10 - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 28,1993
Pair of groundhogs lead Badgers.
Moss and Fletcher form one of Big Ten's best backfields
By SEAN SCALLON
WISCONSIN HERALD BADGER
Put yourself in the shoes of a col-
lege coach for a minute. You have a
deep and talented group of running
backs. You have two particular players
who are roughly equal in terms of
athleticism and ability, yet both are
tailbacks. Since they both cannot be on
the field at the same time, how do you
try and get the ball to both of them as
many times as you can during the course
of a game?
Wisconsin coach Barry Alvarez,
offensive coordinator Brad Childress
and running back coach Jim Hueber
dealt with this question when they
approached preseason camp in Au-
gust.
"When we went into camp we
wanted to make sure we came out with
a healthy backfield," Hueber said.
"As we went through camp, Coach
Alvarez, Coach Childress and myself
sat down and made a decision that we
were going to keep a fresh back on the
field or a 'hot' back, and what's hap-
pened is both Terrell and Brent have
gotten hot, so we've rotated them in
and out of the game."
That rotation system has helped
junior tailbacks Brent Moss and Terrell
Fletcher become one of the best back-
field tandems in the Big Ten, and the
only questions that remain are for the
opposing defenses that try to stop them.
Hueber noted some ofthe positives
thatMoss andFletcherhave brought to
the Badgers' offense.
"They're a good one-two punch,"
Hueber said. "They're the same type
running backs that are coming off the
bench into a game. Both have great
vision and a great desire to succeed."
Thatdesire to succeed Huebermen-
tions has helped the two put up some
impressive numbers so far this season.
Moss leads the Big Ten in rushing with
170 attempts for 951 yards. He aver-
ages 5.6 yards percarryand 135.9 yards
per game and he has scored five touch-
downs. These stats also make him the
second-leading rusher in the nation.
Fletcher averages five yards per carry
and77.9 yardspergame with twotouch-
downs to his credit.
Their combined efforts have put
Wisconsin second in the Big Ten be-
hind Penn State in rushing yardage
withover245 yardspergame. That'sa
far cry from the days when both Moss
and Fletcher were freshmen and the
Badgers finished last in the conference
in rushing.
One of the main reasons for both
Moss and Fletcher's exceptional play
this year is their improvement in what
was considered the weaker partof each
of their games.
Fletcher was seen asa slashing kind
of running back with good quickness
and cutting ability but lacked power.
Moss was seen as a bruising back that
could blast his way through an oppos-
ing defense, but lacked open-field
speed.
But in the Badgers' win over Indi-
ana, both tailbacks made spectacular
runs that defied both their previous
stereotypes. On the Badgers' first of-
fensive series, Moss flew past a Hoo-
sier defense for a56-yard run, a career
best, which set up his one-yard touch-
down plunge.
"I was pretty fast in high school,"
Moss said. "I went to state two years
in a row in track, but I became a little
bit overweight since I came here. To
get my speed back over the summer I
did a lot of the same sprinter drills that
they do in track."
Fletcher scored Wisconsin's sec-
ond touchdown against Indiana witha0
57-yard run, his career best, that had
him breaking tackles and bouncing off
of Indiana defender along the way.
Like Moss, Fletcher said that this show
of strength was the result of hard
offseason work.
"(Strength) Coach (John) Dettmann
grabbed Lee DeRamus and myself and
gave us real strenuous leg workouts,"
Fletcher said. "Wedidalotofjumping,g
squatting, we worked on weight ma-
chines and the whole team did a lot of
resistance running during the summer."
It's been a long road for'both Moss
and Fletcher since they became Bad-
gers.
Moss came in with Alvarez's first
recruiting class in 1990, but had to sit
out that year because of Proposition 48.
His first yearwith the Badgers in 1991
was hardly eye-catching -he had 21*
yards on61carries withonelTD-but
thatdidn't shake his confidence.
"I always knew I could make an
impactbutI neverreallyhad thechance
until now," Moss said. "I've told
coaches the more carries Iget the better
I'll play, and they've put their trust in
me. I've shown them what I can do."
At the tailback spot, Moss led the
team in rushing last year with 739
yards on 165 carries and scored nine
touchdowns. With his year ofeligibil-
ity restored afteran appeal to the NCAA
during the off-season, the junior has
picked up where he left off.
.~ o R ~IRMAT IO
Wisconsin running back Brent Moss, the leading rusher in the Big Ten, is part of one of the country's best running
back combinations. Moss splits time with the speedy Terrell Fletcher, the Big Ten's seventh-leading runner.
