COLLEGE (18) IndCana 80. BASKETBALL LAB 64 (1) ARIZONA at (22) GEORGIA 78, Morgan St., inc. Mercer 58 (2) DUKE 100, PRO Davidson 65 BASKETBALL (6) PURDUE 107, Portland 93, NE Louisiana St. 80 DETROIT 87 (9) KENTUCKY 88, NEW YORK 100, Morehead St. 49 Atlanta 79 Golden State 101, DALLAS 97 HOUSTON 127, Toronto 97 Indiana 109, MILWAUKEE 83 PHOENIX 89, Chicago 85 Utah at SACRAMENTO. inc. PRO HOCKEY , W , s i - . ' Sa o PH ., E~~ ; , _ , .a : ... .,. ., ........ .... .,. u l IAVYN u Michigan and Ohio State used to duke it out every year for a berth in the Rose owl. This year, the pran fourth-ranked Buckeyes square off with a trip to Pasadena on the line again in a showdown owy VThe Coverage GameDay comes back to Big House From Staff Reports Whether or not they are Rose Bowl bound, there is no doubt that the No.1 Michigan Wolverines are drawing natioial attention. For the second time this season, ESPN's GameDay crew will iislt Ann Arbor for a live broadcast beginning at I1 a.m. With the Florida-Florida State game also a vital piece of the national cham- pionship picture, ESPN is splitting time between Ann Arbor and Gainesville, Fla .'GameDay's No. I team of Lee Corso, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit will set up shop outside of Gate 12 on the Southwest corner of Michigan Stadium. The- crew returns to Ann Arbor, where all three commentators said they were verbally and physically abused by rowdy and rude Michigan fans. Herbstreit is a former Ohio State quar- terback and Corso coached at Indiana. GareDay has appeared at Michigan games three times this season -- against Colorado for Michigan's home opener and two weeks ago at Penn State. GameDay spurned Michigan's matchup with Notre Dame partially because the crew had no desire to return to Ann Arbor. E pry, r ,, !: i Q" 4t ?b y ^Sl ollw 'gig n. +r FILE PHOTO Michigan tailback Chris Howard dives over a pile of offensive and defensive lineman in the Wolverines' 13-9 upset of then-No. 2 and previously undefeated Ohio State. The Buckeyes would like to return the favor tomorrow by dethroning No. 1 Michigan. The Enemy Pearson rememb ers last Ohio State win Kimberly Kowalski The Ohio State Lantern The clashing of Maize and Blue against scarlet and gray. Wolverines vs. Buckeyes. It's a tradition that's become a legend, and for many Buckeyes fans it's the game of all games. To senior tailback Pepe Pearson, one of the few remaining Buckeyes who participated in Ohio State's last victory over Michigan, it's the last chance to prove himself. Ohio State's leading rusher real- izes the significance of tomorrow's game. As a candidate for the NFL, { this is one of his last opportunities to show his true colors. AP PHOTO "A win for us this week, as a team, would mean the world," Pearson said. "As far as I go, if you perform well in the Michigan game, every- body knows you're a good player. I'm looking forward to playing my best game and coming out with another victory." Pearson rushed for more than 100 yards for the third time this season in the Buckeyes' win over Illinois last Saturday. This year, he has only carried for 724 yards, a solid num- ber, but nothing compared to the 1,484 yards he rushed for last sea- son. "Last year is last year," Pearson said. "Each year is a different team with different situations in the game. This year, I did go through some things mentally, some things I had to adjust to, but I'm stronger now." Strong enough to overcome the mental block so often associated with Michigan? "It's just like every other game, it all boils down to the physical game." Pearson said. "It's just playing the game of football. When you're out on the field, it's who wants it the most, who the better team is. Forget the mental block." Althetigh it may be just another physical game to Pearson, he admits that the Michigan-Ohio State rivalry is something special. After all, he still has his gold pants from the Buckeyes' last victory over the Wolverines, a 22- 6 trampling in 1994. "This is what we came here for,. this is the game," Pearson said. "In that game we played hard the entire time. We gave it everything we had and came out with a victory. That's what football is all