i AWL i S.- -TheMichiganDaily-FOOTBALL SATURDAY -- November 11, 200 0 0 0 0 No ber 11, 2000 - I A unique perspective, slightly somber WHEN MICHIGAN HAS THE FOOTBALL In the hunt Wen I applied to colleges in 1995, the only thing I wanted out of school for certain was a major national championship. My mother tried to convince me that with my micro- scopic attention span, I was more suited for a small school with small class sizes - but this advice went ignored. Sounds a little obsessive, but many of the com- DAN WILLIAMS 1 es t mitted sports Li)1U1i'it patrons at Michigan could probably spin similar tales. The twist is that the school I chose was not Michigan, but Pennsylvania State University. I spent two years as a content under- classman in Happy Valley, and I reli- giously believed in Penn State football. I believed that Joe Paterno stood before me as a man-god, and I immersed myself in the Penn State tradition. Most of all, I felt destined for a national title. When circumstances developed that led me to transfer to Michigan after my sophomore year, I already defined myself so thoroughly by Penn State football that I could not exchange alle- wiances. Thus, I came to be "the biggest Penn State fan ever to attend the University of Michigan," a self-proclamation. And thus, the stage is set for this improbable, Job-like piece. Over the last five years. rootin. fr Penn State has seemed like an experi- ence in human suffering. I realize how myopic and melodramatic that sounds. but zealous fans, those whose well- beings hinge on a football team, can commiserate. The memories return like bad war flash backs. There was the 1996 lowa game, where I stood shivering in the coldest rain conceivable watching Tim Dwight and an average Hawkeye team steal a win in Happy Valley. There was last year's battle with Minnesota, a game I couldn't watch because I was covering the Michigan women's soccer for the Daily in B3loomington. When word reached me of the Golden Gophers improbable game-winning drive, ending Penn State's national title hopes, I lost all sense of duty and sprawled out on the bleachers for nearly an hour, oblivious to the girls I was supposed to be inter- viewing. Despite these inexplicable lows, the transpirations of my college life have made the three embarrassing losses to Michigan the center of my anguish. Every year I go to classes on Friday, proudly sporting my Lavar Arrington jersey, and every Monday I have to skip those same classes because I'm too ashamed to look my peers in the eye. The debacle of Penn State football this year has reinvented the phrase "fall from grace." I've been hopping around my apartment, pounding walls, throwing silverware and pleading "my Nits" to play inspired. Yet today they are 4-6, including losses to Toledo and Iowa in home games. The descendence continues -- the last two years I followed the team to Tampa Bay and San Antonio for sec- ond-tier bowl games - this year I'll be staying home all together. The Nittany Lions are about to lose the top recruit in the country, a running back from Chester, Pa., to the growing program at Virginia Tech. Every day I read fellow Penn State fans calling for the retirement of Paterno, a man we all once deified, and I want to sob. My blind faith in him to right this sinking ship remains, but it's fleeting. The game with Michigan this week- end appears virtually unwinnable. Penn State can't run the ball because the offensive line is deplorable, the defense won't stop I lenson or Thomas or Terrell, and every David Royer punt is a misad- venture. But I still dream of a miracle. I will not win a major national championship while I'm at college, but I can't concede that the Penn State football program has digressed to the toilet. I have to believe Paterno can pull a miracle from his keister Saturday, and the program will be reborn. If the implausible does occur, the los- ing streak ends and the weight of the world is lifted from my shoulders, I may have to abandon my seat and singularly rush the field. If that transpires, yell at me, bombard me with marshmallows, even hate me. But pity a fool that loves a declining team a little too much. Daily Sporls 1ritr Dan Williwus is a /rmcr 1i1n Sta h al/e.C ( ' can he reached ti at dhwawlrtniclz.cdu. I lerrell 5 Bell SE 54 Williams 77 Pape RT 72 Goodwin 78 Mast RGa 1'rnt 76 Hutchinson 79sackus Goodwin 73 Denay 74 SolorT c LG LT LC 32 Scott 1 Branch