eRmTSm9 t1ailg PORS michigandaily.comi/sports sportsdesk@umich.edu WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24, 2001 11 , Showdown in Lincoln Nebraska-Oklahoma highlights week of action TOM FELOKAMP/Daily Freshman Milan Gajic has had trouble adjusting from junior hockey to college. Stffworks with -Gajic On finding magic touch By Seth Klempner Daily Sports Writer As soon as Hobey Baker finalist Andy Hilbert decided to leave Michi- gan early to pursue an NHL career, Michigan coach Red Berenson knew the team needed to find another natural scorer. A player who had an uncanny ability to put the puck in the net as if it was second nature, just like it was for Hilbert. Enter freshman Milan Gajic. Gajic came to Michigan with an abundance of natural talent but not a lot of confidence or big-game experi- ence. With his limitless talent, com- bined with Michigan's need for more scorers to step up, the coaching staff and others around him have been work- ing diligently with the freshman. "He has the chance to add some offense to our team," assistant coach Mel Pearson said. "We don't have a lot of natural scorers, but Milan has that. He just has to do some things away from the puck, hard work and that way when he gets-the chance he will be able to finish." The coaching staff was also willing to take a risk on Gajic in giving him the No. 9 jersey that Hobey Baker winner Brendan Morrison and Berenson both wore. He had been a late admission to Michigan, leaving the decision of what number he would be up to the coaches. "I wasn't even sure where I was liv- ing until a couple weeks before I got here. I guess they just gave me the No. 9 jersey so its pretty nice' Gajic said. The Michigan coaches are not the * only ones that are high on Gajic's potential. The Atlanta Thrashers drafted him in the fourth round with the 112th overall draft pick in the 2001 NHL entry draft. After'Saturday's game against Western Michigan, Gajic's strongest start to date, the forward could be seen with an Atlanta scout going over the aspects of his game that needed improvement. While some of the freshmen have had experience against collegiate play- ers prior to Michigan, Gajic did not. He played in the British Columbia Hockey League. Known for its offensive prowess, the league annually produces five or six 100-plus point scorers. But the BCHL lacks in the defensive discipline and combined physical and fast play that typifies college hockey. Consequently, Gajic has struggled thus far to adjust to the new, higher tempo of play. "The defensemen are a lot better here," Gajic said of the CCHA. "If you are not watching they will get up in the rush and score. With transitional play, the BCHL is a lot slower than here and that is what I need to improve on." A poor performance against Michi- gan State and in the Maverick Stam- pede left Gajic practicing on the fourth line and the scout line and sitting out as a healthy scratch for last Friday's game. But an injury to freshman Michael Woodford opened up a spot on the sec- ond line with juniors Mark Mink and John Shouneyia. Gajic stepped up to the challenge, setting up Mike Komisarek for the first goal of the game Saturday night. "The whole style of the game and the quickness is a big adjustment," Gajic said. "Watching from the stands helped me a lot. It put in perspective how fast you have to switch from the defense to offense and the offense to defense." MAN DOWN: Junior Mike Roemensky had to be assisted off the ice in the sec- ond period of Saturday's game with what many feared to be a broken leg. Luckily for the defenseman, the prog- noses is not as bad as initially feared, but Berenson believes Roemensky will miss this weekend's games against Northern Michigan. Roemensky described himself as day-to-day and said he plans to take this week, "nice and slow." By Kyle O'Neill Daily Sports Writer The Bowl Championship Series rankings finally came out Monday, and as expected Miami (Fla.) - ranked fourth in the BCS - was told that without help, it won't see Pasadena until it schedules UCLA as a road opponent. Luckily, for the Hurricanes, the next few weeks could help them tremendously as the Bruins (No. 3 BCS) play three ranked opponents - two on the road - and Oklahoma (No. 1) plays Nebraska (No. 2) with a rematch looming for the Big 12 title game. No. 2 OKLAHOMA (4-0 BIG 12, 7- 0 OVERALL) AT No. 3 NEBRASKA (4- 0, 8-0), 12:00 P.M., ABC: After being shown up by Texas Tech's quarterback Kliff Kingsbury last weekend, the Nebraska sec- AROUND ondary will have the Nation plenty to handle in Oklahoma sophomore Jason White. White, who replaced Nate Hybl as the starter midseason, impressed many in his starting debut against Baylor with over 300 yards passing. Unfortunately for the Sooners, pass- ing will probably be their only effective means of attack, as Nebraska has not allowed a 100-yard game by any individual back all sea- son. The key to this game, though, will be the matchup between Nebraska's option offense and Okla- homa's 4-3 defense that will be led by linebacker Rocky Calmus. The Butkus Award nominated