I 2 - The Ohigan Daily - FetaBdm m y- November 14,199P 9omn OTHER Spom Nov er 14, 1998 -I - INSIDE FOOTBALL SATURDAY - Let Ellerbe surpr'se you - he's already done it ...3..- Goal line stand For the second year in a row, a huge late-season win over Penn State has the Wolverines within striking distance of the Rose Bowl. Michigan jumped back into the national picture with a 27-0 win at Michigan Stadium. -_4- The Line How big is Ron Dayne? And how big is his offensive line? Those two questions probably will determine the outcome of today's game, with the winner emerging as the Big Ten leader. Daily football writer Mark Snyder describes the Wisconsin line and its star tackle Aaron Gibson - focusing mainly on how much room he takes up. -6- Butting heads The Daily's Sharat Raju and the Wisconsin Badger-Herald's Dan Alter went toe-to-toe this week, in the brainy battle preceding today's brawny battle. Judge for yourself who came out on top. Quick Info Everything you ever wanted to know about the game and where Michigan stands so far this season - and check out the picks of the 'experts.' -"8-"" """ The Rosters Player by player, all the vitals of everyone on both teams. .........., Large and ine charge Wisconsin running back Ron Dayne is stomping his way through opposing defenses, and doing the same to his school's record books. But coach Barry Alvarez says Dayne's just a 'big puppy dog.' -11- Surprise, sUrprse While most Michigan basketball fans aren't expecting much from this year's team, Daily Sports Editor Pranay Reddy tells why we shouldn't write off the Wolverines just yet. With the 'interim' tag removed from coach Brian Ellerbe's title, Michigan is finally in a position to exceed people's expectations, rather than lag behind them. ot more than a month ago, I was walking into the office of Brian Ellerbe. I sat down in the corner of his office, about to discuss the upcoming season with Michigan's newest head basketball coach. I'll be honest, I was the biggest skep- tic you could find when it came to dis- cussing the bas- _ ketball team. Graduation left this year's squad with Louis Bullock and Robbie Reid running the show, and a PRANAY bunch of role REDDY players sur- Reddy. rounding them. or Not Not a pretty sight, I thought. And I was confident sitting in Ellerbe's office that he wasn't going to convince me otherwise. But he did do something in the hour or so I spent in his office - something that completely took me by surprise. He interested me. He made me look forward to the upcoming season - a season without Traylor, Baston and the rest. I actually couldn't wait to see guys like Josh Asselin, Brandon Smith and Pete Vignier take the floor. Huh? Sure, these guys were no more than role players a year ago, but something about Ellerbe's pitch made me believe that they could be much more. So why should we believe him? The better question is: Why shouldn't we? If you recall, this time last year, no one was high on a Michigan team with- out Maurice Taylor. And after the turmoil sur- rounding the NCAA investigation, Steve Fisher's firing and early losses to teams such as Western Michigan and Bradley, it seemed like there was no reason to get excited about Michigan basketball. I know I wasn't. Slowly, things began to turn around. The Wolverines upset No. I Duke. They pulled off a stellar victory against Indiana and a Big Ten Tournament victory over Purdue. Ellerbe and the Wolverines started sur- prising people. All of a sudden, Michigan was the hottest team in the Think Michigan country heading into fooled - Robb the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines took care of Davidson in the first round, and people were excited about Michigan basketball again. Sure, they ended up losing in the second round to UCLA - but it was fun, wasn't it? It was fun finally watching a Michigan basketball team exceed your expectations, as opposed to lagg behind them. For all the Fab Fis lades and the 'next Fab Five' hy never saw the Wolverines actual their potential. But this season, there's no dar that. No one expects anything fi team - and maybe Ellerbe pre r .... r NoPi Free toV a0 eVns ver y rro WARREN iNNUDU~ William Peterson's interception last weekend brought Marcus Ray to his feet, and had Joe Patemo feeling helpless on the sidelines. I"* WARREN ZINN/OAILY n's season might be a yawner? Don't be e Reid certainly does not 9Y Tell your parents itJ required/or Communwaton How could they refuse when they find out you won't be running up their phone bill calling collect. Because with AirTouch Student rate Prepaid Cellular, you purchase students. Which and no long-term c Plus, AirTouch special discounte s to Michigan collec means your paren whatever airtime you want in advance. There are no contracts, no monthly bills, no credit checks, might not only be expecting an "A" Communications but in Finance as we For more details, call 1-800-AIRTOUCH or E-mail us at mistudentprepaid@airtouch.cc AI RTO u C H- It could change your life- Valid college ID required. Must have cellular phone activated on AirTouch Student Prepaid Cellular. Programmingactivation fees may apply. Long distance and toll charges in addition to airtime. AirToi I