8A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 20, 1997 AROUND T Spoilers and bowl hopefuls battle it out in weekend play* By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Writer The Big Ten season is at its peak. Michigan can reach the top of the mountain and earn its first champi- onship in four years, but Ohio State has other thoughts. Penn State has two games left and a good bowl on its agenda, plus a chance to share the Big Ten crown. But not all is lost for four other Big Ten teams - Iowa, Michigan State, Purdue and Wisconsin. They can all make a big impact on their bowl placement - or non-place- ment - with victories this week- end. --t's crunch time, and the trash heaps of the Big Ten once again have 4n opportunity to play spoilers and crush bowl hopes. The spotlight may shine in Ann Arbor this weekend, but the excite- ment and importance of the other games will reverberate throughout the whole Big Ten. WISCONSIN (5-2 BIG TEN, 8-3 OVERALL) AT PENN STATE (5-1, 8- 1): This game is especially interesting because Wisconsin is the only team that has never lost in Happy Valley. But the Nittany Lions are still angry after being blown-out by Michigan. This is Penn State's last home game of the season, and it will be particularly special because the team will say goodbye to 15 seniors, including wide receiver Joe Jurevicius and possibly Curtis Enis, who may leave early for the NFL. The Badgers sport an excellent running attack that was able to run on the No. 1 Michigan defense last -weekend. Even if tailback Ron Dayne, fourth in the nation in rushing, is not :back from injury, Eddie Faulkner ;and Carl McCullough can pick up the slack, which they have done in the past two games. a But if Wisconsin's running game is shut down, and quarterback Mike Samuel is forced to pass, it could be a long day for the Badgers. The Badgers' defense kept Michigan's injured running game at par, but the Lions have Heisman candidate Enis, who is all-too healthy. If Penn State can get some great play out of its offensive line, Enis would love to have his best game of the season to increase his chances of winning the Heisman. Penn State is also coming off of a superb performance this past week- end, thanks to Enis' domination of the Boilermakers, with 186 yards rushing and three touchdowns. Penn State probably still hurts from the loss to Michigan, and emo- tions will be running high in Happy Valley - which could mean the dif- ference in a close game. Penn State 24, Wisconsin 20 MINNESOTA (1-6. 3-8) AT IOWA (3- 4, 6-4): What happened to Iowa? After starting the season 4-0 and looking to sneak in a hand on the Big Ten championship, the Hawkeyes have lost four of their past five games. Their latest debacle was a horren- dous performance against Northwestern. Last week, four missed field goals and a high punt snap leading to a safety meant five more reasons for coach Hayden Fry to retire. Still, Iowa can get a bowl bid if it can win its last game against Minnesota. A loss earns the Hawkeyes a living room seat for the holidays. The Golden Gophers are ready to spoil Iowa's bowl aspirations. For the Hawkeyes to beat Minnesota and capture the golden pig - Floyd of Rosedale (where do they come up with these names?) - they will need better performances on special teams. Luckily for Iowa, the only thing that the Gophers can say so far is, "Well, at least we almost beat Penn State." The Iowa defense can and will stop the run as easily as it did last week, when it held the Wildcats and Adrian Autry to only 85 yards on 38 attempts. But Minnesota's defense has little hope in stopping tailback Tavian Banks, another Heisman candidate, who would also like to make an impressive showing. Fry hopes to make sure the game doesn't come down to field goals, especially at home. But if it does, expect the Gophers to be putting a pig where the Little Brown Jug used to be. Iowa 31, Minnesota 10 MICHIGAN STATE (2-4, 5-4) AT ILLINOIS (0-7, 0-10): Michigan State lost another game last week due to special teams. It boggles the mind that college recruiters don't try to get better kickers and other special teams play- ers. Michigan State's Chris Gardner missed a 43-yard field goal with three seconds left in a 22-21 loss to Purdue. Statistics mean nothing in college football - a few bad plays can can- cel out the best performance. The Spartans dominated every other aspect of the game and even came into the fourth quarter with a 21-10 lead, but it wasn't enough to compensate for their poor special teams play. But all is fine and dandy this week. Nick Saban can sit back, relax and laugh. His team is playing Illinois, also called the team that could - do nothing, that is. The Fighting Illini, who couldn't even beat Indiana, could possibly lose to a high school team, too. They have the Big Ten's worst defense, worst offense and worst turnover ratio at -10. Winless in 10 tries, Illinois can earn a spot as one of the worst teams in NCAA history with a loss Saturday. The Spartans, on the other hand, could make their season worse and lose any chance at a bowl bid with a loss in Champaign. But that's doubtful - it is Illinois. The Illini will cruise to six sec- ond-half touchdowns after Michigan State's defense is unable to stop itself from laughing, but that still won't be enough for the Illini's first victory. Michigan State 45, Illinois 42 PURDUE (5-2, 7-3) AT INDIANA (1- 6, 2-8): Instead of a golden pig, this game is played for a wooden bucket. What's next? Playing for a roll of AP PWOTO. Iowa started off the season 4-0 but has since lost four of its past five games. The slide began when the Hawkeyes fell to Michigan, 28-24. The Hawkeyes will try to get back on track and secure a bowl bid when they take on Minnesota this week- end. The Golden Gophers have just one conference victory, but came close to defeating Penn State last month. toilet paper? Indiana should have won that for its impressive win over Illinois three weeks ago in the Big Ten toilet bowl. Besides that victory, not much separates the Hoosiers from the llini. The Hoosiers are at a loss with a terribly weak offense that has failed to score more than seven points in six out of 10 games. Their running game has only amassed 864 