The Michigan Daily - Thursday, November 15, 2001 - 9A

Pair of Sunshine State showdowns

headline Saturday's

By Ben Ramirez
For The Daily
The holidays are fast approaching
and they bring tidings of comfort and
joy, along with intense college foot-
ball rivalries. It's
crunch time once
again as we ACROSS THE
approach the NATION
final three weeks
of the regular season.
The bowl picture is starting to
come into focus and teams are get-
ting fired up for that final push to the
finish line. Will Miami and Nebraska
remain undefeated and play for the
title? Will Brigham Young and Mary-
land make their BCS dreams come

true? Stay tuned.
This -week, all roads lead
Florida as Miami hosts Syr
the Seminoles and Gators d
the Swamp.
No. 14 SYRACUSE (5-0 1
8-2 OVERALL) AT No. 2 Mi
8-0), 3:30 P.M., ABC: Coa
Coker's Hurricanes are und
they prepare to face a tough
team at home in the Orange
Quarterback Ken Dorse;
is still a Heisman candidat
be looking for a better shov
he had against Boston Co
week.
Dorsey didn't pass for a tc
for the first time all seas

gridiron'slate
week,, Dorsey will have to play with
to sunny more fire if he wants to keep his
acuse and team's NCAA-best 18-game winning
o battle in streak alive.
The Orangemen, who are also
undefeated in the conference, are
BIG EAST, going to be fired up. Syracuse has
AMI (5-0, gone 8-0 since losing two early
ach Larry games against Georgia Tech and Ten-
efeated as nessee.
Syracuse Miami has no visible weak spots.
Bowl. But the Orangemen have quietly
y - who climbed the polls and would love to
e - will play the giant-killer for the second
wing than time this season after a huge road win
liege last over Virginia Tech.
They also boast the nation's best
)uchdown turnover margin at plus-16. But
on. This Coker will have his Hurricanes ready
and the home crowd in Coral Gables
will cheer its team to yet another vic-
tory.
Miami 31, Syracuse 24

No. 21 FLORIDA STATE (5-2 ACC,
6-3 OVERALL) AT No. 4 FLORIDA (6-1
SEC, 8-1 OVERALL), 8 P.M., CBS:
While many teams would be thrilled
at the thought of an 8-3 season, three
losses is considered abysmal in Talla-
hassee.
Coach Bobby Bowden's Seminoles
have not just lost three games, but
their normally tough defense is also
giving up an average of 349 yards per
game.
To make matters worse, after play-
ing the Gators, Florida State still
must deal with Georgia Tech in its
regular season finale. The Seminoles
could very easily lose five games this
season and drop out of the rankings
for the first time in 12 years.
Meanwhile in Gainesville,
intrastate rival Florida is gearing up
for a run at the national title. Quarter-
back Rex Grossman is leading the
nation in completion percentage at 66
percent and the Gators are playing
near-flawless football as exhibited by
their 54-17 pounding of South Car-
olina last week.
The Gators scored on their first
nine possessions against the Game-
cocks, and have amazingly not punt-
ed once in the last two games.
While this game has always been
an intriguing and heated rivalry -
Florida State has won the last three
battles - this year looks to be a mis-

AP PHOTO
Washington quarterback Cody Pickett can ruin Washington State's Pac-10 championship dreams if he can lead the Huskies
past the Cougars in the annual "Apple Cup" game this Saturday.

match. Expect Steve Spurrier's Flori-
da squad to manhandle the Seminoles
'in the Swamp, where the Gators are
67-4 since 1990.
Florida 42, Florida State 21 .
No. 9 WASHINGTON STATE (6-1
PAc-10, 9-1 OVERALL) AT No. 16
WASHINGTON (5-2, 7-2), 3:30 P.M.,
ABC: The annual battle known as
"The Apple Cup" has not usually
generated much hype; the Huskies
have won 60 of 93 games, more or
less dominating their cross-state
rivals.
But, coach Mike Price's Cougars
have found some of the same magic
they had in 1997, when they went to
the Rose Bowl before losing to
Michigan.

The Cougars have once again put
themselves in position to at least
share the Pac-10 title with Oregon,
the only team that has managed to
beat Washington State.
But quarterback Jason Gesser has
kept Washington State fans guessing
as to whether he will play following a
minor concussion against Arizona
State last week.
As of yesterday, Gesser and his
coach have both made statements
saying he will play and he was
cleared by doctors. The surprise star
has passed for 2,500 yards and 23
touchdowns on the season.
While the Cougars seem to-have
more on the line, the Huskies could
still get a share of the conference
title with a win Saturday and an

Oregon loss to rival Oregon State on
Dec. 1.
Coach Rick Neuheisel has never
lost to the Cougars in his three years
at Washington. He has two outstand-
ing running backs in Willie Hurst and
Rich Alexis, as well as the quarter-
back tandem of Cody Pickett and
Taylor Barton. These two have com-
bined to average 278.8 passing yards,
which is on pace to set a school
record.
This should be a great game, show-
casing two strong offensive teams.
Emotions will run high and the score-
board will be lit up, but in the end the
.Huskies should prevail at home,
thereby ruining Washington State's
conference title dreams.
Washington 49, Washington State 45

AP PHOTO
Florida sophomore quarterback Rex Grossman has been phenomenal this season.
On Saturday, he has a chance to get some payback on Florida State.

