Sept. 10 -- This will be a day for the defense to step up. Notre Dame has an explosive offensive team and has a passing game that can exploit the Michigan secondary. Northern Illinois chose to keep the ball on the ground against Michigan, but Notre Dame QB Brady Quinn spread the ball around to seven receivers in the win over Pitt. Michigan needs to show significant improvement on the defensive side after giving up 411 yards to Northern Illinois.

PLAYERS TO WATCH: WR Jason Avant -- The Wolverines are looking for a go-to wide receiver with Braylon Edwards off to the NFL and Avant had a great day vs. Northern Illinois when he caught 9 passes for 127 yards with a TD. Avant has great moves, very dependable hands and will fight to make the catch.

S Bradent Engelmon -- He was in the right place at the right time against Northern Illinois with five tackles and two fumble recoveries.

QB Chad Henne -- Big, strong and possessing a quick release, Henne completed 20-of-31 passes for 227 yards with 2 TD passes. He should be able to take advantage of a Notre Dame secondary that may not be ready to stop receivers like Jason Avant and Steve Breaston.

RB Mike Hart -- In a conference that has a number of great running backs, Hart may be as good as any. He rushed for 1,455 yards last year and had three games with 200 yards or more.

P Ross Ryan -- Nothing remarkable in the opener about his punting -- he had one punt for 41 yards. However, 7-of-9 kickoffs went for touchbacks and that's something that Lloyd Carr will depend on as the season moves along.

ROSTER REPORT: Linebacker Tim Jamison (shoulder) is questionable against Notre Dame. Wide receiver Adrian Arrington (ankle) and offensive lineman Jake Long (ankle) are sidelined indefinitely. Offensive lineman Grant DeBenedictis (knee) is expected to miss the entire season.