Now that he's longer the coach at Michigan and no longer recruiting against Notre Dame, Lloyd Carr has no problems praising the Irish and discussing the respect he has for the rivalry between the two historic programs.

The now retired Michigan coach was in South Bend on Wednesday as the guest speaker at the College Football Hall of Fame's Gridiron Legends Luncheon Series.

"Certainly I have a lot of great memories and some difficult moments here in South Bend," Carr said with a smile on his face. "But it's great to come back."

Carr coached 13 seasons at Michigan, winning five Big Ten titles and a National Championship in 1997.

He was 5-4 against the Irish in his years.

"Any player who gets an opportunity to play in that game whether it be at Michigan or Notre Dame or any guy that gets to coach in those games, when he walks out there, there's a realization of how lucky he is," Carr explained.

"And of course how exciting it is when you look across the field and that game starts and you know that there are two teams with 22 guys on the field, and on every snap, they will play their hearts out. That's something that is fun to be a part of."

Carr's final game against Notre Dame was a 38-0 thumping of the Irish last year in Ann Arbor. Carr's Wolverines had the exact same success against ND in 2003, only to see Notre Dame bounce back with a win the following year in South Bend.

"A team comes in a big favorite and then things turn around and go the other way," Carr said of what can happen in any given year between the teams. "I've been in those games."

"By in large, no team will every dominate this series ever. It is too much of a rivalry for that to happen."

Carr was 4-1 against Notre Dame at Michigan Stadium and 1-3 against the Irish at Notre Dame Stadium.

This year's matchup is in South Bend on September 13th.