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FRIDIAY
NoVEMBER 3, 2000
9
Spread
eONlt -i MM A~h
AN
Rivalry weeks
at Hockey 'I
Intrastate showdown
finally here for leers
*F
MICHIGAN AT NORTHWESTERN,
TOMORROW, 3:30 P.m., ABC r
Wildcats once again
in must-win position
By ,hen Schwartz
D~aily sports Wnter
\\ hen the planers -walk thre
tutin1el towar-d the Yost lce Art
tomiorrowv i rht, open the at e.
Bercnson said. "YOU either have eight or
you don't have eight. So if anyone realIl
lhael an upper-hand that's your season
ough the right there."
'ena rink Mlichigani will play its first regular
and stele
By Chris Duprey
1)aIly Sports Fditor
=first to worst. and back to first.
It's not too difficult to make the first
leg of that journey. Riding the coaster
back up the hill is much more of a chal-
I enge.
'Through two coaches and f i\ e sea-
sons. through doubt and crisis,
Northwestern has made thle ou rnev.
*In 1995, then-Wildcats coach Clary
Bar nctt seated his team in a secluded
auditorium on campus to watch
Michigan play Ohio State. Northwxestcrn
had finished conference play a week ear-
lier at 8-0. Because the Wildcats did not
meet Ohio :State that year due to the infai-
mous scheduling quirk, they needed a
Michigan victory to ensure their outright
Big Ten championship.
STim Biakabutuka and his 313 yards
'ave the Woverines a 31-23 triumph that
day, and the camera turned to Barnett itn
Evanston. A grand speech surely await-
ed.
"Let tie ask my players."lhe said to the
ABC television reporter. "Boys, do vou
want to go to Pasadena'" lBarnett aisked,
the 'denia' in Pasadena drowned out by
the rousing. cheers of, 100 mene.
Bartnett had one more good year in
Evanston. but then the program began to
6111c-rae. i s noxeltv had worn off. It
became clear that lie would eithecr hax c
to redouble his efforts at Northwestern,
or start over completely.
After much speculation where Barnett
mtsled the press, utniversitv administra-
tion and the fanis about his job intetitions,
he packed and left for Colorado hefore
hc 1999 season, the program in sham-
bles.
Frtom f irst to worst.
In came Randy Walker from NIiami
(Ohio). Ie Ic hed the unfortutiate embar-
rassment of losing to his old school in his
very first game, 28-3. A 3-8 season was
unfithing slowly. Painfully.
Walker's team played just orne oppo-
tent's IHomecom ing in 1999. thle foirtu-
nate result of an October schedule that
included three home games.
The Wildcats owned a permanent
Saturdav noon slot on IiSPN-Plus, the
network that televises the games no otic
else wants. Wayne Larrivcee, Jim Barbar
and that operation broadcasted four of
Northwestern's games that season. ABC
w as nowhere to be found.
Then 200() came, and the much-hailed
spread offense wvas implemented.
Futility turtied into Walker savinrg "it
never crossed my mind that we wouldn't
wini" after thle Wildcats beat Wisconsin
on Sept.23.
Nowx as the season mioves into Its fin al
three games. Northwvestern owns a 4-1
contcrcnce record..A piece of the Big
"fell championship is guaranteed if the
out onto the ice, one of the
first things that they see
wIll be the newvest addition
to the told Barn's rafters
Michi uint's 2000)
CCI IA Championship)
bannter.
Raised befor-e last
Saturday's catile acatust
Nian7ii the batnecr hati's
rt1 uht above Center, tee,
sliuhtlv lo~vcer than the
other banners that pro-
claim the suLccess oxer'
time of Michiclan 's hockey
}pro tra .
To MO
Yosr ICE
Who: No. 1 Michi
No. 6 Michigan St
When: 7:05 p.m.I
Radio: WCBN-FM
exclusive, live cov
Tickets: Sold out
Injuries: Michigar
Koch (ankle) out;
State - F Andre
{shoulder) questi
Goodenow (shoul
I
I x
N)
NIARJORiE MARSHALL'D
The Wolverines may be in for a shootout this Saturday when they take on a high-
scoring Northwestern team averaging 36.5 points per game,
F~or Mlich igatn State x etcrzIns who will
comle to Yost this season aIfter fufallng to)
the Wolverines by three pjoints fbr -thle
( ( I I.A sasonI title last x ear, the siguht of
the be, ~ikr Could prov ide a bit of added
Ieniotion. sorietittg hardly needed itn the
historic intrastate tix al r.
"Every year if' you gao back the last
five years it's been a battle." Michicati
coach Red Berensotn said. "The two
teams have been involved for most of the
year in a battle for first place.''
.Sitnce the 1990-1991 season, the two
schools have conmbinted for seven CC'HA
titles -- live for fihe Wokl xeri ties, two for
the Sparlans. And with four recular sea-
son gameCs against each other this year.
the matchiup could be intecral iti deter-
miningz this seasons champiotn.
