The Michigan Daily - Thursday; November 3, 1994-- 9 *Alstott just a cut above Fullback flourishes in Purdue's surprising season By BRIAN CLARK The Purdue Exponent One day in practice this year, football coach Jim Colletto yelled at fullback Mike Alstott for blowing a play. When he ran the play again, Alstott broke at least five tackles. The coaches pulled him aside and warned him to take it easy on the younger players, because they were trying to build confidence. Alstott has been running through opposing players all season, amassing 846 rushing yards. But it's his positive attitude and determination that have given the team it's biggest lift, coaches say. "Players like him are the reason I'm coaching, and they only come around once in a while," said offensive coordinator Bobby Turner. "There's never enough of those kind of players. "He is just a cut above. They have that iron-willed determination * and drive, and he is a self-made person." A junior tri-captain, Alstott has led Purdue (2-1-2 Big Ten, 4-2-2 overall) to its best start since 1984. His 10 rushing touchdowns rank second in the Big Ten. "I think Mike's an outstanding football player, there's no doubt ' about that," Minnesota coach Jim Wacker said. * "I don't know if I'm qualified to tell anybody who is the best in that nation. But I think he's as good as I've seen, I'll tell you that," Wacker continued. "And last year against us, he was the best in the universe." Wacker still has nightmares when he thinks about Alstott's career day against the Gophers last year. Alstott had 171 yards rushing, 84 yards receiving and he tied a Purdue record with five touchdowns in the game. "I can still see that big ol' fullback running up and down the field, my God, Mike Alstott just ran through us like crazy," Wacker remembers. "So did (junior tailback) Corey Rogers. Everybody did. But Alstott is the one you really remember. Boy, what a Alstott great game he had. "He's a great football player. He's a power runner. He's got good quickness and speed for a big back. He's the whole package and I really like the young man. I've got tremendous respect for him." Respect is something Alstott has worked hard to gain. After an outstanding high school career in which he gained more than 3,900 yards and had 57 touchdowns, Alstott was still criticized by the so-called experts for lack of speed and quickness. But he has used that criticism as motivation, pushing an old car and dragging tires in high school, and 'if everyone played like him, modeled themselves after (Alstott), we would have an unbelievably talented team.' Ryan Grigson Purdue football player adding 31 pounds to his 6-foot-I frame since he has been at Purdue. This summer he worked on his speed and dropped his 40-yard dash time two-tenths of a second to 4.7 seconds. "The criticism pushed me and it helped me learn not to get down when people criticize me in the paper or make negative comments. I learned a lot from that," Alstott said. Alstott has seen the criticism turn to compliments while at Purdue. Last year, he became the first sophomore since 1945 to be named Most Valuable Player, and his teammates elected him team captain this year. It's a role Alstott says he tries to fill by leading by example, and his teammates respond to his leadership. "What makes him such a great competitor, besides his God-given talents, is that he goes 100 percent on every play," senior tackle Ryan Grigson said. "If everyone played like him, modeled themselves after Alstott eludes Michigan in last year's contest. The junior fullback has risen to the occasion this year. him, we would have an unbelievably talented team." Turner said Alstott's leadership has already paid dividends this year. "Fortunately, he's not a mouthy guy. His actions speak for themselves and the other players have caught that fever and the winning fever," Turner said. For Alstott, his Purdue career has been troublesome at times. During his high school career, Alstott's teams only lost one game. Last year, the Boilermakers only won one game. "It was probably the hardest thing to go through. I was successful as an individual, but it was hard because I was used to winning," Alstott said. "It was a hard thing to cope with, but now it feels so good to win." It's a testament to his desire and determination that he has handled every obstacle in his path, not only by emerging as one of the nation's top fullbacks, but by developing and maintaining an All-American attitude in the face of adversity. "When I was a kid, I wrote this letter in grade school that I wanted to get a college education, play Division I football, and go on to play pro football," he said. "I've felt that way ever since. And I haven't lost that desire to do it." AROUND THE BIG TEN: .Race for second place and Citrus Bowl bid heats up By DANIELLE'RUMORE Daily Sports Writer With the Big Ten football season nearing to an end, many people are looking toward