12A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, October 9, 1997
Blue runs
from
Montana
to Maine
By Chis Duprey
Daily Sports Writer
Slowly but surely, the Michigan men's
cross country team is racking up its fre-
quent-flyer miles.
Last weekend, the Wolverines traveled
to Missoula, Mont., for the Mountain
West Classic. Two time zones away from
horne, Michigan won the invitational,
earning its biggest victory to date.
The Wolverines knocked off ranked
teams such as No. 4 Oregon, No. 15
Washington State, No. 18 Brigham
Young and No. 19 Arizona.
Saturday, Michigan will travel to the
other side of the nation - Orono,
Maine, to be exact, .for the Murray
Keating Invitational.
The Orono course was made to set
personal records. According to Michigan
coach Ron Warhurst, the course is fast
and flat. The runners will forgo their
usual footwear, spikes, for racing flats to
better handle the quarter-mile concrete
segment of the course.
"We want to run as comfortable as
possible,' Warhurst said.
A long flight to Maine, followed by a
tough eight-kilometer race hardly seems
like a vacation for the Wolverines. But it
just may be. Arizona is the only other
ranked squad in the field, and Michigan
manhandled the Wildcats by 53 points in
Montana.
A small contingent from the Big Ten
will also be on hand. Purdue, Minnesota
and Iowa help compose the 13-team
field, along with Alabama, William &
Mary, Arizona and Butler.
John Mortimer's quest to recapture his
1996 Keating individual title be difficult.
Butler has a top individual who could
pose competition for Michigan trailblaz-
ers Kevin Sullivan and Mortimer,
Warhurst said.
"He's supposedly real good,"
Warhurst said. "They'll take the chal-
lenge." After the invitational, the
Wolverines return home to host the
Michigan Interregional on Sunday Oct.
19 - Michigan's final appearance in
Ann Arbor this season.
Looking ahead to the future, Warhurst
sees a positive end to the season for his
runners.
"They have a quiet confidence,"
Warhurst said, "I can't see any letdowns."
'Cats not thinking Roses
By Brad Weinstein
The Daily Northwestern
There is an excellent chance that purple
will be a prevalent color at the Rose Bowl
in Pasadena. That is the primary color of
the Washington Huskies, is it not?
While the Huskies are a prohibitive
favorite to capture the Pac-10 and the bid
to Pasadena that comes with it, the
Northwestern football team is danger-
ously close to merely playing out the
string and playing a spoiler role in a con-
ference it won the past two seasons.
Although this was made imminently
clear following Saturday's 26-25 heart-
stopping loss to Wisconsin at Ryan Field,
coach Gary Barnett did his best imper-
sonation of a beaten politician Monday in
conceding that his purple won't be travel-
ing to Pasadena.
"The Rose Bowl is certainly out of the
question at this point," Barnett said. "You
have to adjust a little bit. Rather than
being down about that, we have to take
away from this (Wisconsin) game what
we feel as coaches and players we got
from it: hitting on all cylinders and play-
ing with a great deal of emotion and
intensity."
Northwestern (0-2 Big Ten, 2-4 over-
all) came away from the party with the
Badgers (0-2, 5-1) toting their share of
parting gifts. The biggest consolation
prizes, as Barnett indicated, were the
return of passion and vitality to what has
often been a downtrodden sideline, and a
measure of execution and playmaking
that had been expected from Day One.
Since blanking Oklahoma 24-0 in the
Pigskin Classic on Aug. 23 - a game in
which Barnett said his team was "on a
mission"-- the Wildcats sagged and lost
the substantial edge in intangibles that
they had enjoyed since 1995. Barnett had
hoped the Big Ten portion of the sched-
ule would generate the zest in his team
that Wake Forest, Duke and Rice didn't.
After going through the motions against
Purdue, the Wildcats finally got some
excitement back - with an assist from
ESPN and its prime time clout.
"We were more disappointed in games
we won," defensive end Casey Dailey
said. "If we had played the way we played
Saturday, with that kind of intensity, we'd
be 6-0 right now."
