,.
Football
vs. Notre Dame
Tomorrow, 12p.m. (ABC)
Michigan Stadium
S
S
Volleyball
at North Carolina State
Tonight, 7:30 p.m.
Raleigh, N.C.
Wolverines overmatch Irish this year
By ADAM MILLER
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
Notre Dame fans will do just about
anything tohelp their beloved Irish. The
latest ploy involves a fan reportedly
planting Irish sod in the north endzone
of Michigan Stadium, supposedly in
the exactlocation thatDesmond Howard
made "The Catch" two years ago.
Will this bring "The Luck of the
Irish" to Ann Arbor? Notre Dame coach
Lou Holtz better hope so, because his
team doesn't match up well with the
Wolverines.
QUARTERBACKS
The mismatch starts here. Whom do
you pick: Michigan's Todd Collins or
NotreDame's Kevin McDougal? Well,
Collins started two games last year,
setting records in each, while
McDougal's first startwas last Saturday
against Northwestern - a 27-12 Irish
victory -andhe was amere 6-of-8, for
135 yards and no touchdowns against a
suspect Wildcat defense.
Collins, a senior with junior eligibil-
ity,gotthestartingpositionasheirtothe
graduated Elvis Grbac. The Irish had a
void to fill, too, with the departure of
Rick Mirer, but McDougal wasn't even
the first choice. Rookie Ron Powlus
was the top Irish QB coming out of
spring drills, but he broke his collar-
bone, leaving either McDougal or the
completely inexperienced Paul Failla
as the only options.
While McDougal's showing was
lackluster, Collins shined last Saturday.
He completed 19 of 29 passes, for 265
yards and three touchdowns injust over
three quarters of action.
You get the picture: Collins is hot,
McDougal is not.
*L
Advantage: Michigan
RUNNING BACKS
Again, graduation has hit the Irish
hard, as both All-American fullback
Jerome Bettis and tailback Reggie
Brooks are gone. Returning at tailback
are juniors Lee Becton, who was sec-
ond string last year, and Travis Davis, a
converted defensive back. Becton
doesn't possess great speed, running
the 40-yard-dash in 4.5 seconds, and
Davis is quick but his true potential
remains to be seen.
Contrast this with the Wolverines'
stockpile ofrunners.TyroneWheatley.
Ricky Powers. Ed Davis. All possess
theirown strengths. Wheatley, who went
over the 2,000 career yards-mark last
week, has the quickness, and the
strength. Powers, himselfhaving gained
2,269 career yards, is a Michigan
tailback in the classic mold. He hits the
seams with force. Davis is a dependable
third option.
Ray Zelars, who had two starts last
year, starts at fullback for Notre Dame.
He carried the ball 14times for87 yards
in the opener.
Che Foster returns at fullback for
the Wolverines. The redshirtsophomore
will be joined by rookie Jon Ritchie,
who made his debut against the Cou-
gars. Neither had a stellar rushing day
last week, as they combined for 16
yards, but with Michigan's tailback ar-
sepal, they can afford to concentrate on
their blocks.
Advantage: Michigan
RECEIVERS
Michigan's Mercury Hayes made
his mark last week. The sophomore
hauled in eightpasses for 105 yardsand
two touchdowns.
Senior Derrick Alexander is still
listed as day-to-day after spraining an
ankle on the game's first play last week,
butno matter. Hayeshas a few friends to
bring with him to tomorrow's party:
sophomore Amani Toomer (three
catches for 69 yards last week), redshirt
junior Walter Smith (who seems to
enjoy blocking - hard - more than
catching) andjuniorFelman Malveaux.
The shelves are also full for the Irish.
The roster includes: senior Lake
Dawson, who made the infamous catch
in South Bend three years ago; senior
Adrian Jarrell, who caught the tying
touchdown in last year's contest; senior
Clint Johnson, who is used on the
reverse; Mike Miller, a junior speed-
ster who primarily sees time on special
teams; and sophomore split end Der-
rick Mayes.
Advantage: EVEN
TIGHT END
Both teams lost their starter from last
year. For Michigan, it was Tony McGee;
for Notre Dame, it was Irv Smith.