"We have four ame1s to plIa anst
this teani and that's eight poitits, and
that's a di fferetnce of 1 6 poitits.'
season game as No). I iii the coitrv
since the 1996-1 907sei-
RROW son. 'The ranking ji ;in
addedl target oi the
ARENA Wolverines' backs atid the
igao (&G02) vs. sixth-ranked Spartans will
tate (41-1) do everything hycalt
tornorrow thycnt
88.3 woill have dethrone the team that is
Overage now on top of the college
hockey world.
3--F Geoff It all adds up to what
tMichigan the players arc cexpecting
'ew Bogle to be quite i eveniniU.
onable: F Joe "I think this is probably
der) ques- )tin(- to be the most exeit,
1t1g poitit ol iiv Wolverine
caretr righit here,'' said
freshman defensemnan Andv l31urntes, 'ai
R attl retek native wvhose pat'ents- hothI
wetnt to Michigan State. "I've been think'
inu about it cever si rice Saturda tinight wias
over. All week, it's been onl my minid, in
classes, going to sleep at night, just think-
ing, about the game."
The Wolvetrines are expecting a dt fn;
sivc battle. With Josh Blackburtn expect-
ing to be back ini net after a shoulder
injury in the game against Miaiaid
Ryan Miller between the pipes for' the,
Spartan;, it should be a loxw scoring
afairt. Miller leads the CC HIA in both
goals agaitist average (1.81) and save
per'cenitage (.935).
"It's going to conic dowtn to a gnme of
miistakes." B~urtnes said. "Whoeveyr
makes the least mistakes is going t i
Basically, wxe've just got to play a'solid
defetisixe game arid let offiense take caire
of itsel f"
W\.ildcats xwiii their last three.
Worst to first.
In conies Michicuan to towni totmorrow,.
the fi rst and most Iiigh-profi le roadblock
in that jout'tev at low a and home
acairist Illinois are Nort-hxxestern 's last
two. TIhe Wolxcnics hiave their sic-hts set
on the same prize The\ te 7.5-poi111t
lavotri tes Ion' toiiorn ix.
''What's alxxays been a ttbca I point of
this progi'aiii is thle IBig eIn Chamip-
unshiip. That':s up to us" Michigan coach
Lloyd C'atrr said. "To say you're the Big
Tcbn champioti- that's a significatt
acconiplishirnrt anytime"'
Miichigani is playing for continued
cotitenition in the Big iTn, Northxwestern
is too. but a victory tomiorr'ow xvillbtring
the Wildcats much closer to cotipletiing
their circle.
h.fitst to worst to first.
hBnt first thitngs fiirst. They must xiii.
Soccer advances at Big Tens
Evanston harbors bad memories for Blue
By David Den Herder
ily Sports Editor
There isan old savin that claiiis the
"W2hest icghs aren't nearly as extreme as
the lowest lows.
For Michigan, there have been cool
tnights ii Pasadena -and chiilling after-
no00ns iii Lx aiston. And depetiding on
who you talk to. Ryan field is the
embodimient of a pessimistic otie-liner
haunting the Michigan prod:rami.
It was. of' course. Brnian (ioxitis who
booted No. 5 Michigan Out of' the
national title picture iii 1996 -on the
~ore of Lake Michigcan, twice clutch.
Wit by that time, it xxas no anomal.
Northwvcsterni had done the sam'e thinie
in Ann Arbor a year before another
fourth-quarter comeback for MIichIig an ;s
first bleniish.
Some have Donie so far as to say that
the \ o d " p e "i b o e ei h 31en todax . That is probably false. But to
think No. 12 Mlichiigan (4-1 13lig Ten. 0-
2 overall) has thiings all taken care of
4s weekend could be pIresuiiip1tuous at
~st .
N0RTIJNVESi ERN RI S1i\(: 1) E FENS F:
The Northxvestet'n rushing defenise has
jbeens somiexwhiat fickle -allowing the
most yards recently to, of' all teams.
Putrdue.
Strong performances at the def ensiv e
ends held Indiana back, but of miore
concertn to Michigati is the Wildcats'
iii.., tgainst the Spatans, whose
rushing gamie follows a style more akin
to Michigan's.
In that game, Northwestern al loxwed
only 134 yards on thle cr1ounid.
Toorrow might not be the Aiithonv
Thomas shioxv, but L.loyd Carr \x ill cer-
tainly give it a trxv. And xxho could blame
him'
Advantage: Michigati
MiiiPA~ixSING Vs.
NOwRuIAWL.TRN PxSi\(; DEFEilNSE: It's
hard to f'itid a team in the IBig len that
can edge Miichigan iii this categoi'v.
