Volleyball vs. Indiana Friday, 7:30 p.m. Cliff Keen Arena SPORTS Football vs. Houston Saturday, 3:30 p.m. (ESPN) Michigan Stadium ;r Page 18.: The Michigan Daily Wednesday, September 23, 1992 Cougars' offense rebounds Houston rediscovers success with run-and-shoot by Albert Lin Daily Football Writer_ Illinois coach Lou Tepper went into last week's game against Houston with a perfect mark against the run-and-shoot offense. Five times his Colorado and Illinois de- fenses had taken the field against teams using the high-powered attack, and five times they had come out on top. And the opponent was always shut down with incredible success. Tepper's record was finally blem- ished by the Cougars Saturday in the Astrodome. Houston ran up less than 400 yards of total offense but still managed a 31-13 victory. "Prior to this game, we faced the run-and-shoot in the Big Eight and gave up three points and 10 points, and in the Big Ten gave up zero and zero, and against Houston (last year) gave up 10," Tepper said. "And I think Houston was a more skilled run-and-shoot team a year ago than they are this year." Tepper's last comment says a lot about the run-and-shoot. The re- quired passing game leads to an all- or-nothing offense. Either you walk over defenders with quick touch- down strikes, or you turn the ball over and go home with a defeat. Houston's last two seasons per- fectly illustrate that matter. Cougar coach John Jenkins, previously of- fensive coordinator under Jack Pardee, had a fantastic debut in 1990. Houston finished 10-1 with an average margin of victory of nearly 20 points while quarterback David Klingler set 42 NCAA records with a team that was on NCAA probation. Expectations were high for 1991. Klingler was back, and the team was off probation. But the offense didn't click, outscoring opponents by only nine points the entire year. Jenkins' sophomore campaign ended with a 4-7 mark. Houston opened the 1992 season by squeaking out a 28-25 victory over Tulsa. Hardly impressive. So Tepper did not really know what to expect last Saturday. He said his team actually performed quite ad- mirably, and only a long touchdown pass on the last play of the game and nine points allowed on turnovers turned the game into a blowout. "If we had lost 16-7, which was the score at the time the other things occurred, I don't think people would feel as though Houston marched the ball up and down the field," Tepper said. "So even though we didn't play as well as I hoped we would, we certainly could have held them to 16 points and 360 or fewer yards very easily." So just how effective can the run- and-shoot really be? If it is on - ,. t .a ° ;;# . : _, ° , . : _ ; 7 Y . you can get a lot of yardage and a lot' of points. But it's not unstoppable. The Illini, specifically quarter- back Jason Verduzco, also faced a; other type of pressure Saturday. The, forgotten Houston defense sacked Verduzco eight times. Linebacker Ryan McCoy is considered by soffit to be the best at his position in tlke, Southwest Conference. The Cougars: usually take a Loyola Marymodh(: mentality - it doesn't matter how many points you score, as long as we score more - so this extra wrinito may be a new area of concern fb: opposing coaches. "(The Houston defense) played'u very emotional game against us, and I think any time a defense plays witlh that kind of emotion, it's gonna have a chance to perform well," Teppe: said. "But I think they will have- some trouble with physical teams that run well. We just did not protect very well. They did exert a very; good pass rush against us, and we, took a lot of losses, which probaliy ended up being our undoing as much{ as any single factor." But Michigan's offensive lin should provide ample time for iin quarterback - be it Elvis Grbac 6t Todd Collins - to throw. And thy; added athleticism in the defensive backfield should help in nickel aho, dime packages. "Quite candidly," Tepper said, "t think Michigan will do very well against Houston." The Wolverines will find out just how well Saturday. INJURY UPDATE: Michigan coach Gary Moeller received sof&O encouraging news about his injured players. Tackle Rob Doherty, insid linebacker Marcus Walker aU4 safety Pat Maloney all went througf 9 a full practice yesterday and should be close to 100 percent at game time,: Defensive tackle Chris Hutchin$Dnl and fullback Burnie Legette are ex4 pected to start Saturday. However, the reports on Grbac' and Tyrone Wheatley are question- able. Moeller lists both players' chances of playing at 50 percent. _ _ ti8FM f .._ m i Tepper and sometimes that is a big if - it can be nearly impossible to stop. In Houston's first two years using it, with Andre Ware at the helm, the Cougars' average margin of victory was 31 points. But there are still times when the quarterback