LE 96 Jones 81 Haynes OLB 2 Toles 27 Dodd 32 Thoma- TB 23 perry LT 98 Adams 99 Falls RT '3 Kennedy W0 Valoczki RE 37 Kurpeik 65 Ro~he 4 Walker 19 Bellamy FL s 83 Joppru n 81 Seymour TE RC 10 Jut' 25 Grdnel )LB Gatton Capone FB 3AAskew 44 A rmstrong Eight top teams battle it out for the top BCS bowl No. 1 Oklahoma (8-0) Remaining schedule: at Texas A&M, vs. Texas Tech, at Oklahoma State, Big 12 cham- pionship game. Good news: Only team without a defeat gives Sooners more margin for error than anyone else; Heisman race provides Josh Heupel extra motivation. Bad news: A loss is more costly late in the season than early, so being undefeated might not help keep the Sooners afloat if they drop one. SS 9 Pettigrew 15 Yisreal 6 Boyd 28 Millon NITTANY LIONS TO WATCH QB Rashard Casey Passing:, 136-263, 1625 yds, 11 TD RB Eric McCoo 116 carries, 442 yds, 5 TD TE Tony Stewart 35 rec, 430 yds, 2 TD WR Eddie Drummond 25 rec, 273 yds, 0 ID DE Justin Kurpeikis 66 tackles, 15-56 for loss FS James Boyd 92 tackles, 3 int. K Ryan Primanti 13-15 FG, long 51 No. 2 Florida State (9-1) Remaining schedule: at Wake Forest, vs. Florida. Good news: The Seminoles continue to kill opponents by large margins, impressing poll voters; Also, it's the Seminoles' turn to host the big game against Florida. Bad news: The only bad news is for everyone else. Florida State has put its only loss behind it and is charging toward the title game in Miami. U Good news: pose too mL the Hurricar is a pesky f Bad news: N up via stren Oklahoma o ~- Good news: vides Husker polls, jack u (the lowest Bad news: B home. No. 7 Oregon (I Remaining schE vs. California, e Oregon State. x ' >t .r i ": AP PHOTO Not that far behind ... BCS Standings, Page 5 No. 5 Florida (8-1) Remaining schedule: vs. South Carolina, at Florida State. No. 6 Washington (8-1) Remaining schedule: vs. UCLA, at Washington State. Senior Day 2000 Rashard Casey WHEN PENN STATE HAS THE FOOTBALL 8 McCoo 34 Easy RB FB 36 Ceiermle 39 Jefferson 20 Drummond U1 T. Johnson SE 67 McKenzie 72 Felder 76 Jones 75 Mitchell 22 Watson 24 B. Johnson FL 57 Bell 89 Stewart 77 McKelvy 85 Gilmore LT TE Field Hockey Who: Michigan (18-3) vs. William & Mary (12-7) at Wake Forest; the winner faces the No.4 Wake Forest vs. Harvard winner Sunday for a final four berth When: 2:00 p.m. Saturday; 2:00 p.m. Sunday Last year: Michigan was NCAA runner-up The Michigan field hockey team will hunt for a second-consecutive final four berth in familiar territory this weekend, as the Wolverines head to the NCAA Regionals in Winston-Salem, N.C. for the second year in a row. No. 5 Michigan (18-3) will square off against No. 14 Williamd & Mary (12-7) Saturday at 2 p.m., and the Wolverines will face' the winner of Harvard (12-5) and tournament-host No. 4 Wake Forest (16-3) Sunday at 2 p.m. The only team in the regional the Wolverines have played this season is Wake Forest, where despite outshooting the Demon Deacons, Michigan lost 2-0. The Wolverines were awarded an automatic bid by winning the Big Ten Tournament this past weekend. The winner of the Regional heads to NCAA final four next weekend in Norkfolk, va., at Old Dominion. Last year in Winston-Salem, No. 5 Michigan beat No. 11 Duke 2-1, and then third-seed Wake Forest 3-2 in a dramatic double-overtime en route to a final four berth. This will be Michigan's second NCAA appearance. Last year the Wolverines defeated unbeaten connecticut, 4-3, in the semifinal game before losing to Maryland, 2-1, in the NCAA Championship game on a goal scored with no time left in the first half. RT SCB 5 Whitley 12 Williams Kell! Gannon scored two goals in the Big Ten Tournament, which Michigan won thanks to a 3-2 victory over Penn State in the final. BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Dai- So< Who: Michiga When: 1 p.m Latest: Mich undefeated, setting year b RG C LG DE 92 Rumishek 90 Coleman NT 60 Wilson 90 Bowman Four minutes Michigan's g finally settles With an emp cashed in he ond round of The Wolverin against No.: challenge of Michigan los' Redhawks g overtime thr The Michigan men's and wome to Ypsilanti for NCAA Regionals NCAA nationals. On the women Katie jazwinski will try to Championships after they 1 DT 96 Petruziello 97 Lazarus CB 3 Howard 21 LeSueur OLB 6 Hobson 42 Spytek I ILB ILB 17 Foote 61.EBt*rackins 45 Jordan 28 Diggs RLB 39 Stevens 95 Kashama Cross coun try ss sa 26 Curry 24 Drake FS 15 Patmon 34 Fargas