6B - The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - December 3 2001 A Shazor may move to LB for bowl prep By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Editor The Michigan football team will take a couple weeks off before preparing for the Citrus Bowl. The break provides the Wolverines an opportunity to work out the kinks they encountered during the season and to, work with new combinations both offensively and defensively. During last week's media luncheon, Michigan coach Lloyd Carr used former Michigan standout and current Seattle Seahawks offensive lineman Steve Hutchinson as an example. Hutchinson came to Michigan wanting to play as a defensive tackle, but was moved to the offensive line during the bowl break his freshman year and never looked back. This season, highly-touted recruit Ernest Shazor may move to linebacker due to the logjam in the defensive backfield. "(Charles) Drake, (Cato) June, (Julius) Curry and (Jon) Shaw are all returning and all are out- standing football players," Carr said. "You have to look and find a place for Ernest Shazor because he has tremendous ability. That's a challenge we have, but we have to do that because-he is a difference maker." Next season, the Wolverines will have to replace linebackers Larry Foote and Eric Brackins, both of whom have no remaining eligibility. SPENCER'S GIFTs: Carr hopes to use the break to give quarterback Spencer Brinton extra practice and repetitions with the first team. Freshman Jermaine Gonzales has seen his play- ing rime increase as a result of inconsistent play by starter John Navarre, but Brinton did not have enough time to return to playing shape after return- Davie regime comes to end in South Bend SOUTH BEND, Ind. (AP) - Bob Davie was fired yesterday as Notre Dame's coach, one day after the sto- ried football program completed its second losing season in three years. Athletic director Kevin White' said that while Davie's teams have done well academically, "We also expect and intend to excel on the field, and there unfortunately, our results and progress have been disappointing." The search for a new coach would begin immediately, White said. "It is no secret to anyone that high expectations come with the job of head football coach at Notre Dame," White said. "Those expectations are the product not only of our history and tradition and national following, but also our institution-wide commitment to excellence and everything that we do.' The team's assistant coaches were told yesterday that the new coach would select his own staff, but that they would continue as university employees at least until their succes- sors were chosen, White said. The players were informed of the decision yesterday. Davie was Notre Dame coach for five years and had the third-worst win- ning percentage in Irish history. The Irish lost six or more games three times under Davie. The firing came a year after Davie signed a five-year contract, following a season in which the Irish went 9=2. But the Irish started this season 0-3 for the first ever and finished 5-6. "I think Coach Davie has been treat- ed unfairly in a lot of ways. I think he busted his tail trying to do things the Notre Dame way," offensive coordina- tor Kevin Rogers said yesterday. "I think he tried to do everything here the right way, and he was vilified for it." The Irish struggled after Davie raised expectations before the season by saying this was the most talented Irish squad since he arrived in South Bend as an assistant in 1994. During Davie's tenure, the Irish were placed on NCAA probation for the first time. They also produced no first-team All-Americans and only one first-round draft pick, offenseive line- man Luke Petitgout to the New York Giants. Davie leaves without leading the Irish to a top-10 finish in his five sea- sons. The Irish were ranked at the end of the season only twice -No. 15 last season and No. 22 in 1998. His 35-25-0 record gives him a .583 winning percentage. Davie was never fully embraced by the Notre Dame community after get- ting off to a tumultuous start. To many Irish fans, though, the most upsetting thing was losing. The Irish were 6-15 against ranked teams during Davie's stay, 1-7 against teams ranked in the top 10 and 11-18 away from Notre Dame Stadium. The Irish also suffered some embar- rassing losses, including 45-23 to Michigan State in 1998 and 41-9 to Oregon State in the Fiesta Bowl last season. DANNY MOLOSIIOK! Daily Junior safety Charles Drake has helped strengthen the Michigan secondary this past year, making it Michigan's