Football
vs. Illinois
Saturday, 3:30 p~m. (ABC)
Michigan Stadium
S
'TS
Volleyball
vs. Ohio State
Friday, 7 p.m.
Cliff Keen Arena
Howard leads Iini fight
Linebacker ready to help Illinois past Blue
By MIKE RUDOLPHI
....... ... . u {X .'DAILY ILUNI SPORTS EDITOR
Big-game hunter would be one way
;.>to describe Ilinois' standout linebacker
h Dana Howard. And "big game" is ex-
actly what's in store for the Illini this
weekend as they travel to Ann Arbor to
y a: xface 13th-ranked
t ; y hMichigan.
Howard, who .
had near-career
best games
' againt the Wol-
r. verines the past
two seasons, is
{t' primed for an-
other excellent
performance. The
junior had games Howard
of 18 and 16 tack-
les the past two years against Michi-
Y ~~gan, and spearhieaded afierce effort in
last season's 22-22 tie in Ann Arbor.
F Despite the great games, Howard
<Y' clamthat Michigan is "just the same
[ J,.. 1. .7 t ,' as any other team we play." llini
c a'~;.;; defensive coordinator Denny Mar~cin
doesn't buy into that theory as much
h <. as Howard does.
"I tkhe just gets ready for them,
you know, it's just one of them
FILEPHOT games," Marcin said.
FILE HOTO Howard, who has led the team in
llinois linebacker Dana Howard will lead the Illini against the 13th-ranked Michigan Wolvenines Saturday at Michigan tackles the past two seasons, doesn't
-Stadium.
limit his monster games to Michigan.
Ohio State has also felt the wrath of
Dana with 17 in 1992 and 24 (an
Illinois record) in the Illini's 10-7 win
two years ago.
"He's an intense player -- that's
how he is," Marcin said. "He only
knows one way to play and that's play
as hard as he can. But Dana is Dana."
This year hasn't seen the big indi-
vidual numbers Howard is accus-
tomed to, but Dana is a major con-
tributor to a defensive unit that is
fourth in the nation in run defense and
sixth in the nation in total defense.
"I attribute our success to the de-
fensive line -- they've been playing
hard lately," Howard said as some of
the linemen walked by after practice.
"Hopefully, if (defensive tackle) Jeff
Hasenstab and the other guys can
keep the guards off of me, we can
keep up the pace."
From the moment he stopped onto
the field at Memorial Stadium in
Champaign-Urbana, Howard was a
dominating presence. He recorded a
team-high 147 tackles to earn first-
team All-Big Ten honors that year,
the only farst-year player to do so in
1991. Since then, he has stepped up
his level of play, often shining even as
Illinois tumbled to defeat.
The Illini are going into Saturday's
'He's an Intense player.
That's how he is. He
only knows one way to
play and that's play as
hard as he can. But
Dana Is Dana.'
-Denny Marcin
Illinois defensive
coordinator
game as prohibitive underdogs. But
Howard and the rest of the team are
going into the clash with a fresh atti-
tude -- despite the fact that Illinois
hasn't beaten Michigan since 1983,
and hasn't won in Ann Arbor since
1966.
"If we just go out and play like
we've been playing then we've got a
chance," Howard said. "They're a
team just like anybody else -- they
can be beaten on any given day, and
Saturday might be just that given day
that they get beat."
And if this Saturday's big game is
the given day for a Michigan defeat,
the big-game hunter should be in the
middle of it.
,A}rrund II Spatans are to
th mu i.ch for Iowa Q
By RAVI GOPAL
FOR THE DAILY
Before the teams take the field Saturday to
kick off another week of Big Ten action, they
,should all listen toThe FatBoys in their locker
eoms. Why, you ask? Because each and
every one of the contests looks to be a
"Wipeout!" The only difference between the
teams will be that one will eventually get
wiped out, while the other will be dancing all
over their opponent.
Iowa ("-4Big Ten, 2.4 Overall) atMichi-
gan State (1-19 3-2)
Last weekend, the Spartans nearly pulled
off their second straight upset (we won't
Eention who they upset first) against the
uckeyes in Columbus. Were it not for the
Spartans' high-qualityfield-goalkicking (Pete
Stoyanovich went two-for-six), they could be
in the driver's seat on the road to Pasadena
Wasted was a stellar performance by quarter-
back JunMiller, who threw for over 3SO yards
with no interceptions. Coach George Perles
seems to have the program on a turnaround--
hey, they beat Central Michigan this year.
The Hawkeyes seem to be heading in the
opposite direction. Off to its worst Big Ten
start in 20 years. Coach Hayden Fry's team
has scored only two touchdowns in four and
a half games. His team is coming off a 46-
point shellacking at the hands of the Fighting
Illini.
Michigan State 38, Iowa 3.
Wisconsin (3-0,6-0) at Minnesota (2-2,
3-4)
This game is the longest-running rivalry
in Division I college football - Saturday will
mark the 103rd meeting between these two
teams. To the winner goes Paul Bunyan's
Axe, which currently resides in Madison.
Plan on it staying there. Quarterback Darrell
Bevell leads this year's biggest surprise team.
Bevell left last week's contest with Purdue
with a strained leg muscle, but looks to be
back in action this week. Even with a less-
than-100 percent Bevell, Wisconsin figures
to dominate.
Minnesota finally won two in a row for the
furst time in three years with a win at North-
western last weekend. Count on the Badgers
to put an end to that streak.
Wisconsin 31, Minnesota 0.
Ohio State (3-0, 6-0) at Purdue (0-3,1-
5)
Coming into this year, Buckeye coach
John Cooper's job was in jeopardy. In five
years at Ohio State, he has yet to take his team
to the Rose Bowl, and his record vs. Michigan
is a horrendous 04-I.
This year, though, seems to be different.
The Buckeye faithful are no longer calling for
Cooper's head. Off to its best start since 1979,
Ohio State averages over 36 points per game,
while surrendering just under 14. Wide re-
ceiver Joey Galloway and tailback Raymont
Han-is provide Ohio State with a balanced
attack. Quarterback Bret Powers, Galloway,
and Harris keyed the fourth-quarter rally that
lifted the Buckeyes over Michigan State last
weekend.
If only Purdue had a defense. Ranked next
to last in the Big Ten in rushing defense and
dead last in passing defense, the Boilermaker
defensive line is like Mike Tyson's teeth -
full of large gaps that make them both look
silly. After the infamous 59-56 debaclevaant
Minnesota two weeks ago, two Purdue defen-
See BIG TEN, Page 8
DOUG~.LAS IKAN IT.IlJWly
Michigan State's Duane Goulboume hopes to help the Spartans recover from last week's loss.
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