WolverineseniorMarcBurkholder
played in all 12 games last year. He's
known for his blocks, and he sprang
Wheatley on his 99-yard kickoff return
against Houston. Rookie Pierre Coo-
per backs up Burkholder, asdoesjunior
John Jaeckin.
Oscar McBride starts for the Irish,
and he led the team in touchdown recep-
tions last year despite never starting.
Wait, that's not saying much: he only
had four. Sophomores Pete Chry-
plewicz and Leon Wallace, who's a
hefty 6-foot-3, 268 pounds, back up.
Advantage: Michigan
OFFENSIVE LINE
Michigan's linemen will be domi-
nating ... later on. But they're still de-
veloping now. Left tackle Trezelle
Jenkins is the only returning starter,
and center Marc Milia the only senior.
The rest of the line features a rotation of
inexperienced players: redshirt junior
Shawn Miller (guard), redshirt junior
Joe Marinaro (tackle), redshirt sopho-
more Mike Sullivan (tackle) and
redshirtfreshman Jon Runyan (tackle).
NotreDame'sline is somewhatmore
experienced. Left guard Aaron Taylor,
a senior, anchors the line. Sophomores
Tim Ruddy (center)andToddNorman
(right tackle) join him, as does sopho-
more Mark Zataveski (right guard).
Advantage: Notre Dame
DEFENSIVE LINE
The strength of the Irish lies here.
All four starters return from last year's
line - though the Irish can exhibit the
3-4 defense. Brian Hamilton plays left
end, and left tackle/nose guard features
All-America candidate Bryant Young.
A senior, Young had 10 solo tackles and
three assists, including two sacks last
week.
On the right side, senior Jim
Flanigan holds down the tackle post,
while junior Germaine Holden plays
end.
Michigan also features strength on
its three-man line. Co-captain Buster
Stanley starts at left tackle. A fifth-year
senior, Stanley was honorable mention
All-Big Ten last year, starting 11 of 12
games. Redshirt junior Tony
Henderson anchors the line at nose
guard, and was All-Big Ten Second
Team last year. The solid tandem of
senior redshirt sophomore Ninef
Aghakhan and Trent Zenkewicz split
time at right tackle.
Advantage: EVEN
LINEBACKERS
Two seniors, Pete Berich and An-
thony Peterson returnfor the Irish, and
they give Notre Dame speed, strength
and experience at this position. The lost
senior at the .third slot is Demetrius
DuBose, an All-American Michigan
fans will be glad not to see tomorrow.
Yet Peterson ranked second behind
DuBose in tackles last season with 75
(50 solo), and Berich had an intercep-
tion last week. Joined byfirst-year starter
and sophomore Renaldo Wynn, they
will pose a tough test for Michigan's
inexperienced offensive line.
Michigan'slinebackingcorpshasbeen
stretched thin by injury, from which the
Wolverines are only starting to recover.
Inside linebacker Steve Morrison ap-
pears to have recovered fist as he started
last week. The Butkus candidate eagerly
awaits the return of fellow nominee and
OLB Matt Dyson, whose calf has healed
sufficiently for him to see limited action.
Yet all is not lost. Rookie inside
linebacker Jarret Irons had a good
game last week, with two tackles and an
assist. The inside position is fairly well
stocked, with such players as senior
Dave Dobreff and redshirt juniors
Marcus Walkr and Bobby Powers.
The outside position needs Dyson's
return. Defensive tackle Gannon
Dudlar has filled in well-hehad three
tackles last week-and Shawn Collins
has markedly improved from last year.
Advantage: Notre Dame
DEFENSIVE SECONDARY
Word to MDougal: Michigan strong
safety Shonte Peoples is a preseason All-
American. And the senior's fighting mad
at the Fighting Irish, who stopped recmit-
ing him midway through high school.
Might he settle his score tomorrow on a
safety blitz, or with an interception (like
the one he had last week)?