can't find his receivers, or when an inability to establish a running game renders the pass nonexistent. And those times have come more often since last season. "I think the run-and-shoot has a lot of problems inside the 20 (yard line) scoring," Tepper said. "But it certainly spreads your defense out. "Is it unstoppable? No - we've stopped it five out of six times. I think it is very similar to the wish- bone offense. The wishbone is an of- fense which has great execution, and when it's performed extremely well FILE PHOTO/Daily Houston linebacker Ryan McCoy leads the Cougar defense into Saturday's game against Michigan. Yd 1 ! } v I 0 Jury convicts former Michigan State wrestling coach of rape: LANSING, Mich. (AP) - A jury found former Michigan State University wrestling coach Phillip Parker guilty Tuesday of raping a 20-year-old woman during a Valentine's Day 1991 date. The Ingham County Circuit Court jury deliberated about 13 hours Friday, Monday, and yester- day before finding Parker guilty of third-degree criminal sexual con- duct. Judge Thomas Brown set sen- tencing for Oct. 14. Parker faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison. The jurors heard two sharply different versions of what happened that evening from Parker and the woman. Both agreed that the victim, a junior college student, met Parker while she was working out at a Michigan State gym on Feb. 13, 1991. Beyond that, their stories varied greatly. She testified he called her the next day and asked for a date and they went to a Lansing nightspot where she had one drink, a Long Island Iced Tea. The woman said the drink made her woozy and she passed out in Parker's car in a hotel parking lot. She said she came to and found Parker on top of her, having sex. Parker testified the woman called him, saying she wanted to go out and while they were at the bar she made a series of sexual remarks. He said afterward, at the hotel parking lot, the woman kissed him and willingly had sex with him. Assistant Ingham County Prosecutor Linda Maloney Berryman said the victim's testimony helped the jurors make up their minds. "Two other things that were help- ful to them were the three witnesses who saw both Mr. Parker and the victim after they left the bar prior to the time of the assault, which helped establish her side of the story that she was very intoxicated from what- ever she drank over there," she said. "Then, when the defendant got up on the stand and the jury looked at his explanation for things, the fact that it didn't coincide with the testi- mony of other witnesses, plus other Hornets ink Reid to multiyear pact;Mou If you ye ever dreamed of being behind the control of an airplane, this is your chance to find out what it's really like. A Marine Corps pilot is coming to campus who can take you up for trial flights. We' re lookin g for a hea college students who have the Gtis brains and skill-as well as Is If youre cut out for it, well give you free civilian flight training, maybe even $100 a month cash while vou're in school. And someday you could be flying a Harrier, Cobra or F/A-18. CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) - J.R. Reid signed a multiyear contract ex- tension with Charlotte Monday in a deal that's expected to help the Hornets move closer to signing No. 1 draft pick Alonzo Mourning. "J.R.'s agreement to renegotiate his contract and, in the process, defer a sum of money until down the road, brings us that much closer to signing Get a taste of what life is like 1 at the top. The flight's on us. things that didn't make logical sensd: were helpful to them in making d judgment as far as credibility." Parker's attorney, John Frawley;, didn't immediately return a telex phone call seeking comment. The university reassigned Parket to off-campus duties with the athletic department after he was charged. Hid contract later expired and wasn't renewed. Parker is free on bond. rni' to sign soon Alonzo Mourning, and demonstrated J.R. as being a team player," tean president Spencer Stolpen said. ' The team did not release detail of the contract. The Gaston (N.C.) Gazette re- ported in Tuesday's editions that Mourning will sign a six-year, $21 million contract sometime this week; "It's conceivable that it could be done Wednesday and we're confie dent that it will be done in short or- der," team president Spencer Stolpen told the paper. Should Mourning sign this week, he would be only the seconqJ Hornets' first-rounder to be signed by the opening of training camp in the team's five-year existence. Previous first-round picks Larry Johnson, Kendall Gill, and Rex Chapman were holdouts. Reid wad signed just prior to camp.:* Reid, who was married lash Saturday, is coming off an injury; plagued season. F--- ii Spring into ... K I 1OKea d -- ~ COOKIES w