The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 9, 2002 - 5B
"WE HAVE TO STEP IT UP. THIS GAME WAS DEFINITELY NOT GOOD ENOUGH AS A WHOLE. WE
HAVE TO BE FOCUSED THIS WHOLE WEEK AND GET RID OF THE MENTAL ERRORS."
-SOPHOMORE CORNERBACK MARKUS CURRY
WEEKEND'S BEST
IT'S REPEAT TIME: Miami put any
doubts to rest about its chances
to repeat as national champion,
dominating its in-state rival Flori-
da, 41-16
The Hurricanes' defensive front
pulled on every part of Florida
quarterback Rex Grossman's
body Saturday at "The Swamp,"
forcing Grossman to throw two
interceptions - one that decided
the game.
With the Gators driving in the
Miami red zone down 27-16,
Grossman threw an errant pass
that was intercepted by Maurice
Sikes, who returned it for 98
yards and a touchdown..
Miami quarterback Ken Dorsey
was the winner in a duel of early
Heisman candidates, throwing for
202 yards and four scores.
JOEY WHO?: Joey Harrington was
known for his fourth-quarter
comebacks. His replacement,
Jason Fife; began to mold a simi-
lar reputation Saturday.
Down 24-15 to Fresno State in
the beginning of the fourth quar-
ter, Fife went to work with the
help of standout tailback Onterrio
Smith, who ran 35 times for 124
yards and two fourth-quarter
scores to give the Ducks a 28-24
lead.
Oregon receiver Samie Parker
burst onto the scene for nine
catches for 161 yards, making
many wonder why Keenan
Howry's body is plastered in
downtown Manhattan instead of
his.
HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED
Associated Press Poll for week of September 2.
Games updated through September 7.
NEW AP
TOP 25
4
Team:
1. Miami (Fla.)
2. Oklahoma
3. Texas
4. Tennessee
5. Florida State
6. Florida
7. Michigan
8. Ohio State
9. Nebraska
10. Georgia
11. Washington State
12. Virginia Tech
13. Oregon
14. Washington
15. Michigan State
16. Marshall
17. Colorado
18. Southern Cal
19. Colorado State
20. Texas A&M
21. North Carolina State
22. South Carolina
23. Notre Dame
24. Louisiana State
25. Wisconsin
Last week:
beat No. 6 Florida 41-16
beat Alabama 37-27
Bye
beat Middle Tennessee 26-3
Bye
lost to No.1 Miami 41-16
beat Western Michigan 35-12
beat Kent State 51-17
beat Utah State 44-13
Bye
beat Idaho 49-14
Bye
beat Fresno State 28-24
beat San Jose State 34-10
beat Rice 27-10
Bye
beat San Diego State 3414
beat Auburn 24-17
lost to UCLA 30-19
beat Pittsburgh 14-12
beat Navy 65-19
lost to Virginia 34-21
beat Purdue 24-17
beat The Citadel 35-10
beat West Virginia 34-17
This week:
at Temple
UTEP
at North Carolina
Bye
at Maryland
Ohio
at No. 20 Notre Dame
No. 10 Washington State
at Penn State
at South Carolina
at No. 6 Ohio State
No. 16 Marshall
Idaho,
Bye
California
at No. 11 Virginia Tech
No. 17 Southern Cal
at No. 18 Colorado
Bye
Bye
Wake Forest
No. 9 Georgia
No. 7 Michigan
Miami (Ohio)
Northern Illinois
(first-place votes in parentheses)