the bowl season and New Year's Day, or in this year's case, Jan. 2. Penn State's impressive victory over Ohio State last weekend seems to have ended the race for the roses. However, other Big Ten teams are in the position to go to a New Year's Day bowl as four are tied for the number two conference spot. An ex- citing ending to the season is guaran- teed with a possible shoot-out be- tween Ohio State, Illinois and Michi- gan for the Citrus Bowl bid. Penn State (4-0 Big Ten, 7-0 E verall) vs. Indiana (2-3, 5-3) Parents' Weekend in Bloomington may not be a happy experience as the Hoosiers prepare to battle with the Nittany Lions. Penn State comes off last weekend's 63-14 trouncing of Ohio State with a No. 1 ranking in the CNN/USA Today poll. Indiana will have to amass a tremendous effort to prevent losing three conference games in a row. The Hoosiers are coming off lack- luster performances against North- western and Michigan State. They will need to regroup if they want to give Penn State a game. Indiana has the offensive fire-power to restart its Tickle The. 'Tome: Read Tipoff, appearing Nov. 17 Collins engines in freshman running back Alex Smith, who leads the conference in rushing with 133.8 yards per contest. He has already broken the Big Ten freshman record for most yards in a game (221) against Kentucky. What more can be said about the Nittany Lions? Penn State leads the nation in scoring offense with 50.3 points per game. This is due to the pairing of quarterback Kerry Collins with tailback Ki-Jana Carter. Collins is number one in passing efficiency (194.7) in the country and is well on his way to breaking the NCAA record of 176.9 set by Brigham Young's Jim McMahon in 1980. This past week- end he completed 83 percent of passes (19 of 23), while throwing for two touchdowns. Heisman Trophy hopeful Carter, who amassed 137 yards on 19 carries against Ohio State, is second in the nation and first in the Big Ten in scoring. Carter's consistent success on the nation's best team has substan- tially improved his chances for the Heisman. Indiana will be ready to play, but will not be able to match up to Penn State's offense. The Lions win, 48-26. Wisconsin (3-2-1,4-3-1) vs.Ohio State (3-2, 6-3) Is Ohio State as bad as it looked against Penn Sate last weekend or as good as it looked against Purdue two weeks ago? The answer seems to be somewhere in between. This season has not been as rosy as last year in Madison, where the Bad- gers are barely maintaining a .500 record overall. However, they are coming off a victory over Michigan and should benefit from the return of running back Brent Moss. Ohio State quarterback Bobby Hoying was not impressive last week- end and has been inconsistent all sea- son long. Two weeks ago again' Purdue, he had career highs in compi&- tions, yards and touchdowns. Against Penn State, he completed half of his passes for a mere 87 yards, coupled with three interceptions. Split end Joey Galloway has had a mediocre season thus far, but should muster up a good effort at home. Hoying will have to be more consis- tent to beat Wisconsin and will look to Galloway and tailback Eddie George for offensive firepower. Wisconsin's offense ranks second in the Big Ten in total yards and the Badgers have the conference's third best defense. Last weekend the de- fense looked impressive, especially with linebacker Eric Unverzagt who tallied eight tackles, one sack and two interceptions. Running back Brent Moss returned this week after miss- ing the last two games due to injury, and ran for 106 yards and one touch- down on 26 carries. He is joined by Terrell Fletcher in the backfield. Though Buckeye All-American defensive tackle Dan Wilkinson now plays in the NFL, Ohio State's de- fense is still competitive. It ranks sec- ond behind Illinois in total defense, and is led by middle linebacker Lorenzo Styles and end Mike Vrabel. The Buckeye defense should be able to contain the tandem of Moss and Fletcher and give the ball back to the offense. This one will be close, but Ohio State will find a way to win at home. Buckeyes win, 20-17. Illinois (3-2, 5-3) vs. Minnesota (1-4, 3-5) This is a very big game for the Illini. They have a legitimate shot at the Citrus Bowl if they finish the season on a winning note. Minnesota was idle this past week, but amassed a huge victory over the Moss-less Badgers in Madison two weeks ago. Illinois has one of the top defenses in the nation. The Illini defensive unit See BIG TEN, Page 11 ile U of M Coffege Republicans Want to remind you to take your government back... Vote Republican On November vj 8th! The University of Michigan BASKETBALL BAND AUDITIONS Auditions will consist of a sight-reading excerpt. Men's Basketball Band Rehearsals Tuesdays, 7 - 8:15 pm **Women's Basketball Band Rehearsals Tuesdays, 8:30 - 9:45 pm ELIJAH WOOD - KEVIN COSTNER IMmlfVIM11r TI mI m m imnnTrn amnm n rinurn m nn nimlrn amri iaTmn1Ei ulnnTrn I 1