18A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 16, 1999 Big games abound, will keep fa glued to the television, No0 2 battles No. 4; Irish look to pound Spartans DyDavRoth defense. Florida quarterback Doug of the best wide receivers in the For he. airyJohnson has three powerful offensive nation - Santana Moss and Reggie his Veekend is filled with some weapons and spreads the ball around Wayne. of the most exciting college football the field. Receivers Travis Taylor Which personality will show up for Y~r i Y.i tch ups of the sason. Since the Darrell Jackson and Reche Cadwell the schizophrenic Lions? Penn state olvcines a s on the road this each have over 100 receiving yards in should win this game but they ca4 Saturdav, there is no better time to two games. The Gators have tallied repeat last weeks errors. Paterno turn on the tube and be entertained. 113 points over their first two games. should have his team revved up. Bet Here are some of the best games Tennessee's defense is unforgiving, on the Big Ten to triumph over the this Saturda, with predictions. They so the Gators shouldn't expect to put Big East. are all guarated to be 100 percent up the numbers they did against PENN STATE 35, MIAMI 14 Saccurate, so call your bookie (not that Division I weaklings Western Sweendorse gambling). Michigan and Central Florida. MICHIGAN STATE (2-0) vs. No. 24 No. 20 NC. STri (3-0) vs. No. 1 FLORIDA STAxri: (2-0) The 20th-ranked Wolfpack goes head to head with the top-ranked Seminoles in this ACC battle. The Seminoles have revenge on their inds as N.C. State ruined their near- perfect season last year with a 24-7 whooping. TAl Florida State's Chris Weinke to stop, drop and roll because recently he has been on fire. The quarterback put 41 pois on the board against both Louiana Tech and Georgia Tech. On the other side of the ball, the Floridtate defensive line is a g d mine of ent : De sive ends Jamal Reynolds ad Roland Seymour wil mae Wopack quarterback Jamie ltamnette's teeth chatter. Stts running game will help keep thm aive. Senior Rahshon Spikes and sophomore Ray Robinson wi carry the load, but it is unlikely that they can penetrate the Seminole defense. Revenge is sweet. FLORIDA STATE 31, N.C. STATE 21 No. 2 T ESSE (1-0) vs. No. 4 FLORIDA (2-0) In this SEC classic, the second- ranked Volunteers square off against the Gators in Gainesville. The matchup not only has importance in the national rankings, but the game also could put the loser out of con- tention for the SEC title. Florida's explosive offense will collide against Tennessee's stubborn Tennessee recorded a school-record 13 sacks last week against Wyoming.- Key defenders are linemen Shaun Ellis and Darwin Walker, and defen- sive back Mikki Allen, who all recorded multiple sacks last week. Throw those clippers away, because this game is going to be a nail biter. Last year the Vols won in overtime, and this time around things shouldn't be too different. Though Florida has won its last 16 home con- ference games, the Gators should pray Hurricane Floyd turns around and heads back south. TENNESSEE 27, FLORIDA 19 No. 3 PENN STATE (3-0) vs. No. 8 MIAMI (FLORIDA) (2-0) The Nittany Lions eked by unranked Pittsburgh last week, 20- 17, with help from a blocked field goal. Penn State coach Joe Paterno will have his squad ready this week as these two top ten teams fight for positions in the polls. Though Penn State won last week, they know the country will be watch- ing to see whether last week's game was an abberation, or if they really aren't as good as everyone thinks they are. Junior defensive superstar LaVar Arrington, the best outside line- backer in the country and likely the best defender overall, will try to help the Lions defend their pride. The Hurricanes have been most impressive, squashing Ohio State, and annihilating Florida A&M. Sophomore quarterback Kenny 'Kelly has been near-perfect, passing to two NOTRE DAME (1-2) In South Bend, look for the 1-2 Fighting Irish to have better luck against the Spartans. Notre Dame ha proved itself a worthy team despi two losses. They were in position to beat both Michigan and Purdue, but lost both by a total of just nine points. Though the Spartans are undefeat- ed, they just don't have the talent to match the Irish. Senior quarterback Bill Burke defines mediocrity, and the only redeeming quality wide receiver Plaxico Burress has is a real- ly cool name. The Michigan State defense solid, but not solid enough to stop Notre Dame. Notre Dame quarterback Jarious Jackson is one of the most mobile play callers in the country. The option should work for Notre Dame this week, so look for Jackson to break through for some long runs. I bet me Lucky Charms Notre Dame slaughters the Spartans at home. NOTRE DAME 40, MICHIGAN STA ' 20 CENTRAL MICHIGAN (1-1) Vs. No. 14 PURDUE (2-0) No ifs, ands or buts, the Chippewas don't stand a chance in West Lafeyette. The