Volleyball vs. MichiganState Tomorrow, 7:30 p.m. East Lansing S S Field Hockey vs. Villanova Tomorrow, 7 p.m. Oosterbaan Fieldhouse After loss, Moeller forced to focus on rest of schedule By MICHAEL ROSENBERG Daily Football Writer The loss to Colorado, it could be argued, was a fluke. The poor effort against Iowa, one could say, was due to the shock from the Colorado game. But when - Michigan lost to Penn State Saturday, there were no excuses left. . . The Wolverines are not the best team in the country. In fact, they are not even the best team in the Big Ten. They likely won't be spending winter break in Pasadena. All they can do now is pick up the pieces and play for respect. ...1(r*1<.n>., "I expect them to be Michigan," coach Gary Moeller said of his troops. "There are alot of things that are going to happen in football. The thing you can control is your own games." Among those things Moeller hopes will happen is more than one blemish on . Penn State's record. If the No. 1 Nittany Lions are somehow upset - twice - . 1 s ^: " W Michigan could go to the Rose Bowl. " That prospect doesn't exactly have many Wolverine fans booking flights to .. Los Angeles, but Moeller is not giving up yet. .u "(We) haven't earned anything," Moeller said. "But Penn State hasn't either. I'm not saying, 'This team is going to eatPenn State' or 'Thatt is going to Thernext stop for the Wolverines is Champaign, where the Fighting Illini have caught fire since losing to Purdue two weeks ago. Illinois soundly beat Ohio State, A.. @2-010dyagbefore pounding Iowa, 47-7, Saturday.hr°,w . "Illinois is going to be very difficult," Moeller said. "I know they are going ^t" t bet eb s de e s weh v pl y dt dae - o wilp a al ye r f ,,Y x There's a big reason for that - four big reasons, actually. Illinois linebackers 4 5 1N1 « Dana Howard, Simeon Rice, John Holocek and Kevin Hardy form the best corps in the Big Ten, and probably the nation. Howard and Rice are both contenders for the Butkus Award, given annually to the nation's top linebacker. r a ; , Howard, an inside linebacker, is adominant run-stopperinthemold offormer i .. .. f Illinois great DickButkus.Rice ismore ofapassrusher, aplayer whose speed and < Qa" ,. size makes teams want to double-team him. 9 But when a team has four great linebackers, you can't double-team anyone. "You can't just say, 'I'm going to isolate on Rice or I'm going to isolate on . Howard,"' Moeller said. "They have got a lot of good football players." . Illinois' stingy defense will give Moeller serious headaches if his team falls behind early, which it has only done in every game this season. 'That's a concern of mine," he said. "It'll be magnified in a game like that. You could buy yourself some problems if that happens against Illinois." DOUGLAS KANTER/Daily MOB SCENE AT PENN STATE: Approximately 10,000 fans stormed the field at Michigan coach Gary Moeller is confident his team is not out of the Big Ten title race just yet, despite Saturday's loss to Penn State. The Wolverines have See FOCUS, Page 12 another tough test this weekend when they travel to Champaign to play Illinois, while the Nittany Lions are idle before hosting Ohio State in two weeks. Open tryo By ANTOINE PITTS Daily Basketball Writer Sometimes you can never have enough players. Despite having a roster of 16, the Michigan men's basketball team held walk-on tryouts last night at Crisler Arena, looking for a few more people. Coach Steve Fisher's list of players includes five walk-ons already practic- ing with the team. Chris Fields, Adam Jones, Alex Lingenman, Neal Morton and Mickey Zitzmann already work out with the squad. The coaching staff used last night to look for players who the team could use if one of the current walk-ons decides not to stay with the team or in case of injury. It was also a chance for the coaches to see if there was someone out there better than the current cast. Assistant coaches Brian Dutcher, Jay Smith and Scott Perry led the 33 candidates through a variety of drills before opening up the floor for five-on- five scrimmages. The coaches used the same kind of criteria to evaluate the players that they employ in recruiting. "You're trying to see if they have any athletic ability," Dutchersaid. "You see if they play hard, show intelligence and follow directions." Among the group of candidates were students of all types - some tall, some short, some in good physical shape, and others not in the best of condition. All ofthem gave their best in trying to catch the coaches' eyes. "I'm here to show the coaches that I can play and work hard," said engi- neering sophomore Joel Pryor, a trans- fer studentfromMinnesota. "Youhave to show them that you can compete." uts offer chance to make it big 'You're trying to they have any att ability. You see if play hard, show intelligence and f directions.' Brian D assistant bask The turnout was half of total. However, Fisher was eif"You need to show them that you're See if working as hard as you can," Ditkoff hletic said. "They're looking for people who play and practice hard." The coaches also tried to evaluate the attitude of the players. They would 011OW not want to bring in someone who would upset the chemistry of the team. "We want kids that are going to utcher come in and help us practice," Dutcher' said. "They may never see game time ketball or even dress for a game all year. coach i"We don't want someone coming - inthinking they're better than Jimmy King and should be getting all those last year's minutes." definitely LSA freshman Olisaeloka Dallah, who is on a full academic scholarship, decided to come out and show the coaches what he could do. "I'm here at Michigan for the aca- demics and also to try out for this team," Dallah said. "To go back to my home city and say, 'I'm on Michigan's team would be the ultimate."' Dallah and Pryor were among six players the coaches called over at the end of the session. Dutcher, Perry and Smith retrieved some extra informa- tion from the six to further help the. coaching staff evaluate the newcom- ers' chances. Time will only tell if the Wolver- ines will need their services. looking to fill a few more spots at that time. This year's group tried just as hard to live the dream of Freddie Hunter. After making the team, Hunter captained the Wolverines his senior year (1990-91). The walk-on candidates knew that the team was not in need of anymore stars, but rather a role player who will come in and contribute to the team's practices. "You have to encourage teammates and show the coaches that you are a team player," Pryor said. "Those are the kinds of players they are looking for. They already have enough stars on this team." LSA junior Howard Ditkoff came to tryouts for the third straight year. a U JOSH KOLEVZON/Daily Last night's tryouts provided 33 Michigan students with a chance to show off their talents to the Wolverine coaching staff. Irregular teartbeat sidelines Knuble By BARRY SOLLENBERGER Daily Hockey Writer The collective groan you heard yes- terday came from the Michigan hockey training room. Right wing Mike Knuble, a pre- season Sporting News All-America Checklist selection, is doubtful for Fri- dan, ntnrin,,mhen ttid-irankeda The Moscow Internship Program Experience Russia Firsthand ri itternational PiYRau For progua s dr&as c. #oktp . te pe pn h d nW a ais s e 1-.d. Umh"'"ky 1amuml Pawea STOP IN AND ENTER OUR DRAWING FOR 2 FREE TICKETS TO THE MICHIGAN AT ILLINOIS FOOTBALL GAME SAT., OCT.22 IN CHAMPAIGN. No purchase necessary. 4T Register at 711 N. University store only Tues. morning, Oct 1 8 thronuh Fridav noon Oct 21 1 1 entry ner nerson. (L Drawing at 1:00