The image should still be fresh in your mind — a favored Notre Dame team, clinging to a lead in the game’s final minute. Michigan’s highly touted quarterback leads the Wolverines down the field, scoring the winning touchdown with seconds left on the clock.

No, I’m not talking about Saturday’s 28-24 victory. Let’s flash back to the 2009 version — the 38-34 win, true freshman Tate Forcier’s coming-out party.

Sure feels eerily similar, huh?

In many ways — the 2-0 start, a smiling Rich Rodriguez, the premature Heisman talk — it feels just like this time last season.

But in more important ways, this year is totally different.

First, the Wolverines’ big win over rival Notre Dame this year was on the road. Saying South Bend is an easy place to play is like saying Coral Reefs is the University’s most difficult science course.

On Saturday, led by sophomore quarterback Denard Robinson’s 502 total yards, Michigan gave Rodriguez just his second win outside of Ann Arbor in his two-plus years running the program.

Already, the Wolverines have won more games on the road than they did all of last year, and that bodes well for the rest of the season. Four road games remain on the schedule: Indiana, Penn State, Purdue and Ohio State. After Michigan's clutch performance in hostile Irish territory, none of those remaining road games — even against the Buckeyes — should be written off as automatic losses anymore.

Second, Michigan’s most impressive statistic of the season: zero turnovers.

By this point last year, Wolverine quarterbacks had thrown two interceptions, and Michigan was on its way to losing 13 fumbles and throwing 15 interceptions on the season. Four of those interceptions belonged to Robinson — out of his 18 attempted passes all of last year.

Yet here we sit, eight quarters into the 2010 season, and Robinson’s passing stats are breathtaking: 43-of-62 for 430 yards. And no interceptions.

Of course, it’s unlikely that trend keeps up all season (I wouldn't put my money on it), but it’s an impressive start. Not only has Robinson’s passing gotten crisper, it’s gotten more accurate. Opponents can’t expect Michigan to make mistakes like they did before.

That brings me to the final difference: The Wolverines know how their bright 4-0 start last season fizzled into a disappointing 5-7 final record. They’ve been 2-0 before. They’ve been ranked. They know how to not let last year happen again.

Part of that is making sure distractions like media attention and hype are kept at a distance.

“Probably, if you asked half the players on the team, they wouldn’t even know that we’re ranked right now,” senior cornerback James Rogers said. “We’re just trying to stay out of the newspapers and stuff like that and don’t even worry about it.”

The players don’t seem concerned about attention these days, but there remains a sense of urgency around this program. Rodriguez knows winning erases complaints, and the hot seat he started the season in has cooled considerably with the 2-0 start. But nobody — particularly Rodriguez — wants to see the team collapse again.

This offseason, the Wolverines focused on learning the playbook, gaining experience — all the standard things. But they’ve proven they’re more than talk. Robinson has developed chemistry with his wide receivers, and the offensive and defensive lines have gotten stronger.

Those are just examples of the team’s growth. Each step of that process helps distance this squad from last year’s.

“We’re getting better as people can see,” senior defensive tackle Greg Banks said. “We can see it in ourselves a lot more than usual. Not to say that we weren’t believing in ourselves (last year), it’s just that we’re starting to find our identity as a team now.”

And that identity — untied shoelaces and all — just feels really different from last year’s, which could make the rest of this season a whole lot more enjoyable than the last for Michigan fans.

--Auerbach can be reached at naauer@umich.edu