total yards rushing and is struggling without the graduated Alex Smith. Sophomore quarterback Jay Rodgers has had a rough season with 12 interceptions and just five touchdowns. Indiana is the second-worst team in the Big Ten - behind Illinois - in almost every category defensive- ly, too. The Boilermakers won't need another prayer or divine intervention - the only thing that helped them beat Michigan State two weeks ago. Instead, Purdue probably sees 'an opportunity to rebound after ie blowout loss to Penn State last week- end. With a victory, the Boilermakers can increase their chance to travel to a high-quality bowl - or at least one that's 80 degrees and sunny. They should have no problem. Purdue 30, Indiana 6 U U 'M' swimming faces a Lion of a dual meeV By Una Subranmnhan Daily Sports Writer Canham Natatorium will once again be filled with the splash of Big Ten conference competition. The Michigan women's swimming and diving team will take to the water against perennial foe Penn State tomorrow at 3 p.m. Since 1994, the Wolverines have won every dual meet against the Lions and look to continue the streak tomor- row. This season, the 11-year defending Big Ten champi- ons are already on a roll. The Wolverines have won all four of their meets, including winning every event in their dual meet against Michigan State. At the Northwestern Relays on Oct. 26, Michigan out-distanced all the other teams in every event to win with a total of 220 points. "The team in general has really been working togeth- er and pushing each other to get it done," Michigan cap- tain Ellen Fraumann said. "People have been stepping up, and so far we've been getting the job done." The Wolverines have been riding the waves of Kasey Harris and former Olympian Shannon Shakespeare. Though only a sophomore, Shakespeare holds the Big Ten and Michigan records for the 100 free, 200 free, 200 IM, 400 free relay and 800 free relay. She was also last year's co-Big Ten Swimmer of the Year. Although she had several health problems earlier in the season, she has recovered enough to swim competi- tively in several events. "I think this season has been going pretty well," Shakespeare said. "I've kind of been mixing it around a lot and not swimming as much free as I normally do. The 200 IM has probably been my strongest event so far" This season will be one of the most important for Shakespeare. She will swim for Canada at the World championships in January. For now, though, she is con- centrating on the Penn State meet. "I think it's going to be a lot of fun,"Shakespeare said. "Last year, they gave us a good race, and this one should be (a good race), too. The Big Ten is always competitive."- Last year's competition in State College resulted in',. Michigan victory, 178-118. In this year's four competi- tions, the Wolverines have shined in various events. "We're very strong in the middle distance sprints and- the backstroke" Michigan coach Jim Richardson said. One-third of the way into the season, Michigan:h also seen strong performances from its freshmen. "We have a really good freshman class," said Fraumann. "But right now, it's time for the whole team to step up and take charge. We're swimming really well.. This season we're looking to repeat as Big Ten champs and have a full squad for the NCAAs. These meets are really good training." This year the Wolverines are racing more Big .Ten teams than in years past. "We've always had very good competitioD," Richardson said. "This year will be tough, but we've gq- some very good swimmers.' Soccer enjoys success. e I Research Opportunities for Juniors and Seniors. Available through the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) nterested In doing al honlors thesi .. concentration Want to work with a faculty researcher vhose research " ROP will expand research opportunities to Juniors and Seniors beginning Winter Term 1998. " Funds available for students with work-study funding to conduct 1-4-m-4-6 w a.rrh nr u .ih .an tr..kflFhe with their research. Sophomore Shannon Poole will have a lot to look forward to next year. The Michigan soccer team will be able to build off of a young squad and the Wolverines' phenomenal suc- cess during the 1997 season. MALLORY S.E. FLOYD/Daily By Jacob R. Wheeler Daily Sports Writer Years down the road, when Debbie Flaherty's playing career at Michigan is all over, the native of Sutton, Mass., will smile when she thinks of her experiences on the soccer team. Flaherty's career ended on a series of positive notes. No. 15 Michigan's suc- cess during her senior season will always overshadow the program's growing pains her first three years. "It's really hard to leave this team,"the four-year starter said. "Especially since we just had a great year. I might have left with a bitter feeling other years, but this year, it's tough. "This was finally the first year we were able to truly unite as a whole. We all got along with each other, and that led us to a successful year." In just the program's fourth year, the Wolverines (7-1-1 Big Ten, 18-4-1 over- all) rose to second place in the Big Ten, eclipsing almost all team records in the process. They capped it off with a Big Ten tournament championship. "We made great strides this year' Michigan coach Debbie Belkin said. "The tournament was big because we gained a lot more respect with it." This season will be remembered the year the Wolverines jumped about four flights of stairs on their way to national respectability - four because that's how many more Big Ten games the Wolverines won this season than last.. Michigan's only major blemish was a poor showing in the program's first appearance in an NCAA tournament game - a 5-1 loss at Nebraska last Sunday. But that season-ending loss w only one step backwards. The Big Ten tournament may have been the last hurrah for Flaherty and fel- low seniors Ruth Poulin and Karen Montgomery, but Michigan's nucleus consists of underclassmen. . : "I think we'll be even better next year," Belkin said. "We'll have the core back. We already got a taste of success, and we'll be hungry for more." SET YOUR IMAGINATION ON FIRE. Read SCIENTIFIC AMERICAN. Clarify your understanding, stimulate -- i1- 4 -Ai-. --i i- Mal&~p w w - ~ 3 . - - .