Which is not to say Michigan is all
about the pass. Ron B~ellamy wx111 be a
qutestioti mark h Ie still had a cast on
hris hand Monday but Marquise
Walker and David Terr'ell at'e the best
flanik tanidern in the Big Ten. Expect to
see \liehican's classic sxiticatid its
Pix orite nexxV shotrt slatit in third-and-
iiedliiii situations.'What ever happened
to the counter boot to the tigcht enid'' It
may haxe tonetie diwxav of Sean
Thompsoni this season- but if it comes
doxxn to a shootout. don't be surprised to
see the return of the tigh11t etid pass.
Adx'atitaue: Michigani
i(IIH 1 :STERt\i RC(, S I ' XS.
c v n th n sP r u Wa t tot rkthe ball because of' D I-xv F3recs.'' said
Micii-can defensix e end D~an Ru.mishlek.
''Hut thex xWarit to run..
And that might be the biggecst mits-
Coniceptioti about the spread.
Nor-thWe stern Wantis to runl, also. Enter
Datmien Anderson. lie has 16 rushing
touchdowns on the year and really has-
n't been shut doxwn--- except by Pur'due.
Iook out for Zak Kustok oti the scram-
ble. too --- usually from the shotguti.
Michiiani has hadled Randle E'l and
'.1. Duckett -- most notably the third-
quarter goal-hln statid two weeks ago.
Credit Michigan for back-to-back
shutouts. Butt can the Wolverines deal
with a quairterback and tailback thrteat in
the same gamne? Not if' West Lafayette is
any indication,
Advxantage: Nor'thuwestern.
N0R iHWESIT:kN PASSING VS.
lICHIGAN PASSING DE~FENSE: So it
conies down to this, really. '[le
unknown xvariable . 'The X-factoir. The
elastic clause.
No, Michigan has niot allowed a
single point in two games. But is the
M'ichigan defensive secotndary up to
the Northixesternichalletice"'Despite
the recent upsurge In i itereept ioi5S.
Corner covet'aete is still qutitonable.
The Wildcats haxve a dixverse attack
hat miost ofteni is directed towxard
xidleout Teddx .Johinson hult the
burdeti is split betwexeciiSane
Simmons anud Kunle Patrick (xxho'is
tip to Simm11ons xxon thieii the
Mininesota cainec). as well as
Andersoniniiithe lI at. IThe rct'c ixens
xiii the miaichup. hut the recetit
breakout of NI i clii an's li nebackers
could make the di fferentce. Still. thle
Wolve ritics hiaxe not e ffeti xely Iiiati
aged the spread this seasoni.
Adx atita7ce: Northixestcrti
sllPctI I i. i xxs: It Seems that
Niic hi c-an's worries on thliis fr~ont arc
siibsidin-c. SIl ht lx. IDel Verne is
monexy Inside 40 x a rds. anIi( psteli i
xx as ticalv good frotii ? a a i tst
State.
Punits hixvcii't beeni a probileim. hut
remeimber 3c1 laiiix'5 injurii.
Northixxestemrn 's Tim I ones is finti
iniside 30, but is about 70) percent out-
side that.
Simmtions anud Johnson handle
returns tol.t'hle Wildcats, neithet' have
l)iroketi free.
.(fx atitawe: Il eni
I NxN(iti~rs:With Its x n.toi V oxCIr
mintitisota last weeck, N'otlthxx sterii
has maintained its Iic Tent darikhorse
status.
But if oneCxword could definie
Michigan coring'offtliis bye xeek, it
is refocused.
The Wolvx en tes have no excuses
o be altilinti less t hanii x Iiat t hex
could hiave been in Septemiber
and for the rest of, this seaIson.
Nichieati w ill hiaxve fanisxondelninc
xvhat il'
:\dx itityic: NIiclii ati
N11ichigan 45, Northwestern 24
'he third-seeded Michigan
wometn's soecer' teamn came out
fighting in the secotid half of the
Big Ten Tournament quarterfinals
to clinichi a2-0 victory over Iowxa
last night.
Although the first half' ended
xwithi no score, the Wolverines out-
shot the H-awkey'es 13-2.IForxward
Abby ('inumptoni saw a pair of
shots hit the post.
But the second half was not des-
tinied to be the samte story.
F~reshmnan Amber' Wilsoni capi-
talized first on a pars by Kacy
Beitel at the 65:37 mark, anid then
again on a coirner kick by Andrea
Kay'al with only a minute left in
regulation. Wilson leads the team
in goals this season with niine.
Netminder Carissa Stewart made
seven saves and earned her 20thi-
cai'eer shutout.
With the witi, the Wolverines
will move on today to face second-
seed Wisconsin, who barely
squeakedmeaxv with a victory in £a
shootout ag ain~st seventh-seedecd
Purdue. Michigan has only fac~ed
the Badgers otice this season,
dropping a heartbreaking l-0J deci-,
sion in front of' their home fans at
the Michigan soccer field.
Straff jreporl,.
I ,. 1
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