TEAM
1. Miami (68)
2. Oklahoma (3)
3. Texas (3)
4. Tennessee
5. Florida State
6. Ohio State
7. Michigan
8. Nebraska
9. Georgia
10. Washington State
11. Virginia Tech
12. Florida
13. Oregon
14. Washington
15. Michigan State
16. Marspall
17. Southern Cal.
18. Colorado
19. N.C. State
20. Notre Dame
21. Texas A&M
22. Wisconsin
23. UCLA
24. Colorado State
25. Louisiana State
2-0
2-0
1-0
2-0
2-0
2-0
2-0
3-0
1-0
2-0
2-0
1-1
2-0
1-1
2-0
1-0
1-0
1-1
3-0
2-0
2-0
3-0
1-0
2-1
1-1
PTS
1,844
1,700
1,667
1,642
1,606
1,341
1,333
1,241
1,211
1,164
1,135
1,027
948
855
700
649
538
415
402
374
368
294
213
173
171
PVS
1
2
3
4
5
8
7
9
10
11
12
6
13
14
15
16
18
17
21
23
20
25
19
24
Dropped Out: No. 22 South Carolina
Florida's Rex Grossman
GAME PROGRESSION
First Quarter:
After Western misses a field goal,
Michigan gets the ball on its own
20-yard line. John Navarre ends
the drive with an eight-yard pass
to Benny Joppru for the score.
Phil Brabbs kicks the extra point.
Michigan 7, Western Michigan O
The Wolverines add to their lead
with a four-yard run by Dave
Underwood on Michigan's next
possesion.
Brabbs makes the PAT.
Michigan 14, Western Michigan O
Second Quarter:
With 7:37 left in the quarter,
Navarre caps a 57-yard drive with
a 25-yard touchdown pass to
Braylon Edwards.
Brabbs converts the extra point.
Michigan 21, Western Michigan 0
The Broncos finally get on the
board as halftime approaches.
From Michigan's six-yard line, Chad
Munson finds Jermaine Lewis in
the endzone with 0:26 left.
Munson's two-point conversion try
fails.
Michigan 21, Western Michigan 6
Third Quarter:
Michigan takes the ball on West-
ern's 42-yard line. After Chris
Perry gains 28 yards on five car-
ries, Navarre hits B.J. Askew for
14 yards and the touchdown.
Brabbs kicks the extra point.
Michigan 28, Western Michigan 6
Victor Hobson recovers a Western
fumble on the Broncos' 43, but
Michigan can't convert.
On their next drive, the Wolverines
take the ball 55 yards in five plays,
including Navarre's 39-yard touch-
down bomb to Edwards.
Brabbs converts the PAT.
Michigan 35, Western Michigan 6
The Broncos answer with a scor-
ing drive of their own. After Philip
Reed runs for 33 yards, Munson
throws a 16-yard touchdown to
Lewis.
Munson's pass on the two-point
conversion .try is incomplete.
Michigan 35, Western Michigan 12
Fourth Quarter:
Michigan turns up its defensive
effort and hold Western scoreless
in the fourth.
The Wolverines force another
turnover when Dan Rumishek inter-
cepts Munson and runs it back 23
yards. But they can't take advan-
tage, punting after four plays.
Michigan 35, Western Michigan 12
AP PHUIU
Oklahoma quarterback Nate Hybi replaced the injured Jason White at the end of the first quarter Saturday against Alabama.
SCOUTINC THE NATION
NEWS AND NOTES
Colorado quarterback Craig Ochs'
playing career is in jeopardy due to
his third concussion of the past
year. The Buffaloes (1-1) have not
fared well early, scoring just 14
points against Colorado State in
their season-opening loss. Ochs left
the game at halftime Saturday, but
the Buffs still rolled to a 34-14
victory. The junior is listed as
doubtful for Colorado's matchup this
weekend against Southern Cal.
Oklahoma starting quarterback
Jason White went down late in the
first quarter when he tore a
ligament in his right knee. He'll
miss the rest of the year with an
ACL tear, handing the job to Nate
Hybl, who started 11 games last
season. Hybl threw for 162 yards
and a touchdown in the first half but
was stymied by Alabama's stingy
defense until the Sooners' game-
winning drive.
Wisconsin has always been known
for its automatic running backs and
and an inefficient passing attack.
But thus far this season, the Bad-
gers (3-Q), are doing most of their
damage through the air - without
All-America receiver Lee Evans. Now
that's scary. Running back Anthony
Davis ran for just 75 yards in the
Badgers' 34-17 win over West Vir-
ginia, forcing young wideouts to pick
up the slack. Freshman Jonathan Orr
caught five passes for 94 yards and
two touchdowns and Brandon
Williams caught six for 125 yards.