Fisher-led Aztecs aiming for Big Dance

SAN DIEGO (AP) - After an impressive
turnaround in coach Steve Fisher's second sea-
son, San Diego State thinks it's ready for another
major leap.
The Aztecs are talking about playing in the
postseason for the first time in nearly two
decades.
The NIT would make them happy. The NCAAs
would make them ecstatic..But whatever the
acronym, their goal is to play meaningful games
in March.
"If we don't make a tournament at the end of
the season, we'll all be disappointed," Fisher said.
It's a lofty goal, for sure, for a school with a
sad-sack hoops history. The Aztecs have had just
one winning season and one at .500 - last year's
14-14 - since last reaching the NCAAs in 1985.
San Diego State is 0-4 in the postseason, includ-
ing three NCAA berths and one NIT.
But expectations have changed dramatically
under Fisher, who coached Michigan to three
Final Fours and won the 1989 national champi-
onship.
"We're a better team than we were last year.
We went from survival mode to competitive
mode to where this year our battle cry is, 'Expect
to win,' said Fisher, whose team has experience,
depth and versatility.
Under Fisher, San Diego State is looking more
and more like a basketball school.
The most anticipated season in school history
starts Friday night against Northern Iowa in the
Red Raider Classic at Texas Tech.
If San Diego State and Texas Tech both win

Friday, the Aztecs will play Bob Knight's new
team in the championship game Saturday night. It
would be a matchup of former Big Ten coaches
who've won national titles.
Fisher's influence also landed the Aztecs a
game at Duke on Dec. 29, their first against a
reigning national champion in 26 years.
The Aztecs welcome high-profile transfers
Tony Bland from Syracuse and Brandon Smith
from Michigan, who sat out last season under
NCAA rules. Smith is expected to miss the first
2-3 games following arthroscopic knee surgery.
Bland, a guard, started for the Syracuse team
that reached the NCAA regionals in 2000. He
and Smith, a 6-foot-7 swingman, both played for
20-win teams. They're used to big, noisy crowds,
which should help when they hit the road in the
Mountain West Conference in places like Albu-
querque and Laramie.
Bland and Smith give the Aztecs credibility
without scoring a point or clearing a rebound.
"They're used to winning," said Fisher, who
recruited Smith to Michigan before being fired as
Wolverines coach just before the 1997-98 season
started. "That has added to the atmosphere in
practice."
Fisher also signed guard Tommy Johnson, the
Los Angeles high school player of the year; and
6-9, 241-pound junior college transfer Mike
Mackell, who gives the Aztecs a legitimate low-
post player.
Last season, San Diego State turned heads by
going from 5-23 in Fisher's first year to 14-14.
The Aztecs ended losing streaks of 17 games

overall, 17 conference games and 30 road games.
The highlight was a 21-point home win over
Oklahoma State. Still, after going 10-3 in non-
conference games, San Diego State was just 4-14
in the Mountain West, which sent only Brigham
Young to the NCAA Tournament.
The next step would be playing in March.
"I don't want to drop back from where we
were," said Fisher, who made nine straight post-
season trips at Michigan and won the NIT his
final season.
"We were .500 last year, which was the second
non-losing season in 16 years. So we're not used
to success. And yet, the kids that we now have in
this program, I do think are."
That's where Bland and Smith come in, to mix
with returning players such as guard Deandre
Moore and forwards Randy Holcomb - the
team's leading scorer and rebounder last year -
Myron Epps and Chris Walton, the youngest son
of Bill Walton.
"The biggest thing is, Brandon and myself are
winners," Bland said. "We've been in programs
that have been to the tournament and are accus-
tomed to winning. When you add that to other
players that want to win but just don't know how
to win, then you have a team full of winners."
Bland has two years of eligibility left. Smith
has just one, but felt transferring was worth it
simply to play for Fisher.
Despite hurting his knee, starting San Diego
State's first exhibition "was probably the most
enjoyable experience in five years of playing,"
said Smith, who finally got to play for Fisher.

AP PHOTO
Remember this guy? Brandon Smith showed some promise with the Wolverines two years ago.
But, he transferred to San Diego State to reunite with former Michigan coach Steve Fisher.


JOIN DAILY
SPORTS.
AS TEMPTING AS
IT REALLY IS, WE
DON 'T TALK
ABOUT
QUALIFYING FOR
THE NCAA
TOU RNAMENT
WHEN WE
HAVEN'T PLAYED
IN ANY KIND OF
POSTSEASON
GAME IN OVER A
DECADE.

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