about." By John Lerol Daily Sports Editor Michigan vs. Ohio State. Bo vs. Woody. Good vs. Evil. There is no overstating the importance and the hatred of this rivalry. And w th e Rose Bowl on the line, to say this ame means everything wouldn't be stretchI ig the truth. On paper the two squads are almot mirror images of each other: terri defenses, solid offenses and veteran qu- terbacks (of course, Ohio State has two of them). The Wolverines' defense has been good enough to win ballgames al by itself for much of the season, but Michigan's offense has sprung to _1d in its last two games, rolling up 40)-pus; yards against Wisconsin and Penn State. Michigan's defense looked vulnerable against the Badgers and with starting fre safety Tommy Hendricks and his backup Daydrion Taylor both probably out he Wolverines might have a weak spot Still, as Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said, "If you need something to get thXd up for this game, you've got a problen. And with Michigan's Charles Woodson and Ohio State's David Boston exchanr ing pleasantries this week, this game should be as heated as any in the history of the rivalry Breaking down a game this position by position, is often a futile effort, but here's a glance. OHIO STATE PASSING OFFEE V'. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE: With Bren Washington likely to starL for the injured Hendricks and Michigan looking suscep- tible against Wisconsin, the Buckee-s will probably try to exploit Michigans secondary. Ohio State coach John Cooper rotas quarterbacks Joe Germaine and Ste Jackson more often than Dennis Rodim changes his hair color. Germaine pa most of last, year's game agi Wolverines and is the Big Ten s leading passer this season. But Jackson has start ed all ofthe Buckeyes' games this seaon and Cooper said it will stay that way. While Germaine possesses the better arm, Jackson may be more dangerous against Michigan's defense because of hi mobility. Wisconsin's Mike Samuel picked apart the Wolverines' defense rn ning the option, f. play Michigan haspt stopped all year. Germaine has a strong and accurate arm andshe has two great receivers t. throw to - Boston, the conference's leading receiver, and Dee Miller. Boston ripped Woodson in the newspapers this week, much like former-Buckeye receiv- er Terry Glenn did two years ago, so look for Woodson to take it personally and to cover Boston like a wet blanket. And even with a depleted secondary, Michigan's front seven should be able to get enough pressure on Germaine (or Jackson) to win the battle. After all, the Wolverines' are the nation's No. 1 pass defense. ADVANTAGE: b~iad ' ure cboking l ? QileL y hn. Ir Vnlxrine' recdivas I axii'tbcu 1)\.sebut Tai Stret had is est aia i~ ~casn Uat week and cvery r-.howI burne l~t Va~hOg Vice do good" jo tup th altiht end Jeramte hmn an i-. le akOhio State istogo oa n anoe onE 'Vr. MnAs RLSHN e OrFENS beth bes payr n r hlgen The :ophomore haKn a 'irsnhis first day -o. (~ ~7A3 ~d hs lvedup to his top bi jnA hin - -idii (h ~it md cfnsiv a V V I. n~AtheBuckeyes~ar. WiwMrh~y' s Carnce Wilhams ou ftehcp naila Chri: IHowar4 and nthny hon-a hae looked st lar, esecilyIInad xho rushed for mrore than l0)y~ ntostraght gain. Mihgn on ofnnv ingb irnaly gfd acodng to cent r Zach Aaand h ovrnes Iiv y e domiating th fsrmmage. - [IVA t E0 Altho Ohio State tailback Pepe Pearson rushed for 100 yards last week ag lilnois, he hasn't performed up to his own expectations this season ,: . ,. I; .a , . , ; AdverA -DSO a-. SPUJAL mo s Never a bright spot , for Mitig Wo vernn s have.been pahetic recel Kic and punt returnec> hav ben axc: anJa ough punter Jasn inon as ' ben awful, he -hasn't of te beaIr t i lablity, ho fnit P acekce K~B a~c botheda feld goal apd gp exta pn -ia~~t isonsin prompting: Ohi Sat, n hI. thr hand hasa tvii ofexposa ruisin Boston, .Gdty-y; Bary ~d i hlWiley Woodson can hodiso tr vin.n but he hasn't brokn oeyttier AD4Nr ;9 1 OIo STATE RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: Wisconsin ran for 154 yards against the Wolverines last week. While that's a great figure for most defenses, it is not acceptable in Ann Arbor. The Badgers ran an inside tran I M.