12 The Michigan Daily - Friday, October 15, 1999 In the Huddle The contender no one cares about? Virgnia Tech :; While Ohio State isn't ranked in the top five this season, they have the chance to screw teams with BCS aspira- tions, such as Penn State, Michigan State, and Michigan. AP PHOTO rginia Tech center Keith Short may miss Saturday's game against Syracuse with an injured right knee. Whoopty-do. But hold on. Rick That nugget of information, Freeman which hit the presses Wednesday morn- ing, could have ' national-title implications. If Short were any other overlooked FREEMAN OF offensive lineman THE PRESS on any other title contender, that might be bigger news - but face it, he's a Hokie. Don't underestimate the seriousness of that news to Short's redshirt freshman quarterback, Michael Vick, who will be taking snaps tomorrow against Syracuse from a third center this season. Steve Demasi will fill in for Short, who was himself filling in for starter Tim Schnecker. And right there, in the mid- dle of the Virginia Tech offensive line is the biggest weakness in the fourth- ranked Hokies' national championship plans. Some might say it's Syracuse, or Miami, or even Boston College. But Virginia Tech faces the Hurricanes in Blacksburg, B.C. lost to Temple and Syracuse is the Big East's chronically overrated team. So the Hokies have the easiest road to New Orleans, at least among teams that don't get to play Wake Forest and Maryland. Whoopty-do. Wait a while, see what happens if Blacksburg - which will host ESPN's GameDay crew for the first time ever tomorrow - finds itself near the epi- center of the college football world. See r AUSTRALIA CANADA .The University of Mic 7' Office of international . * oip * G-513 Michigan Union 530 South State Street " * Ann Arbor, Michigan 48 H * STUDYA INFORMATIO THIS t Monday, Oct H Academic Yea i Programs 109-1349 i SCOTLAND * CHINA what happens if Vick and tailback Shyrone Stith make orange and maroon suddenly fashionable. TV executives would see red. Ultra- hip Virginia would turn green with envy at it's dorkier rival's success (the Cavaliers had their chance and lost, 31- 7). The Hokies would bask in the golden glow. The rest of the country would say ... whoopty-do. LAw OF INCREASING RETURNS: Colorado cornerback Ben Kelly - owner of more than 2,000 career all-pur- pose yards - will finally see some snaps on offense this week. The 5-9 190-pound cornerback has accumulated all but nine of those yards by returning punts, kickoffs, intercep- tions and fumbles. The other nine yards came on a fake-punt reception. Kelly has taken practice snaps in preparation for tomorrow's game against Texas Tech. Kelly - who first approached Buffaloes' coach Gary Barnett about playing two ways after spring practice will not take the place of regular tail- backs Cortlen Johnson or Dwayne Chem ngton on the Buffs' roster, but instead be used in experimental situa- tions. His status as a kick returner seems more concrete, since he's the only returner among the nation's top 50 with more than one return for a touchdown this season. Kelly will continue to play defense, too, where he has seven interceptions - including the one that ended Saturday's game in overtime. After picking off the pass, he stepped out of bounds, saying he had run out of gas. Which might be the only thing keeping Barnett from using him on every play. STILL HOPE: Quietly, since he plays for a team that departed the national consciousness faster than New Coke, Arizona's Dennis Northcutt has made a name for himself at the school that was once a trendy pick for national champi- on. He's second in the country in punt returns, averaging 20 yards per return. He's fourth in receiving yards, with 125 per game. Last month against Texas Christian, he got the attention of his teammates and helped spark a comeback from 16 points down. "He does it with his mouth and with his play," one of the Wildcats' two quar- terbacks, Keith Smith told the Arizona Daily Wildcat. "FHe came in at halftime, and basically told us what he was going to do." No word on whether he can help out the Wildcats' defense. BUT IS THERE A "GRAVELLY ROAD" THEORY?: One thing's clear, Oklahoma State coach Bob Simmons has taken a beating. Exactly how is another story. The Dallas Morning News reported the encounter as happening at halftime. The paper said Simmons was hit in the eye while kickers were warming up at half- time. "It was like somebody walked up and sucker-punched me," Simmons told the paper. "But I'm fine." But the Denver Post claims the inci- dent occurred in the first half, and attrib- uted the attack to an errant pass. NOTES: Don't like the teams in the top 5? Here are the obstacles for each of the teams remaining in the top 5. No. N Florida State -- Florida on Nov. 20. No. 2 Penn State - Ohio State tomorrow, at Purdue Oct. 23, Michigan Nov. 13, at Michigan State Nov. 20. Nebraska - Texas A&M, Nov. 6; Kansas State, Nov. 13; at Colorado, Nov. 27, Virginia Tech - Syracuse, tomorrow; Miami, Nov. 13. Michigan State - at Purdue, tomorrow; Ohio State, Nov. 6; Penn State, Nov. 20. ... Purdue quarterback Drew Brees is in the College Football Hall of Fame. Yes, it seems a little quick, but the phenom's jersey and picture are in the South Bend museum as part of the "Race to the Pantheon" exhibit, which showcases players who could win post- season awards. His jersey and picture will be removed after postseason awards are announced, for now, anyway.... Southern Cal coach Paul Hackett said he plans to bring extra freshmen on this weekend's trip to Notre Dame so two years from now, they will be able to tell that season's crop what playing in South Bend is like. - Rick Freeman can be reached via e- mail at rickfiee(wumich.edu. 0 734 764 4311 tel oip@umich.edu www.umich.edu\-iinet\oip Roid sales, record profits, record growth and break- F through products in the highw speed communications .markots mean success... Vitosse, with its ever-faster ls is the dominant player supporting the high growth elecommunications and data .-cmmunications revolution. We enjoy an impressive and high profile track record. To " 4 ntriore about our exciting . .o000lunities, see us on Ic~'mpus. Please visit our website at: www.vitesse.com fVITESSE . - SEMICONDUCTOR CORPORATION ABROAD N MEETINGS WEEK: ober 18, 1999 gar Programs: ri " 04 Aix-en-Provence & Paris, FRANCE; Lausanne, SWITZERLAND; & St. Louis, SENEGAL Wednesday, October 20, 1999 Semester/Academic Year Programs: Santiago, CHILE; Quito, ECUADOR & #1 Seville, SPAIN " z Thursday, October 21, 1999 Academic Year/Spring & Summer Programs: A eFlorence, ITALY >4 H * All meetings will be held in room 3447 Mason Hall from x 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. , tiZLiSZ . "'IVt=JKIiS "* * ' 3DN"V l T 3, READ DAILY SPORTS. 0 DAILY* I I y -IVERSiF SPORTSWEAR I 11 4: I II iviF i 9 A I a I -I N Mi mYE - - - - ko u m.6N I RIEBR EE I= ,=0BE10 L1 118 - -00 , I il 1