0 Friday, September 10, 1993 'IN ICE CREAM I RTTqC THE SAWNGS net Bowl at the end of the year. Collins also highlighted the schedule, and its visit to State College, as a potential stumbling block for Michigan. "I think we have a tough sched- ule, maybe one of the toughest schedules out, especially with Penn State in the conference," Collins said. "So I think it's going to take a real good effort to come forward and win the champion- sive line. "(It's the fundamentals) where they get lost a little bit," Moeller said. "Until they get those tech- niques down ... two or three inches (from proper position) can really make a big difference. And that's what we lack (the ability to follow properform). The efficiency level isn't real high right now." Saturday, the line's inexperi- ence showed. Collins hit the turf FmTI SANDWICHES 41 MICKEY'S BEER 22 OZ. 890j h 2 PEPSI LITER R 799 .. Beer... - 18 PACK CANS ". m PEPSI COLD 20 OZ. BOTTLES 2I1 Yc PA I COOLERS PINA COLADA OR MARGARITAS $3.99 SNYDER'S CHIPS 1 OZ. BAGS eiaw wsw'Tw rnimo OHPS MAKE )UR TAILGATE %RTY CENTER i90 'r-l:w 'Michigan has won the Big Ten for five years straight, and I really think it's time to move on. We've emphasized the national championship this year, more so than in previous years ... when you have the personnel we have, you have to go for it all. We want the ring, we want the diamonds.' --Alfie Burch Michigan cornerback I 4 PACK COOLER j ship this year." Of course, even a "real good effort" is difficult without a healthy team, and that's stum- bling block No. 2: injuries. Already, Michigan has suf- fered through a rash of them. Starting tailback Tyrone Wheatley, MVP of last season's Rose Bowl victory, missed time at the end of summer practice with a knee injury. Starting out- side linebacker Matt Dyson has gone from one injury to another, starting with a groin-pull in the spring and now recovering from a knee-cap bruise. Morrison has just returned from a foot injury. And in the most surprising de- velopment of August, Greg McThomas, an inside linebacker who started the Rose Bowl, quit the team out of frustration with his continuing injuries. The number of injured play- ers usually increases as the sea- son progresses. Injuries at some positions may nothave thatmuch of an impact, as Michigan is deep in many areas, including such skill positions as tailback and wide receiver. But injuries in oth- ers could have a profound effect on the team, forcing players to play unfamiliar positions or caus- ing Wolverine coach Gary Moeller to play inexperienced players. Which brings us to stumbling block No. 3: youth. It's a fact: young, inexperi- enced players at key positions are not able to produce as consis- tently as experienced ones are. Without the time to learn the position and its techniques, or to gel with other players in their unit, such inconsistency from the players is inevitable. This is par- ticularly true of linemen. Play-. ing the line is less an individual effort than it is an act of unity. This is an issue this year be- cause Michigan has only one re- turning, starter, Iet_ tackle Trezelle Jenkins, on the offen- often after throwing, and the run- ners were forced to turn the cor- ner and run wide, instead of charging through the gaping holes that typified last year's blocking. Of course, as the sea- son progresses, the players will get more experience, and their play will become more cohesive, and fundamentally-sound. Start- ing center Marc Milia stated con- fidence in this improvement. "Even through this offensive line is a question-mark (now)," Milia said before the game with the Cougars, "I can guarantee you that it won't be at the end of the season. It's not a rebuilding process: it's just a continuation of a great offensive line, and con- tinuing to carry-on the tradition we had in the past." The final obstacle Michigan will have to overcome is not one from within itself, but from the opposition. Many hold the notion that the conference is particu- larly out to get the Wolverines this year, and would be glad to see anybody elseinthe Rose Bowl. "When you're on top for so long, everybody concentrates on you and wants to take their best shot at you and knock you off," 'M'IN THE POLLS NA TIONAL A Athlon 2 Petersen's 2 Sports Illustrated 2 USA Today/CNN 2 Associated Press 3 NCAA Preview 3 Sporting News 3 Street & Smith's 3 CHA Wideout Derrick Alexander hopes to blow by his opposition again in 1993. The fifth-yea receptions with 50 and receiving yards with 740. Bring in this coupon and receive a FREE COFFEE MUG' and Coffee I Start your day with fresh hot coffee in your free Dairy Mart coffee mug. Just present this coupon at the store listed. One per customer. Expires 10/1/93. Refills 290. - --. c' Dairy Mart store #9620 615 East University Ave. Ann Arbor, MI 48104 Dyson said. "But that's something thatMichigan's always faced, and always will face. That's just tra- dition." "I guess people are tired of seeing Michigan win the champi- onship," receiver Derrick Alexander said. "Of course, no one here wants to stop the streak, but it has to happen sometime. Hopefully, it won't be this year." Beyond continuing the streak of conference championships, the Wolverines hold a higher goal: the national title. Michigan last won the national crown in 1948, and many players have expressed a desire to return to the top. And indeed, Michigan's title hopes improved last Saturday, as its victory over the Cougars elevated it to No. 2 in the USA Today/CNN coaches' poll. The Wolverines had been No. 3, be-' hind No. 1 Florida State and No. 2 Alabama. The Crimson Tide, which was mundane in beating Tulane, 31-17, slipped to third. "You always talk about the Big Ten championship, the Big Ten championship - well, we've been winning the Big Ten cham- pionship, but we've never actu- ally taken a step above that," Alexander said. "We want to win the national championship, and I think it's a very achievable goal." "It's always in the back of your mind," tailback Ricky Powers, who is co-captain with defensive tackle Buster Stanley, said. "You want to win it all." Cornerback Alfie Burch seemed to sum up the team's feel- ings toward the national title. "Michigan has won the Big Ten for five years straight, and I really think it's time to move on," he said. "We've emphasized the national championship this year, more so than in previous years ... when you have the personnel we have, you have to go for it all. We want the ring, we want the dia- monds. "I mean, Miami, they don't go out win Stat coni the nati to b Max the a talk par The don can to g cha long kno and tud doe his 1 I '7 T J PRICES EFFECTIVE THRU SEPTEMBER 26, 1993 AT PARTICIPATING STORES CloseboHome _1