JEbe SiIigan atg
Pdmlw~ 411F

ONDAY

I

* .:',. , ::
---------- --------- -------- -- m---- --1 M --- - ------ ---------------- Z Z' M"- U ....

I

Record
crowd
witnesses
thrashing
By Mark Snyder
Daily Sports Editor
A record-setting 111,012 fans
packed the Biggest House in the
nation Saturday expecting every-
thing to be new:
A new stadium, expanded by
5,000 seats and a multicolored halo.
* A new scoreboard, sporting
video replays during the game.
And, definitely, a new team, one
that would bounce back with a stel-
lar effort after falling at Notre Dame
a week earlier.
Well, two out of three ain't bad.
Michigan, before a capacity
crowd, gave a second-straight unin-
spired per-
formance Syracuse 38
and got
waxed by Michlgi 28
Syracuse,
38-28.
To hear Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr tell it, it's hardly a game to
remember for the defending national
champions.
"Syracuse did an outstanding job
and beat us in every phase of the
game," he said. "They are a good
team, (Donovan) McNabb is as good
a quarterback as we have seen."
That sweeping indictment by Carr
basically summarized a game that
was not nearly as close as the final
score indicated.
With the defeat, the Wolverines
fell from both of the major polls for
the first time since Oct. 1993, when
See TRASHED, Page 6B

Justin Fargas is corraled Saturday by Syracusae linebacker Keith Bullock. Fargas carried three times for 13 yards and returned five kicks for a total of 96 yards.

23rady isn't th
Tom Brady is the quarterback. No, wait,
Drew Henson is the quarterback. Well,
maybe Brady should be the quarterback.
Then again, Henson could be the quarterback.
Does it really matter who plays quarterback
anymore? At this point,
there are so many prob-
s, Donovan McNabb
might not be able to win
with this team.
Brady should feel cheat- R
ed - by his coach, and by
the fans. Even if Henson
deserves to play, Carr's JIM
(mis)handling of the quar- ROSE
terback situation has put Rose
Brady in an impossible Be
sition. How can he lead
3s team when his own
coach announces to the whole world that he's
only the second-most talented quarterback on the
team? Brady won't admit it - he said "It should-
n't make a difference," - but in all honesty, how
can Carr expect Brady to direct his teammates
when he can't even count on his own coach for a
vote of confidence?

eproblem - it
And even if Brady makes mistakes - which he
has, and he's the first to admit it - there's no
reason for him to be booed at this point iM the
season. He's done an admirable job with a team
that has otherwise been largely inept.
But again, this comes back to Carr's statements.
The fans have listened to Carr. They've heard him
say that Henson is the most talented, that Henson
deserves to play. So naturally, when Brady makes
his first mistake, those same fans want to see
Henson in the game. And why not? How can you
blame them, really? What do they know about the
situation except what Carr tells them?
Naturally, Carr is saying now that there is no
quarterback controversy, and that his plan all
along has been to play both quarterbacks. And
maybe, in his mind, there really is no controversy.
But because of what he's said, the fans think one
exists. Carr's fault. Plain and simple.
Having said all that, it's becoming more and
more apparent that the quarterback situation, while
attention-grabbing, is really one of Michigan's
smallest problems. Brady, Henson, whoever - the
quarterbacks have been pretty much OK. The rest
of the team is worth worrying about.
The Wolverines have been embarrassed two

s much worse
weeks in a row by option offenses. But they
haven't shown any improvement. They still talk
about the option like it's some kind of modern
miracle that can't be stopped.
Well, Michigan State - a team that gave up 71
points in its first two games - shut down Notre
Dame's option this weekend with relative ease.
The option can be stopped. Just not by bad
defenses.
Last year, Michigan's defense was fast. It was
hungry. It was aggressive. This year, the hard
truth is that the defense just looks slow. It sure
didn't look as quick as Jarious Jackson or
Donovan McNabb.
Is that just a result of Michigan running into a
pair of good quarterbacks? Or could it be that the
Wolverines have lost some of their trademark
edge, that toughness that carried them last year? .
Of course, if the Wolverines could run the ball
at all, many of their problems would go away. But
for two straight weeks now, they've been out-
rushed. And the list of problems has been so long
that the rushing game's futility has been little
more than a footnote.
Carr said the running game had to get better.
See ROSE, Page 6B

WARREN LINN/Daily
Donovan McNabb did it all against the Wolverines, running and passing his way to
293 total yards and four touchdowns.

Goodies spur soccer to two victories

By Mark Fn cescutti
Daily Sports Writer
The coaches and family members bribed the
Michigan soccer team to win this weekend with,
of all things - food.
After a 5-1 blowout win over Massachusetts
on Friday, the team was treated to pizza. It hap-
pened again yesterday, after a convincing 3-1
win over Detroit. An unidentified family mem-
ber brought in a vegetable tray with dip that
senior defenseman Vanessa Lewis called
"incredible".
The word 'incredible' could have described a
lot of things other than dip - especially the
Michigan defense.
Strong defensive efforts equaled two wins for
the undefeated Wolverines (4-0).

Things started out slowly for the Wolverines.
For the first 20 minutes, the Titans kept up with
the Wolverines, using their aggressive style of
play to trap the Wolverines in the midfield.
With neither team gaining an offensive
advantage, the first team to make a mistake
would give up the first score.
Kacy Beitel passed through two defenders,
which enabled Amber Berendowski to punch
the ball in for her second goal of the weekend.
"For the first 20 minutes we played with
them," Detroit coach Mike Lupenec said. "Then
we made one mistake - we let somebody
through on a through-ball - and we were
down."
Detroit then made another fatal error, giving
senior Jessica Limauro a penalty shot with less

to be in trouble, whereas the Michigan charge
was just beginning.
The Wolverines calmed down at the start of
the second half and completely overpowered the
Titans on both sides of the field.
Goalie Carissa Stewart didn't even touch the
ball for the first 20 minutes of the second half.
Throughout that time, Michigan used Detroit
goalkeeper Kristi Elliot for target practice.
Taking more than 10 shots at her in the first
seven minutes, the Wolverines seemed unstop-
pable.
Elliot remained strong, however, making sev-
eral saves (11 total for the match).
"None of the goals today were her fault,"
Lupenec said. "She did a great job."
Still, Elliot and the Titans ran out of steam.

Ichigan forward
Amber
Berendowsky
socks it to
Detroit's Jessica'
Herdzlk in yester-
day's match.
Berendowsky has
 a A 9 e..nl in

l - -