Kelly backpedals on Michigan jab

By The Associated Press, USA TODAY Sports

Tuesday, Sep 3, 2013 12:18 PM

Wolverines’ head coach Brady Hoke said Irish are ‘chickening out’ of series

Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly switched his stance on the significance of the Notre Dame-Michigan football rivalry. He said it was a “great and historic rivalry” Tuesday, two days after saying he didn’t consider Michigan “one of those historic, traditional Notre Dame rivalries.” Notre Dame will play at Michigan on Saturday in the Irish’s last scheduled trip to Michigan after the school cancelled the games scheduled from 2015 to 2017.

Michael Conroy/Associated Press

SOUTH BEND, Ind. — Notre Dame coach Brian Kelly has changed his stance two days after saying he didn’t consider Michigan “one of those historic, traditional Notre Dame rivalries.”

He started his news conference Tuesday by saying he wanted to “dispense with the nonsense” and called the series against Michigan “a great and historic rivalry.”

The 13th-ranked Irish are making their last scheduled trip to Michigan on Saturday to face the 17th-ranked Wolverines, their first game since Notre Dame decided last year to cancel games scheduled for 2015-2017.

Notre Dame has said the move was necessary because it committed to play five games a season against Atlantic Coast Conference teams after joining the league while staying independent in football.

Michigan coach Brady Hoke accused the Irish of “chickening out” of the series.