best thing going for Central Michigan is their running back corps, of Eric Flowers and Vince Webbek Flowers had more than 1,300 rushing yards last year, but the Mid American Conference can't run with the big See FOOTBALL, Page 22A AP PHOTO Doug Johnson and the Gators will battle arch-rival Tennessee on Saturday. However, Hurricane Floyd may have other ideas. The storm has already postponed activites at several southeastern colleges. Women runners join men for weekend against Nittany Lions By Arun Gopat Daily Sports Writer This weekend, Michigan travels to Penn State in a matchup of two of the best teams in the Big Ten Conference. The Michigan women's cross coun- try team will be in State College for the Spiked Shoe Invitational, where the Nittany Lions are the host school. This meet is the second competi- tion of the season for Michigan. Two weeks ago, the Wolverines ran away from Michigan State in the Michigan State Invitational at Buhr Park. Paced by junior Lisa Ouellet, who claimed the top spot with a time of 18:01, the Wolverines took the top seven places in a dominating perfor- mance. The primary focus for the Wolverines this weekend is to get familiarized with the Penn State course, which will be the site of the Big Ten Championships in late October. "No one on our team right now has ever run there," Michigan coach Mike McGuire said. "They have pretty good footing at Penn State, better than what we had two weeks ago at Buhr Park, so we're looking for a good, sustained effort." McGuire was fairly pleased with the performance two weeks ago, but saw a lot of room for improvement. .b 4 Mr Gees SW NG AWF M AEFR SE Ja "Given the conditions, we ran pretty well, but we have to run much better as the season goes on," McGuire said. "We've had two solid weeks of prac- tice, and the pre-race anxiety should be' less for the freshmen. We should be a lot better in our second meet." Last year, the Wolverines could always count on Katie McGregor to lead the way. McGregor, a two-time Big Ten champion, made history when she became the first Wolverine to win the NCAA title. But she graduated, leaving a huge void. McGuire sees several possible successors to McGregor on this year's team. "Lisa Ouellet has already shown that she is a lot better than she was last year. She could be a real front-runner for us," McGuire said. "A few others like Katie Clifford, Elizabeth Kampfe and Katy Radkewich could also step up this year." Clifford, Sarah Hamilton and Angie Stanifer will be rejoining the team in State College after missing their meet two weeks ago due to illness. A large, talented freshman class will help the upperclassmen this weekend and the rest of this year. "Lyndsi Gay and Jane Martineau are leading the freshmen right now," McGuire said. "The common link with all of the freshmen is that they've shown a good work ethic and a desire to get better. As long as they all stay healthy, the rest of them will also start to emerge." Without a dominant runner like McGregor, McGuire said he felt that the Wolverines will have to focus more "We don't have another Mcregor on this team so we need to try and keep everyone close." - Mike McGuire Women's cross country coach this season on running in tighter groups. "We don't have another McGregor on this team yet, so we need to try and keep everyone close," McGuire said. "Naturally, the pack will split up a bit as people take the lead, but the most important thing for us is to get people in bunches. We're looking for balance and quality this year." McGregor's departure leaves the Wolverines without a clear-cut number one runner. While this will at times pose a problem, McGuire said he felt that it could work out to be positive for the older runners. "As the level of competition gets tougher, McGregor will be missed," McGuire said. "Next week, we'll be in Arkansas, and the top returning runner from last year's NCAA's will be there. "On the other hand, now the number one runner can change from meet to meet. It's an impetus for everyone to step up." ,,' . , LOUIS BROWN/Dali' The Michigan women's cross country team will count on its strong freshman class to make up for the loss of Katie McGrego. The Wolverines travel to Penn State this weekend. 1 9 SHEAR IMPACT SALON WELCOMES BACK STUDENTS Junior Stylists Now Offering $20 Haircuts Located at 548 Church Street, upstairs Open Tues-Sat " 662-4232 | MICHIGAN CROSS COUNTRY SCHEDULES: DL ty SN COME TO OUR TONIGHT, 7: AT THE STUDENT PU LIITONS RI MIN G-Mt A fl Men Date Event Site Time Sept 18 Oct 1 Oct 9 Oct 17 Oct 22 Oct 30 Nov 13 Nov 22 Penn State Invitational Notre Dame Invitational Murray Keatinge Invitational Wolverine Interregional Eastern Michigan Open Big Ten Championship NCAA Great Lakes Regional NCAA National State College South Bend Orono, Maine Ann Arbor Ypsilanti State College Terre Haute, Ind. 10:45 am 11:00 am 11:00 arc 1030 am 4:00 pm 10:30 am 11:00 am r I r a