Field Hockey vs. Iowa Today, 6:30 p.m. Oosterbaan Field House TheMichigan Daily SPORTS Softball NSK/Wolverine Invitation Tomorrow, 10 a.m. Mitchell Field nal Friday, October11, 1991 Page 12 'M' dominates mis-matchups _. .p " +' 4 , wr.;y1 When it comes to playing football, Blue's better KENNETH SMOLLER/Dally Heisman Trophy candidate Desmond Howard will match-up against the Spartans' Courtney Hawkins, a preseason candidate for the award. SPARTANS Continued from page 1 curate. Aftertall, Michigan is the fifth-ranked team in the country; Michigan State has yet to win a game. The Wolverines have beaten the likes of Notre Dame and Iowa; the Spartans have lost to the likes of Central Michigan and Rutgers. To put each team's first four games in perspective: Michigan wide receiver Desmond Howard has scored three times as many points (60) as the entire Spartan team. However, point spreads have never accurately measured this ri- valry. Often, being dubbed the fa- vorite in this game is more of a curse than a blessing. The last thing the Wolverines expect to play tomor- row is an 0-4-caliber team. "It's not going to be the same team you've been seeing," Anderson said. "We know that they're going to play out of their heads." The Spartans may indeed be a sleeping giant. Though they have scored only 20 points this season, the have plenty of offensive fire- power with running back Tico Duckett and wide receiver Courtney Hawkins. Much of their offensive impo- tence can be attributed to the void at quarterback,where Bret Johnsonsand Jim Miller have taken unsuccessful turns. Miller has taken over the starting job and will probably re- ceive the nod Saturday. However, redshirt frosh Mill Coleman, who took his first snaps last week against Indiana, has a lot of popular appeal. Coleman, a Michigan high school legend, would bring a different look to the State offense. While Miller and Johnson are traditional, drop- back passers, Coleman is an option- style runner. He has also been used at wide receiver, which gives the Spartans the potential for trick plays. Meanwhile, in the Spartan camp, Perles has maintained his "work hard and keep your mouth shut" at- titude. He is confident his team won't allow itself to feel over- matched. "Michigan's ranked where they should be; they're one of the top 10 teams in the country," Perles said. At the same time, the Wolverines refuse to give in to overconfidence. "They have too much talent to be taken lightly," safety David Ritter said. "A season can be made or bro- ken by this game." by Theodore Cox Daily Football Writer QUARTERBACKS: First, there was Bret Johnson. Three starts, only 171 passing yards. Then, there was Jim Miller. The Waterford native along with the rest of the Spartan bunch was shut out by Indiana last week. Michigan State coach George Perles is going to stick with Miller, but if things remain stagnant, he might switch to redshirt frosh Mill "The Thrill" Coleman. Elvis Grbac came back strong against Iowa last week after a terrible game against Florida State. Advantage: Michigan RUNNING BACKS: Overhyped Michigan State tailback Tico Duckett has yet to run for over a hundred yards. The junior still has the poten- tial to explode and return to his 1990 stature. The Wolverines already had a po- tent running attack with Ricky Pow- ers. With the sudden addition of Jesse Johnson, Michigan may score rush- ing as often as passing. Advantage: Michigan RECEIVERS: Michigan State's Courtney Hawkins is one of the best in the country. His speed gives him the ability to score at anytime. The senior's 312 receiving yards this sea- son has been one of the few offensive bright spots for Michigan State. For Michigan, there's Desmond Howard. 'Nuff said. Advantage: Michigan OFFENSIVE LINE: The Spartan line weighs an average of 300 pounds. One would think with all that bulk, the line wouldn't even have to move, and A a.'" v all Sophomore tailback Ricky Powers looks to get some help in carrying the backfield burden from redshirt frosh counterpart Jesse Johnson tomorrow against Michigan State. 5 it'd still produce. Well, the Spartans have taken a liking to the standstill approach, and as a result the offense has gone nowhere. The Wolverines average over 290 pounds, but their offense has gained 1,771 yards. Michigan has played well in the second half all year, and the main ingredient is the Wolverines' ability to wear down their opponents. Advantage: Michigan DEFENSIVE LINE: Michigan State defensive end Bill Johnson is one of the several injured players on the squad. Without the senior, it will be hard for the Spartans to bang at the Michigan offensive line for a full 60 minutes. It was a year ago that Michigan's Chris Hutchinson suffered a back injury that kept him out for the rest of the year. Michigan State won't be as lucky this time. Advantage: Michigan LINEBACKERS: Michigan won't avoid Spartan middle linebacker Chuck Bullough, but the loss of Rob Fredrickson to an injury will make things easier. Michigan's inside tandem of Er- ick Anderson and Steve Morrison covers the field better than anyone. Advantage: Michigan SECONDARY: Senior cornerback Alan Haller will present problems for Grbac, but not enough to slow down a Wolverine offense that's been averag- ing 33.3 points per game. Advantage: Michigan 'a, A. ~ ,A. r- KICKERS: Michigan had a punt blocked and couldn't convert on three field goals last week. Spartan punter Josh Butland has been averaging 41 yard a kick. The Troy native weighs 250 pounds and won't be afraid to s tackle a streaking Howard if he has to. ,.. qw Advantage: Michigan State ay 9T Women runners breeze into Ypsilanti Grddesg jt)he r .1Grigg Mage the Ca l h1ere s your choice. s a aee ypm.an eamaletrgaeo bring your picks to 420 Maynard by 5 p.m. today to have a chance at earnin something really sign ficant, a $10 gift certificate to O'Sullivan's Eatery and Pub on South University. l.Mtchigan at Michigan St. 12. Pittsburgh at Notre Dame 2.Ot)r. at Illinois 13. East Carolina at Syracuse 3.N No..hwestern at Indiana 14. Rice at Baylor 4. Iowa at Wisconsin 15. Nebraska at Okla. St. 5. Pitrdie at Minnesota 16. Auburn at Vanderbilt 6. Va Tech vs. Fla. SL.at Orlando 17. Oregon at California 7. Penn St at Miami 18. Tulane at Alabama 8. Toledo at Washington 19. Maryland at Georgia Tech 9. Tennessee at Florida . 20. Arizona at UCLA 10. Oklahoma vs. Teias at Dallas Tiebreaker U 11. Virginia at Clemson Michigan Michigan St. _ Name: Phone:. by Kimberly DeSempelaere The Michigan women's cross country team continues its near-per- fect season today at the Michigan Intercollegiates in Ypsilanti. The team has been running extremely well and has built a 3-1 record, los- ing only to No. 8 Georgetown. Senior captain Meghan Nortz will not be competing in this week- end's meet because of previous per- sonal engagements. Although Nortz has been a key member of the team this season, the bulk of the production has come from the younger runners. Junior Amy Buch- holz, redshirt sophomore Jessica Kluge, and rookies Karen Harvey and Kelly Chard have regularly fin- ished in the top eight. The Michigan runners stick together during com- petition in order to pace each other. "The team is strong overall, but there is not one star runner like we've always had in the past," Wolverine coach Sue Foster said. "They all work together as a team, and it seems to be working so far." The Wolverines have been very successful this season against other teams in the state. Michigan over- came Central Michigan in its first meet of the year and then went on to defeat Michigan State at the Michi- gan State Invitational. Last week- end, the Wolverines outran State again, 15-49, with Buchholz, Kluge, and Chard capturing the top three spots for Michigan. Today's meet should not provide much competition for the Wolver- ine runners. However, competition will become fierce at next week- end's Mini-Nationals at Penn State. This meet will test the Michigan's strength across the board. Yesterday, Foster announced her resignation as the women's cross country coach, effective Dec. 31. Foster's resignation was apparently J brought on by family commitments. In the interim, assistant coach Mike " McGuire will assume responsibil- ity for the team. There is no word on whether McGuire will fill Foster's spot as head coach. Foster will continue to assist the women's cross country and track teams as a consultant. Ton men harriers will take breather .AIL. %-,v ir im im in MW JOL AIL AIL AIL MWW AIL 1 - P-O' The Largest Selection of Michigan Sportswear Anywhere. No Books. by Bruce Inosencio The men's cross country team competes in the Michigan Intercol- legiate Championships today in Yp- silanti. The meet will not present the Wolverines with their toughest challenge because most of the in- state schools involved in the meet do not merit national attention. However, Michigan State, which jumped from No. 19 to No. 12 in the national polls, will pose a threat for the undefeated Wolverines. Although Michigan defeated its East Lansing rival earlier in the sea- son, the Wolverines could only muster a tie last weekend against the Spartans in a home meet. The neutral course will not be covered by Michigan's top runners - Matt Smith, Dan Oden, Jim Fin- layson, Joe McKown, and Shawn MacKay - who have been finishing first through fifth for the Wolver- ines throughout the season. Michi- gan coach Ron Warhurst decided to give them the day off because of the number of consecutive weekends they have run competitively. "I think we can afford to hold back our top runners," Warhurst said. "Tony Carna will run because he didn't run last weekend. "I hope this will give our better,,, runners some time to ease off. Our,, goal is to win the Big Ten Champi- onships, and we need to peak then." Michigan dropped from No. 6 to, No. 8 in the NCAA men's cross's'. country poll after its tie with the Spartans. T-SHIRT PRINTERY " QUALITY GARMENT PRINTING AT REASONABLE PRICES ONE WEEK DELIVERY ON MOST ORDERS " OUR ARTISTS WORK WITH YOU TO PRODUCE SHIRTS YOU CAN BE PROUD OF " COMPLETE LINES OF 100% COTTON & 50/50 QUALITY WEARABLES If the team can remain healthy,,2 Michigan should fare well at the,,,- Big Ten meet before moving on to-- their district competition, which boasts arguably the most competi- .- tive field in the nation. FIE CHIGAN AILY eWE FEA TURE THE HANES BEEFY - T 994-1367 1002 PONTIAC TRAIL ANN ARBOR *MINIMUM ORDER 12 SHIRTS SATURDAY MICHIGAN VS. MICHIGAN STATE ON The Hyde Park Booksellers Present the HumanitiesPLUS BOOK FAIR in the Midwest's Largest Center for Books! (A,. .ft. "4 fn.. ,(a