deepest defensive position. ing from a Mormon mission earlier this year. "Spencer displayed the ability to play, unfortu- nately we were in a time frame where we didn't have enough time and we had to make * decision for the sake of the team," Carr said. "I want to see what he can (1o during this bowl preparation. I'm going to evaluate our situation at quarterback and I want to step back and look at that entire situation and evaluate it." Brinton played briefly in mop-up duty against Miami (Ohio), Illinois 'and Penn State, but has attempted just one pass this season. CITRIC ACID: A week of stunning upsets has left Michigan with a better idea of who it will face in the Citrus Bowl. The Citrus Bowl will likely select Florida, Louisiana State or South Carolina to take on the Wolverines on Jan. 1. The automatic BCS game berth for the SEC will be decided next Saturday when Louisiana State faces Tennessee. The Volunteers dashed the Gators Rose Bowl hopes last Saturday by handing them a 36-34 loss in Gainesville. Should Tennessee defeat the Tigers next week, it will likely earn a spot in the Rose Bowl and Florida will receive an at-large BCS berth. The Wolverines would then face either Louisiana State or South Carolina. But if Louisiana State defeats Tennessee, then the Tigers will go the BCS, the Volunteers should get an at-large spot and Florida will be in the Cit- rus Bowl. Heisman hopefuls T Here's a look at some of the potential Heisman front-runners:'a The Finalists: Eric Crouch Nebraska Senior QB (1,510 yds passing, 7 TDs; 1115 yds rushing, 18 TDs) The favorite for the Heisman until his team was crushed by Colorado 62-36 on Nov. 23. But even in his team's only loss he still amassed 360 total yards of offense. He is the all-time total offense leader in the Big 12 with 7,915 yards. The Big Question: Will the late loss doom him? Joey Harrington Oregon Senior QB (2,414 yds, 23 TDs, 5 INTs) Might have been in the driver's seat following Crouch's loss but hurt himself by playing less than spectacularly in Oregon's 17-14 win over rival Oregon State on Saturday. He played poorly at the wrong time, going 11-for-22 for only 104 yards against the Beavers. The Big Question: Oregon bought a $250,000 poster of him and put it in Times Square, but how will his lack of exposure on the East Coast affect him? Rex Grossman Florida Sophomore QB (3,896 yds, 34 TDS, 12 INTs) His strong arm, which threw for 3,896 yards and 34 touchdowns, makes him the quarterback with the strongest numbers, but being a sophomore hurts him. Not to be outdone by Crouch, Grossman also lost his last game, 34-32 at the hands of Tennessee. The Big Question: Is it really likely for a sophomore quarterback on a team with two losses to win the Heisman? No. David Carr Fresno State Senior QB (4,299 yds, 42 TDs, 7 INTs) He was the talk of the nation up until mid-October and even though the talk has died down his numbers haven't. Carr finished his stellar senior year by throwing for 4,299 yards, 42 touchdowns and completing nearly 70 percent of his 476 passes. The Big Question: Playing in the WAC didn't help him one bit. Even if Carr threw for 60 touchdowns he probably had no legitimate shot. He will get a few votes, but nothing to take him over the top. Buffs stomp out Horns' title hopes Tennessee runs wild against Florida; Miami locks up Rose Bowl Home or away? It's all the same to your minutes. IRVING, Texas (AP) - Just call Colorado the Rose Bowl elimination squad. One week after erasing Nebraska's road to the national title game, it knocked Texas out of the way, too. Chris Brown ran for three touch- downs as No. 9 Colorado turned Texas quarterback Chris Simms' four first-half turnovers into 22 points, then held off a rally to beat No. 3 Texas 39-37 Saturday night for the Buffalos' first Big 12 championship. Colorado (10-2) fulfilled the vision coach Gary Barnett had for the Buffs this summer when no one else expect- ed much from them after a 3-8 sea- son. Their stunning turnaround will continue in a Bowl Championship Series game, likely the Fiesta Bowl. Representatives from the bowl were in the lockerroom right after the win. "When we left the hotel today, I told them we are a team of destiny," Bamett said. "No one is playing with more heart right now. Whoever we play next, they're going to face one heck of a football team." Simms' meltdown prevented Texas (10-2) from finishing its own story- book season. Texas knew before kickoff that if it won, it would be in position to move up to No. 2 in the second-to-last BCS standings because Florida