Scoreboard,.
NATIONAL Pittsburgh 7,
LEAGUE MILWAUKEE 5
NEW YORK 9MILWAUKEE 5,
Atlanta 2 Pittsburgh 2
ST. LOUIS 6, HOUSTON 4,
San Diego 5 Cincinnati 1
MONTREAL 5, Colorado at
Florida 3 ARIZONA, Inc.
PHILADELPHIA 5, Los Angeles at
Chicago 0 SAN FRANCISCO, Inc.
AMERICAN
LEAGUE
Detroit 6.
MINNESOTA 3
Boston 6,
CHICAGO 2
New York at
BALTIMORE, ppd.
Toronto 6,
TAMPA BAY 2
Ule ii u N
Tracking 'M' charity work
The Michigan Athletic Department and Ann Arbor
Public Schools have joined to form "Partners for
Excellence," a program that will send athletes to area
schools to offer tutoring, perform community service
Thursday
September 30, 1999
9A
9A
Blue may stkeggle to
make Boilers add up
By Rick Freeman
Daily Sports Editor
Something's not right here. On Saturday, two Big
Ten teams that find more success through the air
than on the ground face off.
And the numbers don't add up. Michigan has two
quarterbacks and one running back. Purdue has one
quarterback and two running backs (or none).
The Boilermakers' quarterback, Drew Brees,
sometimes has five recievers to throw to; some-
times throws 50 times a game. He takes a lot of
three-step drops, and has only been sacked once.
The only number that make sense is the number
of winners - one. And the one that triumphs has
the first leg up in the Big Ten race. Michigan might
not face an opponent this fearsome until Penn State,
two months from now - and that's assuming the
second-ranked Nittany Lions are this scary.
Oh, and one last thing. Purdue is an option team.
But more on that later. Saturday's game will rest
upon the shoulders of both teams' quarterbacks -
all three of them.
Carr gave the nod -literally - to his usual rota-
tion of Tom Brady at quarterback in the first quar-
ter, Drew Henson at quarterback in the second and
whoever has the hot hand in the second half
If Henson's hand is hot enough, Brees might not
even be the most talented Drew in the game, let
alone the country.
But despite Lloyd Carr's expressed wishes to
avoid throwing a signle pass, it seems almost
inevitable that this game will hinge on the the play
of the three quarterbacks.
"Usually, as Drew Brees goes, so goes Purdue,"
Purdue coach Joe Tiller said.
And he's gone to the moon for the Boilermakers
so far.
Brees' offensive numbers - 10 touchdowns,
1,315 yards - look good even next to these: 10
touchdowns, 1,366 yards. Those last figures belong
to Michigan's entire offense this season. And Brees
has only been sacked once - Michigan's two-
headed quarterback monster, has been brought
down six times.
"What impresses me most is that they only have
given up one sack," Carr said.
What impresses Tiller the most is the diversity of
Michigan's offense.
Measuring u
How Michigan's offense, run by two
quarterbacks, measures up to the
8oilermakers' passing game alone:
1,315 Drew Brees' passing yards
1, 3 6 Michigan's total yards
touchdowns scored by each
Earlier this week, he cited tailback Anthony
Thomas' versatility.
"I've been impressed with how they put the ball
in his hands," Tiller said. "Thomas is a strong guy
that does everything for them."
Which is precisely Michigan's problem.
Purdue has outrushed Michigan, too, 563-471,
and the Boilermakers second-leading rusher is a
tailback, Montrell Lowe (189 yards), not a wide
receiver, as Michigan's No. 2 man is.
Take away David Terrell's 45-yard touchdown off
a double-reverse last weekend, and Michigan's sec-
ond-leading rusher is true freshman B.J. Askew,
who gained 18 yards in mop-up time against Rice,
or Henson, who has rushed for 38 yards but lost 21
on sacks.
The scariest number of all for Michigan, though,
is the number of people who will know where
Purdue's receivers are going when the Boilermakers
run the option.
Two. Brees and the receiver.
"It's.predicated on what the defense does, that's
why it's called the option," Tiller said. "Really, it's
unpredictable where the receiver is going to go. The
quarterback has to read him."
And Michigan's defenders looked as though they
had vanquished their option nightmares last week
when they stopped Ron Dayne for a loss after tak-
ing a pitch from Wisconsin quarterback Brooks
Bollinger on fourth down.
That might not be right, either.
LOUIS BROWN/Daily
Quarterback Drew Henson's elusiveness is one of his strong points, and the sophomore could be a handful for the Purdue defense on Saturday.
Stickers hit the road to face top
ranked teams in the conference
By Sarah Ensor
For The Daily
As the No. 10 Michigan field
hockey team marches into the heart
of the Big Ten season, things just
keep getting tougher.
This weekend is of utmost impor-
tance for the Wolverines, who will
face Big Ten powerhouses - No. 7
Ohio State and No. 5 Penn State -
on the road. It is Michigan's chance
to prove itself one of the conference's
elite teams and will provide a chal-
lenge the players and coaches are
eager to face.
"It's our time to prove that we're a
top team," freshman forward Jessica
Rose said. "We want to win the Big
Ten, and you've got to beat everyone
to get there."
The weekend begins with tomor-
row's game against Ohio State. The
Buckeyes are 8-1 overall, with a 1-1
conference record. Michigan has won
the last five meetings between the
two teams, including a 2-0 victory in
the semifinals of last year's Big Ten
tournament.
On Sunday, the Wolverines will
face the Nittany Lions in one of the
most important and most highly 1
anticipated games of the season.
Penn State is 7-2 overall and 1-1 in
the Big Ten. It is one of the most sto-
ried programs in field hockey, having
won the last four Big Ten champi-
onships and having appeared in the
NCAA Tournament every year since
1982.
Although Michigan is motivated to
win this game, history is not on its
side. The Wolverines have lost 15 of
17 meetings with the Nittany Lions,
including all three matchups last
"Don't I t ou r
s E i
year.
"There's always a revenge factor,"
Michigan coach Marcia Pankratz
said. "They're our nemesis and an
excellent team. We have to get
through them to get to the top of the
Big Ten."
Because the Penn State game is the
more emotional matchup, the
Wolverines need to avoid overlook-
ing the first contest of the weekend.
"We need to stay focused on Ohio
State and then move our focus to
Penn State," Pankratz said.
The players agree that the team
must take the schedule one game at a
time.
"We're not looking ahead to Penn
State," Rose said. "We're making
sure we're ready for" the Buckeyes.
Michigan enters the weekend with
a 7-3 overall record, including a 1-0
mark in the Big Ten. The Wolverines
opened conference play last
Wednesday with a dramatic 1-0 win
over then-No. II Michigan State in
East Lansing.
"We were happy to come out of our
first Big Ten game with a win,"
Pankratz said. "Now we need to
focus on Ohio State and Penn State.
Every game is a challenge."
There is no doubt that this week-
end will be the stiffest challenge the
Wolverines have faced thus far this
season. Players and coaches alike,
though, express confidence in the
team's ability to succeed.
"We just need to emphasize what
we do well," Pankratz said. "If we use
our strengths, we'll be fine."
Rose agrees.
"We're really excited for these
games," she said. "Practice has been
really good all week and we're pre-
pared to meet the challenge."
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I U
Where will you'
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