The Michigan Daily - Friday, November 15, 1996 -11 The matchups: After Purdue, Blue can only get better Pollyanna Johns and the Wolverines will try to rebound from last season's 7-20 record. The Wolverines start off the season against the Slovak Republic tonight in an exhibition game at Criser Arena. Changes for women cagerS begin tonight By Ryan White Daily Sports Writer If Michigan holds true to form this weekend, the Wolverines will take care of Penn State. After all, in big games against Colorado and Michigan State, Michigan came up with big victories. Before their fourth-quarter collapse against Northwestern, the Wolverines were also beating a very good team. It's not the big boys the Wolverines have trouble against. It's those little guys like Purdue that cause problems. So with its Rose Bowl and Big Ten championship hopes still sitting in a West Lafayette gutter, Michigan will attempt to begin a salvage operation on the rest of its season tomorrow against the Nittany Lions. Penn State had last week off (some would say Michigan did as well), but this should be another good game in a young rivalry. MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. PENN STATE RUSHING DEFENSE: The good news for Michigan is that its rushing attack can't possibly be as bad as it was last week. The Wolverines managed just 56 yards against the Boilermakers, who had the 10th-ranked defense in the conference entering the game. Michigan's longest run was for only 10 yards, and Purdue's defen- sive linemen and linebackers spent as much time in Michigan's back- field as- Chris Howard or Clarence Williams. Penn State enters the game ranked sixth in the Big Ten against the run, and inside linebacker Gerald Filardi leads the Nittany Lions with 77 tack- les. This is gut-check time for Michigan's offensive line and backs, and that is when the Wolverines seem to respond best. ADVANTAGE: MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. PENN STATE PASSING DEFENSE: Again, things can't get much worse than last week for the Wolverines. Quarterback Scott Dreisbach was 18-of-37 for 233 yards and two interceptions. But as with Michigan's running backs, Dreisbach had very little time to get anything done, and the offen- sive line looked in disarray at times. That's good news for Penn State. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said the Nittany Lions probably blitzed Northwestern 30 times two weeks ago. If Purdue was able to get to Dreisbach regularly, Penn State will probably be able to as well. Plus, Penn State ranks second in the conference in passing defense. That's not very good news for Michigan's passing attack. ADVANTAGE: PENN STATE RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: Carr had mixed emotions about his defense after last weekend. On one hand, Michigan held the Boilermakers to just 98 yards rush- ing. On the other hand, however, Purdue held on to the ball nearly 13 minutes more than the Wolverines. Michigan will be helped by a healthy Jarrett Irons, who was slowed by the flu last week. He'll be needed to stop the Nittany Lions' two-back attack. Curtis Enis is averaging 103.4 yards per game, and fullback Aaron Harris is grinding out six yards per carry. Michigan is ranked 13th in the country against the run and is behind only Ohio State in the conference. Still, to be successful, Michigan cannot let Penn State possess the ball the way Purdue did. ADVANTAGE: EVEN PENN STATE PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE: For a guy named Wally, who plays half his games in Beaver Stadium, Penn State quarterback Wally Richardson hasn't always made Ward, or Penn State coach Joe Paterno, proud this season. Richardson is completing just 48.6 percent of his passes and has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns. He also hasn't been helped much by the Nittany Lions' young offen- sive line. But if Richardson gets hot, as he did against Northwestern, the Nittany Lions will be tough to beat. Michigan defensive end David Bowens is still looking to break the single-season sack mark he tied Oct. 26 against Minnesota. He should break the record tomor- row. ADVANTAGE: If this game were played on paper, Michigan would seem to have, it in the bag. But the Wolverines also would have beaten Purdue by about 30 points. Michigan will win this game, how- ever, because it will leave all its fans sitting around Sunday