linebacker will need to read the Huskers' offense fast as their rushing attack is divided between quarterback Eric Crouch (97 yards per game) and Dahrran Diedrick (108:2 yards per game). The Oklahoma cornerbacks will play the largest role in shaping a, Sooner victory. Normally a strong group against the pass, they will be able to concentrate entirely on the rushing game, leaving the Huskers unable to move the ball. Oklahoma 17, Nebraska 9 No. 4 UCLA (3-0 PAC 10, 6-0 OVERALL) AT No. 20 STANFORD (3-1, 4-1), 3:30 P.M., ABC: It would take a great deal to stop Stanford this week, as it is coming off one of the biggest comeback victories in school history in handing Oregon its first loss at home in 23 games. That great deal has happened, though, in the form of losing start- ing quarterback Randy Fasani to injury. Now before you say, "Chad Lewis engineered the second-half come- back and was able to pick apart the Ducks' defense," remember that Oregon's secondary has let teams like Southern Cal. pass for over 400 yards on them all season. Lewis' inexperience against a top defense will be the Cardinal's down- fall as the Bruins' defense has only allowed 12.8 points a game. UCLA will also come at Stanford with its balanced offense of running back DeShaun Foster and quarter- back Corey Paus. The two combine for 77 percent of the team's offense and are among the nation's elite at their positions. It won't be for another two weeks before the Bruins taste defeat, as their defense will win them this game by causing Lewis to turn the ball over. UCLA 24, Stanford 10 SYRACUSE (3-0 RIG EAST, 6-2 OVERALL) AT No. 5 VIRGINIA TECH (3-0, 6-0): Vick-less and all, Vir- ginia Tech has flexed its muscles proudly this year and shot up the rankings with blowout victories. Those victories, although impres- sive, are 'hurting 'the Hokies' strength of schedule, one compo- nent of the BCS formula. That will change this week when they face Syracuse, winners of six in a row. A AP PHOTO Eric Crouch's Heisman hopes - and Nebraska's national title hopes - are on the line Saturday. Troy Nunes and Robin Anderson split quarterbacking duties for the Orangemen and are almost identical statistically. Each quarterback spreads out the ball well as five of their receivers each have over 10 receptions on the season. Add running back James Mungro (757-yards rushing) to the mix, and this will be the most balanced team that the Hokies have seen all season. Since its first two losses, Syia- cuse's defense has not allowed a quarterback to reach 250 yards and has only allowed one to throw for over 200. The Hokies will need to rely on their rushing attack - which has only produced two 100- yard rushing games - as Syracuse defensive lineman Dwight Feeney will create havoc for quarterback Grant Noel all game. The first BCS mistake - ranking Virginia Tech so high with such a weak schedule - will be corrected as the Orangemen steal one on the road. Syracuse 20, Virginia Tech 17 I i ' ; ' A #: r ,. : p Even without flag, State pride on the line tonight By Eric Chan Daily Sports Writer Tonight in East Lansing, pride is on the line. The "State Pride Series" has been a tradition between the Michigan State and Michigan vol- leyball teams since 1990. In past years, the winner of the two-match series received an American flag, known as the "State Pride Flag", which the school proudly displayed next to its court. But one problem remains though: in its travels, the flag was lost. Thus, the winner of the "State Pride Series" this year doesn't receive anything concrete, merely the pride of being the better team. If each team wins one match, then the team who won its match in fewer games takes the title. But if each team takes one match, and both teams won in the same amount of matches, it comes down to the team who scored the most points in the series. Michigan State took home the crown last year on points. Each team won a match and both won in JENISON FIELD HOUSE Who: Michigan (6-4 Big Ten, 10-7 overall) at Michigan State(4-6, 11-6) When: 7 p.m. tonight Latest: In the first match, Michigan fell behind 2-0, before storming back to win 3-2. Michigan has not won in East Lansing since 1999. Neither the Spartans nor the Wolverines have lost on, their home courts in the past two years against each -other, so history isn't in, Michigan's favor. But the Michigan players and coach Mark Rosen don't seem to be, paying much attention to history. Saturday night at Cliff Keen, Michigan upset No. 11 Penn State in three straight games. Before that win, the Nittany Lions had beaten the Wolverines five years in row. The Spartans lost to Penn State in straight games last week.. "Our win against Penn State defi- nitely gave our girls a great boost of confidence, and we should have a lot of energy going in," Rosen said. "The key to winning the match is College Grads - Start Your Careers! And as you do, consider VW Credit, Inc., one of the fastest growing divisions of Volkswagen of America. We are 20 years old, and our growth has been phenomenal. 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