While the emotional pot simmered,"the
Wildcats consistently made the momen-
tum-changing plays that had appeared
fleetingly in previous weeks. The defense
racked up five sacks, including three
straight on one second-quarter posses-
sion. The offense discovered an uncanny
run-pass balance, picking up 190 yards
rushing and 191 through the air. And the
special teams - sans kicker Brian
Gowins and his missed extra point and
field goal - played a pivotal role by
blocking a punt for a safety and recover-
ing a bad punt snap for a touchdown.
"I don't think a coach can ask for any-
thing more," Barnett said. "Most of them
played lights out. For the first time all
year, we played more of a complete
game. We played more like the team that
I envisioned us to be. Anything less than
that from this point on is unacceptable"
Unfortunately, the Wildcats may have
found their groove too late. They are star-
ing at a downright ghoulish upcoming
schedule that only a mother could love.
with their next four opponents currently
residing in the top I l of the Associated
Press poll. Beginning Saturday at the Big
House in Michigan and culminating Nov.
I at home against Penn State, the
Wildcats are confronted with arguably
the most challenging quartet of games i'l
the nation.
"Because of the task, we just have to
take them as they come and not look
ahead," wide receiver Brian Musso said.
"We're getting better. This team played
better this week than it did last week.
We're going to play a lot better next week
than we did this week. We're going to do
some things in the Big Ten that are going
to shake some things up."
Said Dailey, when asked to size up the
formidable foursome: "Any team we'r*
playing in the next four weeks will be
better than most bowl teams."
Nevertheless, Dailey, Musso and
Northwestern's eight other fifth-year
seniors bristle at the suggestion that the
rest of the season will be about rebuilding
and instilling confidence in the younger
players who will play more prominent
roles in seasons to come. The accom-
plished seniors aren't content to clear th
gutters so Northwestern can go bowlin'
in Pasadena or Orlando next year or the
year after when the seniors are long gone.
"I can't chalk it up as a rebuilding
year," Dailey said. "I want to win every
game. I really think we have the talent to
win a bowl game. That doesn't mean any-
thing - fifty cents will get you a cup of
coffee. The clock is ticking. If everyone
else has one clock, the seniors have t wo:'
FILE PHOTO
Without All-Big Ten running back Darnell Autry, Northwestern has looked nothing
like the team that won back-to-back conference titles in 1995-96. The Rose Bowl
is certainly out of the question, according to coach Gary Barnett. Northwestern,
which visits Michigan on Saturday, is winless in two Big Ten games.
Paterno feeling good vibes prior to big. Ohio State game
The Daily Collegian
STATE COLLEGE (U-WIRE) - Don't criti-
cize Penn State coach Joe Paterno for feeling
good this week.
The Nittany Lions are the No. 2 team in the.
land, he has a quarterback in Mike McQueary
who has thrown 10 touchdowns, a tailback in
Curtis Enis who has scored eight touchdowns and
a defense that has allowed only seven touch-
downs.
In addition, Paterno's Lions are prepping for the
seventh-ranked Ohio State Buckeyes this
Saturday - and Paterno tends to have good feel-
ings before Ohio State showdowns.
"I felt pretty good about our team going into the
game last year. I always feel good about our team
going into any game,' Paterno said yesterday at
his weekly news conference. "I think we'll have a
good week of practice. It's debatable whether or
not we can beat Ohio State, and that's why we're
playing them."
Last season, the feel-good Paterno and the
Lions took on the Buckeyes in Columbus and the
end result was not pretty. Ohio State won, 38-7.
Paterno did admit his team is on a level above
that of last year's squad, but he still refuses to flash
signs of overconfidence.
"I think it's a very significant game for us, but
I don't think it's a question of whether it's life or
death;' Paterno said. "If that means you're down-
playing it, then yeah, you're downplaying it."
Paterno added he is unable to speculate on the
Buckeyes game plan.
