Saturday’s now-famous Greg Mathews winning touchdown catch surprised even the other Michigan receiver on the field.

“Actually, in practice, I caught the ball on the Y side of the field, because (quarterback Tate Forcier) has more room to throw it,” sophomore wideout Darryl Stonum said. “And I don’t know if he saw something, like a blitz on that side, but he threw it to Greg.”

On second-and-goal, two Notre Dame linebackers blitzed, giving Forcier little time to get rid of the ball. Forcier reacted by throwing the ball to Mathews, who made the catch and immediately ran along the back of the end zone in celebration. The play, in which Mathews ran a slant and then broke it outside, was one of three goal-line routes that Michigan coach Rich Rodriguez said the team practices every day.

“I just felt numb,” Mathews said. “I didn’t know what to do. I just felt numb and then the referee reminded me to be smart. It made me think of Coach Rod saying, 'Hand the ball to the referee and celebrate with your teammates,' and that’s what I did.”

It wasn’t Mathews’ only unconventional catch of the game. On Michigan’s first touchdown drive, Mathews leaped over a Notre Dame defender to grab a Forcier pass and give the Wolverines a first down. He finished as Michigan's top receiver with 68 yards on five catches.

Cissoko struggles: The lack of depth in the Wolverine secondary has been one of the team’s biggest question marks early this season, and sophomore cornerback Boubacar Cissoko’s performance Saturday did little to instill confidence in the unit.

Cissoko covered both of Notre Dame’s star receivers, Golden Tate and Michael Floyd, but couldn’t prevent two of their touchdowns. The sophomore, listed at 5-foot-9 and 177 pounds on the roster, looked outmatched from the start against the 5-foot-11, 195-pound Tate and especially against the 6-foot-3, 220-pound Floyd. The two receivers finished with a combined 246 receiving yards.

On Notre Dame’s first touchdown drive, in the second quarter with Michigan up 14-3, Cissoko was nowhere near Floyd as the receiver caught a 37-yard pass to put Notre Dame in field-goal range. A few plays later, Cissoko had man-to-man coverage on Tate but gave too much of a cushion, leaving Tate open to catch the four-yard touchdown pass.

“It wasn't a point that we lost confidence,” fellow cornerback Donovan Warren said. “Just playing corner, you're going to have amnesia. (You have) to get the next play, just play on the next play, and that's what we did.”

Cissoko ran into trouble again midway through the fourth quarter. With Notre Dame down by 11 but driving deep in Michigan territory, quarterback Jimmy Clausen threw the ball to Tate near the end zone. Cissoko, who was covering Tate, tried to make a play on the ball but missed, laying still on the ground as the receiver easily ran into the end zone.

“Hey, he’s a sophomore – they’re trying to test him,” senior defensive end Brandon Graham said. “He gonna learn as it goes. And he’s gonna look at film, he’s gonna make his mistakes and then he’s gonna capitalize on them. Going against two good receivers, congratulations to Boubacar for sticking through it.”

Walk-on fills in: What could be a better plug for Michigan’s upcoming open football tryouts than watching one of the walk-ons shine on a national stage?

Walk-on safety Jordan Kovacs wasn’t even listed on Saturday’s depth chart behind starter Mike Williams and true freshman Vladimir Emilien. But after Williams had to be helped off the field with an injury during the third quarter, Kovacs entered the game and registered three tackles, two solo and one assisted.

“When he came up on the field, he wasn't scared at all, actually," strong safety Troy Woolfolk said. "I was like expecting him to be all wide-eyed, but he was ready to get down to business and execute the plays. He's nice, a little shy, but he's not timid. … Once he gets on the field, he's a mean, tackling machine.”

Kovacs is a second generation Wolverine walk-on – his father, Louis, played for Michigan as a defensive back and earned a varsity letter in 1982. The younger Kovacs originally tried out for the team in September 2008 and was called back for further evaluation, but was not allowed to continue with the tryout process after the Michigan coaches found out about a previous knee surgery. In January 2009, Kovacs tried out again and made the fall roster.