By SCOTT BURTON
DAILY SPORTS WRITER
I never thought, as a lifetime Michigan football fan,
that I would ever have to say this. But here it goes (gulp)
... Ohio State has a better football team than Michigan.
Oh, how it hurts to say that.Oh how Ihate Ohio State!
But now that Michigan is now seemingly headed to
the Weedwhacker Bowl (maybe Syracuse could join
them and make it a monumental battle between the worst-
coached underachievers in Division I football) and the
Buckeyes have roses in their hands, I can't deny it any
longer.
Anyway, this is going to be a crucial weekend in
determining what Big Ten team goes to the Rose Bowl
(hey, I was getting bored of Michigan going to the same
bowl game every year). Here's a breakdown of what's
going to take shape this weekend in the Big Ten.
Purdue (0-4 Big Ten, 1-6 overall) at Iowa (0-5,2-5)
This game is the big one this weekend, folks. It's got
title implications all over it. Like the title of "worst team
in the conference." Or "the team thatcan'twaitmore until
basketball season starts."
But seriously (actually, who wants to take this game
seriously?), if the Hawkeyes can't win this barnburner at
home, Hayden Fry - legend or no legend - will be
Hayden Fried.
Iowa 75, Purdue 62 (I told you they can't wait until
basketball starts).
Penn State (5-1, 2-1) at Ohio State (4-0, 7-0)
At the beginning of the football season, Buckeyes
coach John Cooper was supposed to be the incompetent
one. But now, as the chant "No Mo, bring back Bo"
haunts my dreams, I can only acknowledge the fine team
Cooper has assembled. They almost have it all: a bal-
anced running attack, a solid defense, and yes, heady
It's Ohio State's
t .urn for RseBw
leadership from Cooper.
All of which should make for a very long afternoon
for the overrated Nittany Lions. Don't be fooled by Penn
State's fast start.
Last year the Lions fell apart after an impressive
beginning and while Joe Paterno would like to think he
has a better grip on this year's team, the Buckeyes will
prove that Penn State - favorable schedule and all - is
second class.
Ohio State 21, Penn State 10.
Michigan State (2-1, 4-2) at Indiana (3-1, 6-1)
Letme say this about the Spartans: Sophomore tailback
Duane Goulbourne is the man. With monster games like
last week's 213 rushing yards and the clinching touch-
down against Iowa, he makes Spartans fans forget about
that Rico Crockett guy.
Indiana, despite a lofty ranking and a pretty record,
aren't the Spartans' equal in any way. The only way the
Hoosiers managed to put points on the board against
Northwestern (a defense that even my 5-foot-10, 140-
pound frame could find holes in) was off of untimely
turnovers and a punt return for a touchdown.
And we know that the Spartans can stymie anyone's
offense (even the one that was supposed to be the most
talented in the country), so Indiana's won't manage more
than a few mop-up points.
Michigan State 24, Indiana 10.
Northwestern (0-4, 2-5) at Illinois (3-1, 3-4)
At the beginning of the season, Northwestern fans
were pushing Wildcat Lee Gissendaner for the Heisman
Trophy. He can do it all, they said: Catch the ball, run the
ball, return kickoffs, distribute drinking water...
Five words for ya' up in Evanston: Gordie Lockbaum,
the auto mechanic.
Illinois 28, Northwestern 0.
Women's tennis hits the road for
ITA inv itational at Michigan State
By MARC DILLER
FOR THE DAILY
"On the Road Again" should be the
Michiganwomen's tennis team's theme
song.
TheMichigan women's tennis team
travelled to Michigan State yesterday
to compete in the annual Intercolle-
giate Tennis Association (ITA) tourna-
ment, which starts today.
This competition marks the Wol-
verines' fourth consecutive tournament
away from Ann Arbor. This is the
team's most important qualifying,
meet until conference play begins in
the spfring.
Simone Lacher, BojanaJankovich
and co-captains Liz CyganiakandJamie
Fielding qualified for the trip to MSU.
They will compete against mostof the
other top players in the Midwest re-
gion.
"We're playing well as a team,"
Michigan coach Bitsy Rittsaid. "We've
improved each time.:
Lacher, Fielding and Jankovich re-
turned from successful performances
in a California tournament one week
ago.
Only the top two finishers in the
ITA tournament will qualify for the
national indoor tournament in Febru-
ary.
'.Accordig to Cyganiak, everyone is-
going to have to keep up their level of
play to compete with the much im-
proved Big Ten.
"The tournament will be a good
opportunity to match up against other
Midwest teams," Cyganiak said.
"It willbe agood measure of where
we stand in the Midwest and especially
how we will fair in the Big Ten dual
season in the spring."
