14 The Michigan Daily - Friday,Sr
September 17, 1999
STAFF PICKS
Michigan too much in trenches
MATCHUPS
Continued from Page 12
The quarterback debate between
Tom Brady and Drew Henson has been
of no consequence thus far. Both sig-
nal-callers have been effective under
center, driving the Wolverines down-
field with relative ease.
And Brady and Henson have a tal-
ented cadre of receivers to throw the
ball too. Marcus Knight has been con-
sistent, David Terrell has been spectac-
ular at times, and Marquise Walker
emerged last Saturday against Rice.
DiAllo Johnson is also almost fully
recovered from off season knee surgery.
Syracuse boasts junior cornerback
Will Allen in the secondary. But the
only way the Orangemen can stop the
Michigan passing attack is for Dinkins
and Co. to get pressure on Brady and
Henson.
Notre Dame and Rice weren't able to
put much pressure on the Michigan
quarterbayks. The good money says
that Syracuse won't either.
Advantage: MICHIGAN
SYRACUSE RUSHING OFFENSE VS.
MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE:
Syracuse doesn't have Donovan
McNabb to run the option, but Troy
Nunes and Madei Williams have done
well in defeating Toledo and Central
Michigan the first two weeks of the
season.
Syracuse has also gotten some good
play at running back from junior Dee
Brown and sophomore James Mungro.
Brown has been steady for the
Orangemen while Mungro has shown
big-play potential during the first two
games.
But Michigan's front seven has been
on a rampage this year. Josh Williams
and Rob Renes alone forced Rice's
offense into a state of disarray.
And if the Orangemen's quarter-
backs or running backs get past them,
linebackers Ian Gold and Dhani Jones
have showed they can clean up any
messes.
Syracuse is a good rushing team. But
it is a rushing team without McNabb.
And against a Michigan defense which
defused the Notre Dame rushing attack,
Syracuse is going to wish that McNabb
was still scampering around in his
attractive orange pants.
Advantage: MICHIGAN
SYRACUSE PASSING OFFENSE VS.
MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE:
This is an area where Syracuse can
do some damage. While its been estab-
lished that Nunes and Willimas are not
McNabb, they both have shown an abil-
ity to throw the deep ball.
But then again, they were playing
Toledo and Central Michigan.
All kidding aside, the Orangemen
have one of the most talented wideouts
in the country in senior Quinton
Spotwood. Spotwood was injured most
of last year, but has come back with a
vegenance. Jeff Lowe and Pat
Woodcock are good possesion
receivers, and Stephen Brominski is a
tight end with an NFL future.
Michigan's secondary has shown
signs of vulnerability. Although Tommy
Hendricks and DeWayne Patmon have
shown good ability to stop the run, they
were victimized by Notre Dame's
Jarious Jackson multiple times a couple
of weeks ago. And Syracuse runs an
offense similar to the Fighting Irish.
If Syracuse wants to pull the upset,
air travel is probably the way to go.
Advantage: SYRACUSE
MICHIGAN SPECIAL TEAMS VS.
SYRACUSE SPECIAL TEAMS:
Jeff Dcl Verne has quelled all ques-
tions about the state of the Michigan
placekicking situation, connecting on
seven-of-eight field goals in the first
two games.
Hayden Epstein and Phillip Brabbs
have been effective on kickoffs and
Cory Sargent has done well in the few
times he has punted this year.
But Syracuse's Nate Trout is a talent-
ed, grizzled veteran. Trout follows the
Syracuse placekicking tradition of
Gary Anderson and Olindo Mare very
well, as he is almost automatic within
45 yards.
But then again, kicking a dome has
its advantages.
Advantage: EVEN
If you want an exciting football
game, watch the Michigan-Syracuse
game. Both teams should be able to
pass the ball effectively, so the key will
be how each team defends the run.
With the front seven of Michigan, it
would be hard to bet against the
Wolverines.
Score: MICHIGAN 31, SYRACUSE 20
All picks made against
the spread.
Home teams in CAPS.
T
Michigan (-5) vs. Syracuse
PURDUE (-37) vs. Central Michigan
DUKE (-8.5) vs. Northwestern
INDIANA (-7.5) vs. Kentucky
NOTRE DAME (-6.5) vs. Michigan State
Wisconsin (-26) vs. CINCINNATI
Penn State (-2.5) vs. MIAMI (Fla.)
OHIO STATE (-43) vs. Ohio
IOWA (-14.5) vs. Northern Illinois
FLORIDA (-2) vs. Tennessee
NEBRASKA (-26.5) vs. Southern Miss
FLORIDA STATE (-28) vs. N.C. State
TEXAS A&M (-31) vs. Tulsa
UCLA (-21) vs. Fresno State
Best Bet
I
.J. Berka
Michigan
Purdue
Northwestern
Kentucky
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Penn State
Ohio State
Northern Illinois
Tennessee
Southern Miss
Florida State
Texas A&M
Fresno State
Wisconsin
Rick Freeman
Michigan
Central Michigan
Duke
Kentucky
Michigan State
Wisconsin
Penn State
Ohio State
Iowa
Tennessee
Nebraska
N.C. State
Texas A&M
UCLA
Wisonsin
Josn Kueinbaum
Michigan
Central Michigan
Northwestern
Indiana
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Penn State
Ohio State
Iowa
Tennessee
Southern Miss
Florida State
Tulsa
UCLA
Florida State
Andy Latack
Michigan
Purdue
Northwestern
Kentucky
Notre Dame
Wisconsin
Penn State
Ohio State
Iowa
Tennessee
Nebraska
Florida State
Tulsa
UCLA
Wisconsin
WEEK 2: SOPHOMORE SLUMP?
o here we qo. Time for the dreaded sophomore slump. It's the second week of
staff picks. Time to separate the men from the boys. 0K, so we'll probably all
look bad. In fact, that should probably be our best bet. Although you will notice
that Freeman, despite a well, interesting pre-season choice for national champion,
was the only one of the Daily's so-called experts to get his best bet - supposedly'the
easiest pick. You may notice a bit of a pack mentality this week. Freeman also backed
the Bucks this week.
Berka went it alone on Northern Illinois this week Kleinbaum stuck it out on the
Chippewas, Freeman seems to think the Duke-Northwestern game will come down to
the party-school tiebreaker and Latack simply followed the pack with his picks.
So watch the games. See how we do. See if you could do better. Then check out
how we did in SportsMonday
0
Domecoming for
M'
SYRACUSE
Continued from Page 12
Wolverines a 38-28 loss in their
home opener, dropping them to 0-2
to open the season.
"They came into Michigan
Stadium, which is something we take
pride in defending, and beat us bad, "
Michgan nose tackle Rob Renes
said. "We don't have revenge on our
mind, but it will be very similar to
the Notre Dame loss last season -
we learned from it and we will be
ready."
Renes will also be ready for some
additional special teams duties
tomorrow.
With long snapper Jeremy Miller
out for the season with a broken arm
suffered last week against Rice,
Renes will take Miller's place at the
position.
Although nose
tackle Rob Renes.
said revenge
won't be on his
mind tomorrow
eight, he said
the
Wolverines plan
to learn from
their 38-28 whip-
ping at Michigan
Stadium.
DANA INNANE/Daily
m
19
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