lost to Ten- nessee. Early arriving Longhorns fans cheered wildly when that result was announced and several waved red roses. Instead, the Longhorns are likely headed to the Holiday Bowl for the second straight year, this time against No. 19 Washington. "The Rose Bowl was right there," said receiver B.J. Johnson, who scored the first and last touchdowns in Texas' comeback bid. "All we had to do was beat Colorado and we didn't get it done." TENNESSEE 34, FLORIDA 32: A little tailback and his insulted group of teammates helped Tennessee earn a chance for a championship season. They also did what so many previous Tennessee teams couldn't. Tennessee was much more physical than Florida. The Volunteers dominat- ed the line of scrimmage and were able to run the ball at will. It's surprising that Tennessee could come into the Swamp and run for 241 4 4 3000/$29 min. per mo. r;w), Nationwide Long Distance Included. Every Minute. Every Day. 200 Anytime Minutes 2800 Night & Weekend Minutes 3000 Total Minutes with a one-year Sprint PCS Advantage Agreement Save $100 with a mail-in rebate on any two new Sprint PCS Phones-or save $30 on Any one new phone-when you Choose any Sprint PCS Service Plan. You can call to anywhere in the country, From anywhere on the Sprint PCS Nationwide Network serving over 300 Major metropolitan areas. AP-PHOTO Texas wide receiver Roy Williams lays his head on the bench after Texas lost the Big 12 Championship to Colorado 39-37, Saturday. yards against one of the top run 10-yard line at the south end of Lane defenses in the country. Stadium, jumping up and down in The Vols' defense did a good job of unison. Some raised helmets skyward, putting pressure on Florida quarter- others held long-stemmed roses. back Rex Grossman. Not many teams "We're going to the 'ship! We're have been able to get in his face. But going to the 'ship!" they chanted. with John Henderson inside leading Indeed they are going to the nation- the rush, Tennessee was able to make al championship game in the Rose Grossman uncomfortable in the pock- Bowl on Jan. 3. But they had to with- et. stand another close call on the road to The early turnovers helped Ten- hold off No. 14 Virginia Tech 26-24 nessee get a lead and gain some con- on Saturday. fidence and also took the crowd out "I'm happy we won," cornerback of it - which helped Casey Clausen Phillip Buchanon said, "but walking more than anybody. off the field I didn't have that feeling Grossman had the best day of the you should for a team going to the Heisman candidates playing Saturday, Rose Bowl." but he couldn't pull out the victory. Thanks to a dropped 2-point con- And while Miami and Oregon won, version pass by Tech's Ernest Wilford neither quarterback Ken Dorsey nor with 6'03 left and a stifling defense quarterback Joey Harrington did that sacked Grant Noel five times, much to advance their candidacies. intercepted four passes and recovered Travis Stephens ran for a career- his fumble, Miami completed a per- high 226 yards Saturday and over- feet regular season and extended its looked No. 5 Tennessee stopped No. NCAA winning streak to 21 games. 2 Florida on a 2-point conversion with "Our team didn't flinch," Miami 1:10 left for a 34-32 win that further rookie coach Larry Coker said. "It scrambled the Rose Bowl picture. certainly didn't look good for us at MIAMI (FLA.) 26, VIRGINIA TECH times, but I'm extremely proud of the 24: Miami players gathered near the way we played." ( - Oeach fccf; °- ( pafter mail-n < rebate Sprint pCS Wireless Web. Clear Digital Sprint PCS Touchpoint Phonelm (model TP1100) HOW THE TOP 25 FARED NEW TOP 25 Associated Press Poll for week of November 5. Games updated through November 12. Team: Last week: This week: (first-place votes in parentheses) Hurry! Offer ends soon. The clear alternative to cellular. 1. Miami (Fla.) 2. Florida 3. Nebraska 4. Texas 5. Oregon 6. Tennessee 7.Colorado 8. Maryland 9. Brigham Young 10. Illinois 11. Oklahoma 12. Michigan 13. Washington beat No. 13 Virginia Tech lost to No. 4 Tennessee 34-32 did not play lost to No. 10 Colorado 39-37 beat Oregon State 17-14 beat No. 2 Florida 34-32 beat No. 4 Texas 39-37 did not play beat Mississippi State 41-38 did not play did not play did not play did not play Idle Idle Idle Idle Idle vs. LSU Idle Idle Idle Idle Idle Idle Idle TEAM 1. Miami (Fla.) (72) 2. Tennessee 3. Oregon 4. Colorado 5. Nebraska 6. Florida 7. Maryland 8. Illinois 9. Brigham Young 10. Texas ' 11. Oklahoma 12. Stanford! 13. Washington State 14. 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