4- The I chigan Daily - Footbal aurday -November 14, 1
Novemb*14, 1998 - Fw*all.Saturo%
- The Michigan Daily -0
Gibson, monster line put fear
of loss in Carr and Wolverines
By Mark Snyder
")h ors Edior
Sitting across a table from Wisconsin
offensive lineman Aaron Gibson is com-
fortable. I c's easgoing, humorous and
quick with a joke.
Standing next to him (actually, in his
Bunyanesque shadow) is where the shiv-
ering starts.
Listed at 6-foot-7, 360 pounds,
Gibson appears even larger than that in
person, filling a room as soon as he
enters. His ability to command a pres-
ence stems not from his dominant
stature, but instead from the reassuring
atmosphere he fosters.
Making anyone's life casier will not be
Gibson's priority today, however.
With the Badgers in Ann Arbor to face
the Wolverines at noon, all Gibson's
thoughts will focus on protecting the man
behind him, not those across the line.
Ron Dayne, one of the nation's top
tailbacks and no small man himself at
260 pounds, will be looking for huge
holes to pound the ball through and,
more often than not, such holes emerge
following a Gibson pancake.
Entering this week, Lloyd Carr's
largest concern (literally) was the
Wisconsin offensive line. These big boys
- who average more than 300 pounds
- are the root of the Wisconsin running
attack.
"1 think Wisconsin, as long as Barry
(Alvarez) has been there, has been a pro-
gram that likes a big, strong, physical
lineman," Carr said. "Aaron Gibson is
something like 360 and was even bigger
than that in high school and a lot of
teams didn't recruit him.
But what happened was (Wisconsin)
got a guy that had a real determination
and was willing to work to gain strength
and has turned into an absolutely great
tackle. They have two guys that will be
drafted and Gibson may be the first
offensive lineman to be drafted."
Such high praise for the opposition is
unusual for Carr, but most of his knowl-
edge stems from the fear that the Badger
boys are going to eat his defensive front
seven alive.
Not one of Michigan's linebackers is
even within 100 pounds of Gibson, with
Sam Sword as the only one to even tip
the scale past 250.
The defensive linemen are in an even
worse position. Going toe-to-toe with
the dominant 0-line of the Badgers is a
prospect some of the front four need to
get used to - fast.
"Technique is going to be the key;"
rush linebacker James Hall said.
"Staying low and using your hands is
going to be another key. We need to get
below their offensive linemen. We need
to stay in our stance and use proper tech-
nique."
Using strategy to topple the Badgers
- who pass about as often as Michigan
travels to Hawaii - will be the only out
in a game where strength and endurance
will be more important than 10-yard
curls and buttonhooks.
"We need to practice at a high level
this week to prepare us for the intensity
and physical nature of the Wisconsin
game," linebacker Dhani Jones said on
Monday. "They are the biggest offensive
line that I have seen in my life and we
need to put 200-percent effort toward
practice and preparation."
Even with 200-percent effort,
Michigan may not have enough. After
all, who could play if Gibson blocks the
sun?
THE MATCHUPS
MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. WISCONSIN PASSING DEFENSE
Lloyd Carr, per his usual routine, has made Wisconsin's
defensive backs sound like an entire group of Charles
Woodsons. We know better. Tai Streets is on a roll.
Edge: Michigan
----------------------------------------------------------
MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. WISCONSIN RUSHING DEFENSE
The Badgers are the nation's No. 1 team against the run,
and Michigan's offensive line has never fully recovered
from early season injuries.
Edge: Wisconsin
----------------------------------------------------------
WISCONSIN PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE
Michigan's suspect defensive backfield has one thing going for it this
weekend: the erratic arm of Wisconsin quarterback Mike Samuel. If the
Badgers could throw the ball, at all, they'd get the edge here. They can't.
Edge: Even
.- WI..O.........I...--.---NSE-VS MICHIGANRUSHINGDEF
WISCONSIN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE
1998 WISCONSIN
ROSTER
Player
Merritt. Ahmad
Fletcher, Jamar
Sankey. Moses
Bryant. Onjai
Davis. Nick
Faulkner, Eddie
Hartwell. Ed
Bollinger. Brooks
Boese, Joey
Austin, Willie
Doering, Jason
Downs. Chris
Mueller, Sam
Hughes. Devery
Samuel, Mike
Burlingane. Bret
Lee, Peter
Kavenough. Scott
Williams, Tony
Wagner, chris
Stemke. Kevin
Rosga. Tim
Ghidorzi. Chris
Brown, Demetrius
Golden. Rasheed
Knight, Roger
Pisetsky. vitaly
Hunt, Josh
Whyte, Conroy
Rodriguez. Manuel
Williams. charles
Schick, Jason
Skrzypchak, Eric
King, Donte
Caipenter, Marcus
Myers. Bobby
Wise, Alonzo
Davenport. Matt
Adamoz. Bob
Bennett, Michael
Marks, Ryan
Jourdain, Jean
Clark. carlease
Mueller. Nick
Thompson, Bryson
Dayne, Ron
Taylor. Leonard
Drayton, Rashad
Echols, Mike
Martin, cecil
Gill, Pat
Unertl. Matt
Pos. Ht. Wt.
