12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 15, 1998


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Saban, surprisingly, not smiling
after Spartans stun Notre Dame

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EAST LANSING, Mich. (AP) -
MiChigan State coach Nick Saban
had plenty to smile about at his
weekly news conference yesterday,
but he didn't.
The straight-faced Saban played it
cool two days after his team stunned
Notre Dame ith a 45-23 win, pre-
ferring instead to contemplate
whether the coming two weeks - a
bye week for State - will help or
hurt their annual showdown with
Michigan on Sept. 26.
"You just have to manage it the
best you can. When you have a bye
week, it really disrupts the rhythm,"
Saban said. "When things are going
badly, that's OK, but when things go
well, it really concerns you when the
rhythm is disrupted."
Things couldn't have gone any
better Saturday. Michigan State bat-
tered Notre Dame so badly that the
Fighting Irish dropped from No. 10
to No. 23 in the weekly Associated
Press poll. The Spartans (1-2) had a

42-3 lead at halftime.
"Obviously this is a lot better press
conference today than the other two,"
Saban said, referring to earlier losses
to Colorado State and Oregon.
"This is good for the team.
Evervone has a better disposition
when they win. We played hard, with
more confidence."
Saban named several factors for a
game he said waj much more physi-
cal and aggressive than the Spartans
have been playing this season.
He said the hometown crowd
helped excite the team and gave its
younger players more confidence.
Saban added that his older, more
experienced players also threw much
more into their game - in part
because they wanted to win one for
injured cornerback Amp Campbell.
"I simply asked the players, 'Why
did we have success ? You guys tell
me why.' And they end up telling you
exactly what you've been telling
them," Saban said.

Saban particularly praised quarter-
back Bill Burke, who notched TD
passes of 16., 86 and 17 yards. Ile hit
on 12 of 19 passes for 209 yards to
spark the Michigan State attack.
"I'm really pleased about his per-
formance' Saban said "\e didn't
have as many big plays. but I think it
was more important that we ha e an
effective quarterback. and we did."
Saban said the team will practice
today, tomorrow, Friday and
Saturday this \ck. then return to its
regular practice schedule next week
before facing Michigan. Ile said his
biggest challenge now is keeping up
his team's confidence and excite-
ment.
"The best thing we can do is not
talk about it right now. All the play-
ers know who we play next," he said.
"You can get overboard on it all,
and I'm not sure that by the time the
game comes, you're in psychological
synch with what you need to do to be
successful."

Sedrick Irvin and
the rest of the
Spartans have
two weeks to cel-
ebrate their 45-
23 victory over
Notre Dame on
Saturday before
they come to Ann
Arbor to face
Michigan,
AP PHOTO


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Brady still the starter

LOSS
Continued from Page 10
ignored.
Casualties of a different sort -
neither a game loss nor an injury -
may be quarterback Tom Brady's
pride and confidence.
Carr was adamant that Drew
Henson will continue to enter the
game to relieve Brady, more due to
Henson's need for experience than
Brady's ineffectiveness.
"I made up my mind as we got to
the later stages of training camp that I
didn't want to get caught" with an
inexperienced quarterback, Carr said,
adding that he planned since camp to
insert Henson in the second quarter
against Syracuse.
The two quarterbacks' statistics
varied little in yardage and attempts,
but Henson compiled the bulk of his
totals - in addition to his fourth-
quarter scores - against the

Orangemen's second-string defense.
"Henson has some capabilities
that could really help our team," Carr
said, before adding that playing
Henson is "in the best interest of our
team."
As for the players, they aren't con-
cerned with who is leading the team.
"It doesn't affect us as an offen-
sive line," Jansen said. "We work on
the same cadence and the same plays.
It's just another guy in there calling
the plays."
Losing to the mantle of champi-
ons may be the largest hurdle for
these Wolverines to overcome.
Whereas last season's senior class
went out with a bang, winning all 12
games, this start is troubling to
Jansen.
"When you're a senior at
Michigan, you want to leave like the
guys did last year - on top," he said.
"All the players from the past are
looking" at us.

p 1

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8oz Ribeye Dinner
only549
5pm - 10pm
Limited to the first 50 patrons
338 S. State " 996-9191 "
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MICHIGAN MONDAYS
9pm - close
$1"off Pints

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ANN AIR

PREI-MED CLUB
Mass Meeting
Tuesday Sept. 15
7-8 pm
Michigan Union Ballroom
pmc.board@umich.edu
BLACK PRE-MEDICAL
ASSOCIATION
Mass Meeting
Thursday Sept. 17
7:30 pm
Angela Davis Lounge
Mary Markley
Free Food!
blkpremed@umich.edu

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