Possibly. But even if he doesn't
achieve personal vengeance, Peoples'
teammates - the self-titled "Lynch
Mob" - probably will. Consider
cornerback Alfie Burch, who likes
Irish cornerback Tom Carter picks off an interception in last year's 17-17 tie while Wolverine wideout Derrick Alexander looks on.
making tackles that produce really loud
noises. Orcornerback Ty Law, asopho-
more who probably hasn't forgotten the
pass-interference call against him in
lastyear'smeeting. Orfree safety Chuck
Winters, who plays well beyond his
redshirt freshman years (six solo tack-
les to lead the team last week).
Notre Dame counters with an experi-
enced secondary with three seniors. Se-
niorfree safetyJeffBurrishad73 tackles
and five interceptions last year, and four
tackles last week. Fellow senior John
Covington plays strong safety, though he
can also play atlinebacker (as Pbeoples did
for Michigan last week).
At the corners, senior Greg Lane,
who is team captain, is solid if not
flashy. He had 57 tackles (44 solo) and
two sacks last season. Sophomore
Bobby Taylor joins Lane, playing right
cornerback.
Of course, experience isn't every-
thing. Desire and motivation count fora
lot, too, and Peoples' people seem to
have this cornered.
Advantage: Michigan
KICKING
Craig Hentrich handled both punt-
ing and placekicking for Notre Dame
for the past four seasons. Replacing him
as placekicker is senior Kevin Pen-
dergast, and senior walk-on Rob
Leonard punts. Both are unproven.
Michigan's kickers are at least
more experienced. Senior Pete
Elezovic is the primarily field goal
kicker, with redshirt junior Eric
Lovell backing up. Either Elezovic or
redshirt freshman Remy Hamilton
kicks off. Senior Chris Stapleton
punts for the Wolverines.
Advantage: Michigan
RETURN TEAMS
It's Wheatley and Hayes on kickoff
returns. Wheatley is always a threat to
take it back all the way, as he almost did
last week.
Alexander normally returns punts
forMichigan, though ToomerandHayes
will fill in until his return.
Notre Dame's return team is amish
mash of offensive and defensive spe-
cialists, as players as diverse as Miller
and Burris drop back for the Irish.
Advantage: Michigan
PREDICTION
The Michigan-Notre Dame game
traditionally goes down to the last quar
ter, and often to the last play, to decide
the winner. Not this year.
Michigan 24, Notre Dame 10
r.__._ _.
"1
SPORTING VIEWS
1
~By ANDY DE KORTE
DAILY FOOTBALL WRITER
Football fan or no, most everyone has heard of Notre Dame. The University,
abeachhead of Catholicism in America, tries to represent all that is right in higher
learning as well as in athletics.
Going back to the days of Knute Rockne, the Fighting Irish football team took
on epic proportions. "Win one for the Gipper," a statement by football great
George Gipp, became a part of American lexicon after Ronald Reagan played
Gipp's role in the 1940 film, "Knute Rockne, All-American."
That was then.
In "Under the Tarnished Dome", a new book by Don Yaeger and Douglas
Looney, theNotreDame image and current coach Lou Holtz fall underheavy fire.
The major accusations include physical and emotional abuse of athletes, players
being forced to play hurt, recommended steroid usage and lowered academic
requirements for football recruits.f
Irish troubles typical
of college football
Again, the accusations are well-documented. However, none ofthe situations
arerare or illegal. Itisjustcallous behavior. The reason it makes news is because
N.D. is supposed to be above certain behavior.
Encouraged drug abuse of anabolic steroids is the most serious charge made
in the book. NotreDame has not denied that their players have failed Notre Dame
drug tests, but the numbers in the book and the one's stated by the school's
executive vice president, Father William Beauchamp, differ. Beauchamp main-
tains thatonly five players have failed tests and none since 1990. Several lineman
tell of personal knowledge of at least 25 players who were on drugs, including
several on the 1988 national championship team.
The existence of lesser academic standards for football players is hard to prove.
Nonetheless, average SAT scores fell approximately 50 points under Holtz frum his
predecessor GerryFaust.It should also be noted that two of Holtz's first big recruits,
Tony Rice and John Foley, were Notre Dame's first Prop 48 students.Thus, they sat
out their fist season because their SAT scores were too low
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