WR 510 188
DB 510 169C
WR 6.5 209
DB 511 195
WR 510 1801
RB 511 195
LB 6-2 229
QB 62 1951
DB 511 1701
WR 6-3 178
DB 6-0 195
WR 62 195.
DE 6-5 258
W R 511 165
QB 6-3 215
DB 6-0 201
QB 6.5 196I
QB 6-4 205.
RB 5-11 206.
DB 510 190
P 6=2 183
DB 6-0 203
LB 63 243.
WR 63 201
WR 510 177
LB 6-2 227
K 5-10 218
WR 5-9 185
WR 5-7 155
DB 5-7 178
RB 6-0 207
DB 6-0 201
P 511 193
DB 5-10 178
FB 6-2 249.
DB 6-2 185
RB 5-8 190
K 510 171
OLB 6.0 223
RB 5-10 195
DB 6-1 217
RB 6-0 195
DB 6-1 180
FB 6-1 242
DB 6-1 210
RB 5-10 258
DB 6-0 188
TE 6-4 225
DB 510 171
FB 6.2 232
LB 6-0 229
FB 5-10 216
Daniels, carlos
Kuhns, Chad
Herbert. Ben
McGrew, Delante
Thompson, Donnel
Lisowski, Dan
Schneck, Mike
cannon, B.J.
Greisen. Nick
Eicher. Donny
Stephan, Terry
Downing. Mark
Roell, Rob
Costa, Dave
Miller Mike
Eck, Jason
Jowers, Jason
Stormoen, Adam
Koch. Philip
Janek. Chris
Buenning, Matt
Ferrario. Bill
Dienger, Tim
Johnson, Ben
Hilgemann. Luke
Daley. Pat
Polkoski. Jeff
Tauscher, Mark
Shober, Matt
Rabach, casey
Lamont, Brian
Johnson, Al
Gribowski, Joe
Burke. Tom
McIntosh. Chris
Jakubowski. Josh
Bryant. Wendell
Turek, Troy
Kolodzej, Ross
Kampmann. Kevin
Gibson. Aaron
Anelli, Mark
Williams, Roosevelt
Sigmund. John
Solwold, Mike
Retzlaff, Dague
Chambers, Chris
Grahms. Eric
Habermann. Aaron
Bakken, Clint
Williams, Brandon
Smith. Chuck
Pratt, George
Waisanen, Erik
Favret. John
Dox. Jeremy
Mahlik, Eric
Sprague, Jake
6-1
6-1
6.4
6-4
6-0
6-1
6-0
6-1
6-2
6-3
6-3
6-2'
6-5
6-5
6.0
6-4
6.8
6-3
6.4
6-2
63
67
6-3
6-7
6-8
65
6.3
63
6-5
6-5
6-8
6-4
6-6
6-4
6.7
66
6-4
6-6
6-3
6-4
6-7
6.5
6-1
66
6.6
6-8
6-1
6-4
6-3
6-2
6-4
6-6
6-5
6-2
6-4
6-3
63
6.4
235
235F
230f
222f
227
221
236
230
235
250
280f
2331
264
299
218
264
2801
215
277
282.
295
287
270
310
315
301
245
301.
320
285
298
270
302
249
310
315
290
274
276
290
368
254
170
267
260
279
201
266
251
260
260
251
278
306
239
269
258
265
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With everything you hear about him, you'd think Ron
Dayne was Ron Powlus. The truth is, he's equally overrat-
ed. It'll be apparent when he finally plays against a decent
rush defense this weekend.
Edge: Michigan
----------------------------------------------------------
SPECIAL TEAMS
The time has come for Jay Feely to start getting the credit
he deserves, after a 49-yarder against Penn State ... and
Hayden Epstein is terrific ... but Wisconsin's Matt
Davenport, a former walk-on, is the best kicker in this game.
..-r-
,:; ' /
>t' ,f
Edge: Wisconsin
--em,
.116 M-
INTANGIBLES
Michigan's overflowing with momentum after last week's
win. And let's be honest: If the Wolverines had opened with
San Diego St., Ohio and UNLV, they'd be 9-0, too.
Edge: Michigan
PREDICTION: MICHIGAN 27, WISCONSIN 21
Tai Streets is the
primary offensive
option for the
Wolverines. He
leads Michigan in
touchdown recep-
tions and has
caught scoring
passes in
Michigan's last
six games.
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
The 1998 Wisconsin schedule
Date Team Site Oct. 10 Purdue Madison
Sept. 5 San Diego State San Diego Oct. 17 Illinois Champaign
Sept. 12 Ohio Madison Oct. 24 I owa Iowa City
Sept. 19 UNI Madison Nov. 7 Minnesota Madison
Sept 26 Northwestern Madison Nov. 14 Michigan Ann Arbor
Oct. 3 Indiana Bloomington Nov.21 Penn State Madison
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