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 " ARTIST ON STAFF * RUSH ORDERS * 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 24FF with this ad. __j Ashley's Presents (a Firkin is an English beer keg of approximately 12 gallons) ....La..SpeirES By special arrangement with Arcadia Brewery of Battle Creek Michigan, we have one keg of their "Real Ale" Lake Superior Extra Special Bitter. A classic ESB, with a full-bodied sweet malt character balanced by a solid bitterness and candied floral Tettnang hop finish. 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