asking, "Why couldn't the Wolverines have done that against Purdue?" Michigan 24, Penn State 17 staff Picks - all picks made against the spread. NICE {ame (QMIE TIAM INCQAM) MICHIGAN (-11/2) VS. Penn State h NORTHWESTERN (10) vs. Purdue r N INDIANA (+34 1/2) vs. Ohio State MINNESOTA (-3) vs. IllinolsM IOWA (-2 1/2) vs. Wisconsin FLORIDA (-37) vs. South C rolin a FLORIDA STATE (-28) vs. S. Miss. COLORADO (-4 1/2) vs. 9nsas StateC IOWA STATE (+40 1/2) vs. Nebraska o .T. ISSSSIPPI STATE'(+12) vs, Alabama TSONIKA Michigan arthwestern Indiana Minnesota Iowa Florida S. Miss. Colorado wa State SOLLENBERGER Michigan Notthwestern Indiana RYAN WHITE Michigan Northwestern _ Ohio State - SPECIAL TEAMS: Penn State kicker Brett Conway hasn't missed a point-after attempt all year, and he has hit 14 of 20 field goal attempts. Remy Hamilton, however, broke Michigan's all-time field goal record last weekend. Penn State has two more yards on punting average, but Hamilton gets Michigan the nod. ADVANTAGE: Iltinois Minnesota Wisconsin Iowa Florid Florida Florida State Florida State Colorado Cvlorado Nebraska Iowa State ississippi State Alabama Michigan Iowa 48-51-2 44-55-2 5-5 ;4-6 Mi ly Richard Shin Daily Sports Writer Transition. For the Michigan women's basket- ball team, the word has many impli- cations. Against the Slovak Republic tonight at 7:30 at Crisler Arena, the Solverines will try to stop the tran- tion game of the VSS Kosice team in Michigan's first public exhibition this season. Michigan itself is going through a transition period, with a new coach, Sue Guevara, and a new approach to the game. * Last season, Michigan faced a storm of contro- versy all season as the Wolverines stumbled their way to a 10th- Tonight Who: Michigan vs. Slova.. Republic Where: Crisler Arena When:7 p.m. What: Michigan's first exhibition game of the season Guevara will approach the rest of the season. Guevara will use the game as a measuring stick of how well the Wolverines are playing and where they can improve. "The team has talent," Guevara said. "We've been evaluating our performance, and I think you'll see the team play with more emotion and enthusiasm." And added emotion could only help a Michigan team that saw many leads slip away in the closing min- utes of games last season. . Guevara seems less concerned with simply wins and losses than with the actual performance of the team in those wins and losses. Whether or not the Wolverines adopt the philosophy will reflect in tonight's game. "I don't want the players to focus on records," Guevara said. "I want them to focus on performance and improvements in play. "I want the team believing they can win." Michigan finished last season with a 6-5 non-conference record, but stumbled Big Ten, finishing with a 1- 15 conference mark. Best Bet Last Week Overall Overall Best Bet Colorado 47-52-2 7-3 place finish in the Big Ten. Gone from last year's squad are a senior, the head coach, and hopeful- ,all of the problems that surround- the team. Although four starters return from last season's 7-20 team, the coaches in the conference picked Michigan to finish 10th in the Big Ten, ahead of Minnesota. "I suspect the team is better than 10th," Guevara said. "We will make improvements this year." With the leadership of four seniors ith extensive playing experience nd 13 total players, the Wolverines are one of the deepest teams in the conference. Under the guidance of Guevara, the Wolverines will try to make the transition from a 10th= place team to an upper-division squad. Against the Slovak Republic, the key to the game will be stopping the fast-break offense that the Slovak Republic will attempt to utilize. "(The Slovak Republic) likes to run," Guevara said. "Defensively, we have to stop them from penetrating and dishing outside. "They have some good outside shooters." Michigan's own transition game will be important to the Wolverines' success. The Wolverines have a trio of players that can hit from the erimeter with consistency. ~Michigan senior guard Amy Johnson is the all-time 3-point leader with 93 treys. Fellow senior Jennifer Kiefer is the career 3-point percent- age leader, connecting on 41.1 per- cent of her shots. Rounding out the __..._._..__- -3 No Appointment needed! xV calk-In Day r- Portraits Seni( DRINK THOMAS MANLEY LAGERS first floor Michigan Union Monday November 18 Q.N) -1 ?) At lf t 4 -5-n Rif 1. A~.3VI