Ritt said she thinks the team has*
been playing well recently and is con-
sistently improving.
She said she hopes that the team
will be prepared for the competitive
level of play in the tournament.
"The key is to get early wins and
build momentum in order to do well in
this very competitive tournament,"Ritt
said.
Blue golfers shoot for consistency,
Men's volleyball slugs
By JOSH KARP
FOR THE DAILY
Only one word can describe the
Michigan men's golf team's play this
fall.
Inconsistent.
Michigan coach Jim Carras has
constantly fiddled with his lineup, and
only two players - freshman Kyle
Dobbs and sophomoreChris Brockway
-have regularly played well.
With three weeks off to fine tune
their swing, the Wolverines will try to
puta haltto their up-and-down play in
their final tournament of the fall sea-
son, the Stanford Invitational. The 54-
hole competition will be held at the
par-72 Stanford Golf Course.
Of the 20-team field, four squads
are from the Big Ten, and another
four are nationally ranked. Carras
named Colorado, Stanford, Kansas,
and Virginia, which just happen to be
the four ranked squads, as the favor-
ites.
To match up with other squads,
Carrasmade two changes in his lineup.
Junior Mike Hill and freshman Brent
Idalski replace sophomore Bill Lyle
andfreshmanJustin Hicks. Senior co-
captain Bob Henighan and regulars
Dobbs and Brockway round out the
bunch.
"Kyle's been playing exception-
ally well," Carras said. "He and Chris
Brockway have been our anchors and
foundation up to now."
Carras explained that Lyle, afour-
time starter, is being removed from the
lineup as a result of his play in the
preceding contest, the Northern Inter-
collegiate.
"He played the worst of all the
kids," Carras said. "We've kind of
counted on him to be one of our top
players. Truth be known, he has not
played extremely well in any of the
tournaments."
In previous tournaments, the Wol-
verines have been plagued by bad
rounds, but if they can reduce the in-
consistencies in their play, Carras feels
the team has a chance to do well.
"We've had one bad round in each
of the tournaments we've played in,
which hadkeptus from really being as
competitive as I think we can be,"
Carras said. "I wouldn't be shocked,
frankly, if we finished in the top five or
six. These kids are capable ofplaying
well."
Dobbs apparently does not feel as
strongly about the team's chances.
"We're gonna be one of the weak-
est teams there,"Dobbs said. "We don't
have a good solid four or five guys that
are playing every match and improv-
ing on that. We're basically going up
there to have some fun and go
sightseeing."
it out. at MS
By MELINDA ROCO
FOR THE DAILY
It's back to the hardwood for the
Michigan men's volleyball team as it
travels to East Lansing Saturday for
Michigan State's annual invitational.
Thirty teamswillbattle itoutfor the
chance at the top spot.
In years past, Michigan has been a
strong contender for the champion-
ship, having made it to the finals in
1991 and the semifinals in 1992.
Michigan will be traveling with
its entire 18-man squad, divided into
first and second teams. Coach Pam
Griffin said she expects both to make
strong showings.
"Everyone is very anxious to play,"
Griffin said. "The attitude of this club
is themostpositive I've seen in the last
couple of years. The players are very
committed to the team and to each
other."
Play begins at 9a.m. Saturday and
because of the large number of teams
present, the finals are expected to begin
after 10:30p.m. The long day willbe a
true test of the Wolverines' physical
and mental endurance.
"Themental aspectofthe game and
'U tourney,
your physical performance are posi-
tively correlated," senior outside hit-
ter Mike Rubin said. "The more men-
tally in tune you are with what's hap,
pening on the court, the more your
play will improve in the game situa-
tion.
"Endurance and perseverance are
just as much mental as they are physi-
cal phenomenons," he added.
After last weekend's respectable
finish at the Big Ten Invitational,
Michigan's focus during this week's
practices has shifted from individual
skill developmentto the importance A
team play.
"Wehopetoseecontinuedimprove-
ment in our functioning as a team,"
senioroutside hitterJustin MacLaurin
said. "You couldhave six talented indi-
viduals on the court, but if the team-
work isn't there, the talent doesn't do
you much good."
"I think our team unity will really
pull us through the day," sophomor
setter Justin Bieble said. "It's easy fo
a team to get into arut after playing 10
games of pool play and then having to
pull everything together in that final
leg of the tournament."
Elliot S. Valenstein
Professor of Psychology
November 2
Biopsychology,
Molecular Biology,
and Reductionism
November 9
History of
Prefrontal Lobotomy:
ii
V ROCK j1004
with guest D.J.
"The Ruckster"
I Take your pick:
.FREE Stick (with purchase of two) I
1 -or-