22 Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 15, 1999 an State looking to avoid 1998 repeat STATE COLLEGE (AP) - A sea- son-opening victory against an overrat- ed top25 team, a blowout and a close call'-against Pittsburgh. What is this, 199;I1 over again for No. 3 Penn State?, The Nittany Lions had better No Bo Pit No. year, they started 3-0 by beating Southern Mississippi, routing ig Green and sneaking past rgh. Then they got clobbered at )hio State, dropped two more big ames and ended up in the k Bowl. Saturday, most of the same cast to No. 8 Miami - Hurricane ermitting - and tries to end the ink it's very important that we go here this week and come away W, especially coming out of last ,ming out of those losses at an, Wisconin asnd Ohio State," k Mike Cerimele said. "Three res and we didn't come out with losing trend goes back further than last year: Penn State has not beaten a Top 10 team on the road since beating No. 5 Michigan 31-24 on Oct. 15, 1994. Penn State thought it had put last sea- son's demons behind it with a 41-7 dis- mantling of then-No. 4 Arizona in this year's opener and with a 70-point show- ing against Akron. But the next week, Arizona had to come from behind in the fourth-quarter to nip Texas Christian - a team that went on to lose to Northwestern. And on Saturday, Penn State nearly lost to Pitt. Suddenly, beating the 'Canes seems more uncertain - and more important. Over the course of this 38-year-old rivalry,.it has always seemed to be that way: N Paterno went 5-5 in his first season as coach and lost to Navy in the 1967 season opener. Then, he brought Penn State down to Miami and beat the Hurricanes 17-8 with a bunch of untest- ed sophomores. It was the start of his most successful run, 31-1-1 from 1967 through 1970. In 1981, Miami beat No. 1 Penn State I7-14, staving off a fourth-quarter rally. The next day, the Miami Herald called it the Hurricanes' "Biggest Victory Ever." Six years later, Paterno won his second national title with a 14-10 victo- ry over No. 1 Miami in the 1987 Fiesta Bowl. Pete Giftopoulos' interception at the Lions' 1-yard line with 9 seconds left remains one of Penn State's most dramatic moments. With Miami under coach Butch Davis looking more like the touted teams of the 1980s, Paterno has his team sensing that this could be another great one. "Miami is a great team," said Eric McCoo. "Everybody can see that they're coming back to be one of the great teams again? This is one of those games, you make little mistakes, you lose." Penn State made plenty of little mis- takes against Pittsburgh, and were espe- cially inconsistent on offense. The Panthers confused Penn State into just 65 yards rushing, and but for a few big passing plays, held their offense in check. The offensive linemen said they were confused by Pitt's stunts. Miami, which held Ohio State to 116 yards on the ground, should be even tougher. If that's not troubling enough, coach Joe Patemo expects to be without tail- back Cordell Mitchell, a fast, reliable senior who can't seem to stay healthy. Last week, he was out with a deep thigh bruise. "Watching him yesterday, he couldn't even jog, so I would be doubtful if he's going to be ready," he said. McCoo, who started the end of 1998 when Mitchell was out with a shoulder injury, will probably start again. Also on Tuesday, Paterno said he has not seen tape of the play that got LaVar Arrington two personal fouls Saturday. Paterno said he does not plan to look at it, and he did not discipline his star linebacker over the dust-up. "He is just going to have to be very, very careful. He can't retaliate. I would- n't expect him to get involved in a skir- mish like that," he said. 2 S Law A. I I . . ; r AP PHOTO Penn State has started this season much like it did 1998's disappointing campaign - a win over an overrated top-25 team, a blowout and a close call against Pittsburgh. I ' _ a, ; , , . . ,. Nebraska's Evans quits, Badgers warm up J. E f {l ,.. i ^ / a.' . .y .t 1 44 r LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) - Nebraska's football team has a new look, with running back DeAngelo Evans quitting the squad and coach Frank Solich going with a new quar- terback. Evans, the starting 1-back, was off to a slow start in his junior season. He missed practice and a team meet- ing Monday. Sophomore Eric Crouch will start at quarterback against Southern Mississippi on Saturday, and junior Bobby Newcombe will play as a receiver and return punts. Solich said Tuesday he wants both quarterbacks, who have vied for the starting job, to be on the field. Solich said Evans was frustrated by his inability to fully recover from injuries. The coach said Evans wants to remain in school. Last week, Evans was shut down with five yards on six carries as California stacked its defensive line and kept Nebraska's running backs out of the game, which the Cornhuskers won 45-0. Evans' decision comes amid grumbling by players about playing time. Two weeks ago, Solich visited Crouch in Omaha after the sopho- more reportedly became upset when junior Bobby Newcombe was named the starter. Last week, backup I-back Correll Buckhalter, the team's leading rush- er last season, left practice for three days, apparently upset over the lack of playing time. He carried 148 times and gained 776 yards as a freshman in 1996, but he missed 1997 with a pelvic injury. His 1998 season also was cut short. He missed the first three games with a knee injury. When he returned, he carried 38 times for 218 yards and four touchdowns in three games. But he sat out the rest of the year with an injured big toe and bruised tailbone. Evans had knee surgery after the 1998 season and had hoped to return to full speed this fall. WISCONSIN AWAITS:Nick Davis likes a challenge, which is why he wants Wisconsin to begin its Big Ten Conference schedule. Davis and the ninth-ranked Badgers (2-0) have to wait another week: it's Cincinnati on Saturday before their two biggest games of the season - No. 6 Michigan at home on Sept. 25; at No. 13 Ohio State the following week. "We have some momen- tum, but I think the, next game we can get even more momentum," Davis, the Badgers' kick and punt return Whiz, said. "Playing the Big. Ten teams, that's our conference, and we want to get rolling. We are really on a roll." While the Badgers' Ron Dayne chases Ricky Williams' year- old career rushing record, Davis was on a roll of his own last week in a 50-10 rout of Ball State. He ran up 227 all-purpose yards, including a 77-yard TD run on a free kick fol- lowing a safety. He also had four catches for 91 yards subbing at wide receiver for the injured Chris Chambers. QUICK HITS: QB Antwaan Randle El ran for 62 yards in Indiana's loss to North Carolina last week, giving him 1,053 for his career. He's the only Hoosiers QB with five 100- yard rushing games. Randle El needs 31 yards rushing to set the Indiana career record for a quarter- back (1,083, Harry Gonso, 1967- 69). ... Ohio State (42-20 winner over UCLA) won its 21st straight home opener, dating back to Art Schlichter's freshman debut in 1978.. ... The Buckeyes move into the sec- ond week of an unprecedented five- game homestand. The Bucks have never played more than four in a row at home. Next up is Ohio, followed by Cincinnati. Ohio State hasn't played in-state opponents on consec- utive weeks since meeting Wittenberg and Ohio Wesleyan to open the 1926 season. AP PHOTO {sh start to his junior year, Nebraska running back DeAngelo Evans team, reportedly frustrated by an inability to recover from injuries. -------- ---------- ------- ----------------- I I C. 4 JNIVERSII SPORTSWEAR ., U 1 a V~ I 1 °s A S a T .. E W AWL_' 'W v kI M iLI WA m a m AVMRM M M ik1 &I AI Im _ u .W- IM ___ u um = 'IL. It l* s= I