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 %k