"I've got no idea what to expect. You'd better
ask John Cooper about that," Paterno said. "I
don't have the slightest idea what they're going to
do against us. They played Iowa one way, and they
might play us a different way."
WHAT A WHOPPER: If anyone has yet to see
Paterno's newest Burger King commercial, put
down the books, grab the remote and tune in.
Decked out in a blue Penn State shirt with white
lettering, Paterno spends the commercial instruct-
ing a bunch of actors playing football players.
Toward the end of the commercialx Paterno takes
a monstrous bite out of a hamburger.
"Those hamburgers you eat - you take a bite
out of it 20 times, and none of themhave any meat
in them," said Paterno, who filmed the commer-
cial at Montclair State University in New Jersey.
"They're not real hamburgers. I'm probably giv-
ing away trade secrets here."
INJURY UPDATE: The news from the infirmary is
not much different this week, aside from a few
minor improvements. Wideout Joe Nastasi, who
had been playing with tendinitis behind one of his
knees, will be 100 percent for Saturday.
Tailback and kick returner Kenny Watson is
active and ready to go, but Paterno did not say
whether or not Watson will see action against the
Buckeyes. Watson has not played a down this sea-
son.
"KAT"-TAMER: If Penn State runs any reverses
come Saturday, Lions quarterback Mike
McQueary may be asked to block one of the
Buckeyes' defenders, perhaps even star middle
linebacker Andy Katzenmoyer.
"I haven't thought about that at all. Maybe I'll
chop block him," McQueary said jokingly. "I
don't want to take him helmet to helmet, that's for
sure."
On a more serious note, McQueary's first inter-
ception of the season last week against Illinois
broke a string of 93 straight pass attempts withoul
an interception. Penn State offensive coordinator
Fran Ganter prepared McQueary for the intercep-
tion, even before the fateful ball left the quarter-
back's hand.
"Fran Ganter told me before the game, 'You are
going to throw some interceptions,"' McQueary
said. "I said, 'I know,' and he said he didn't want
me to throw any helmets or anything."
QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "I think we have a lot of
big-play guys. I was joking with Joe Jurevicius at
how we have so many that it's too bad we don'
have five footballs out there," Penn State tailbac
Curtis Enis on the big-play potential of the Lions'
offense.
* MULTI COLOR SPECIALISTS
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* NEAR U OF M CAMPUS
1217 PROSPECT, ANN ARBOR 665.1771
-1
BEITEL
Continued from Page 8A
man from midfielder, her natural posi-
tion, to forward for most of this year due
to her ability to put the ball into the net.
Beitel credits her teammates for her
success this season.
"I've learned an incredible amount
since the preseason," Beitel said. "Every
practice I learn from the older players,
and even from the sophomores, who have
a year under their belts."
Down, 2-1, in last week's crucial game
against Minnesota, it was Beitel who
redirected Jessica Limauro's pass into the
left corner of the net, knotting the game
at two early in the second half.
Beitel was also an offensive threat in
the Wolverines' scoreless draw against
Penn State, launching a team-high five
shots.
With her impressive numbers on the.
year, Beitel joins Laurie Seidel of
Minnesota and Allison Wagner of
Wisconsin as the most talented freshmen
in the conference, according to Belkin.
Beitel and the rest of the Wolverines
bring their potent offense to Toledo on
Sunday. At 4-2 in the Mid-American
Conference and 8-2-1 overall, the
Rockets post a record similar to
Michigan's. Last year, the Wolverines
saddled the Rockets with a 5-0 defeat, the
first meeting between the then-third-year
programs.
This year, Toledo goalkeeper Tanya
Muncer has earned five shutouts while
allowing an anemic .7 goals per game -
a statistic that makes for an interesting
matchup when Michigan comes calling.
"We don't know much about Toledo
this year, but we'll come out ready to
play," Belkin said.
With the conference title out of their
grasp, at least temporarily, th
Wolverines hope to use this weekend to
prepare for the final stretch of their sea-
son, which includes three Big Ten oppo-
nents.
"This is the time of the season when
we need to peak and hit full stride, so we
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