UCLA fifth-year senior Cory Paus
'probably thought that he'd be the
man to lead the Bruins to victory in
the fourth quarter down 13-7 to Col-
orado State. But instead, coach Bob
Toledo put his trust in highly-touted
freshman Drew Olson. Olson entered
the game with 3:01 left in the third
quarter. Olson completed two pass-
es for 24 yards on the go-ahead
drive. But after his team had the
lead, Toledo elected to go with Paus
for the remainder of the game. The
Bruins won 30-19.
Notre Dame coach Tyrone Willing-
ham, in his first year leading the
Irish, has been breaking tradition
ever since he arrived in South Bend,
Ind. and he didn't stop with the
West Coast offense. Willingham has
decided that he won't meet with
reporters on Sundays after games,
and also won't meet with them Mon-
day after practice because "there's
not anything new to say." Lou Holtz
and Bob Davie met with the media
at those two times, as well as in a
teleconference Tuesday, but Willing-
ham is holding himself to just the
teleconference.,
Kansas State cornerback Terence
Newman was doing it all Saturday.
He was a fumble away from scoring
offensive, defensive and special
teams touchdowns on three consec-
utive touches. Newman caught a 51-
yard bomb from quarterback Marc
Dunn, then returned a punt 40 yards
for a touchdown. After an intercep-
tion that left him with 17 yards to
score a "trifecta," Newman dropped
the football after just a few yards.
"I was trying to tuck it in and it just
fell out," he said.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
Baylor far aren't going to put up
with it anymore. An alumnus ordered
a plane to fly over the stadium Satur-
day night with banners clamoring for
the firing of coach Dan Steele, who
is 7-28 in his fourth year as coach.
Here's what the banner had to say
to Athletic Director Tom Stanton:
"Tom Stanton - Thou Shalt Not
Steele."
"B.U. football - 14-53 under Tom
Stanton."
Texas Tech coach Mike Leach is
getting tired of all the criticism
about his wide-open passing attack:
"One of these days I'm going to
throw it every single snap just to
see how they like that. After that,
I'm going to run it every single snap
just to see how the other ones like
it."
First-year replacement for Steve
Spurrier, Ron Zook, is probably feel-
ing a little more pressure after the
Gators' drubbing at the hands of
Miami. At least he's being candid
about the state of things:
"When you get your tail kicked like
that, you don't feel good. And I don't
want (my players) to feel good."
THE DAILY'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
It isn't always the best players that make the biggest impact in college foot-
ball and this section is for recognizing those performers. This week, Miami's
Willis McGahee, the defense of Notre Dame and Oklahoma's Mark Clayton had
the biggest impact for their respective teams. They may not be the best play-
ers, but for one day, for their team, they were the best they could be and for
that, The Daily football writers would like to recognize them.
WILLIS MCGAHEE, MIAMI
Why McGahee?: Not only did McGa-
hee's 205 yards rushing help lead
Miami (Fla.) to a 41-16 rout of in-state
rival Florida, but he solidified the Hurri-
. canes' starting tailback position and
quelled his own doubters by showing a
promise and dedication that he had up
until now had never shown. Before last
Saturday's game, many critics believed
that the Hurricanes' success would be
based on whether Frank Gore could
make a successful return from injury
this season. But with McGahee's emer-
gence, Miami (Fla.) becomes the strong
favorite to win the national title, despite
what may be the most difficult schedule
Miami's Willis McGahee in the nation.
NOTRE DAME DEFENSE
Why Notre Dame's defense?: Somen
people say the best offense is a good
defense. In Notre Dame's case, the
only offense is a good defense. In the +1
Fighting Irish's 2417 victory over
Purdue, all three of their touchdowns
came on Purdue turnovers - a 54-
yard fumble return by Gerome Sapp,
a 4-yard fumble return by Lionel
Bolen and a 33-yard interception
return by Vontez Duff. This is the
same defense that shutout then-No.
20 Maryland last week to put the
Fighting Irish back on the college
football radar. But Notre Dame still
has yet to score an offensive touch-
down and will have to rely on the ath-
leticism of its defense if it expects
to continue to win. Carlyle Holiday
and company are not getting the job
done yet. Notre Dame's Vontez Duff
MARK CLAYFON, OKIAHOMA
Why Clayton?: Versus Alabama, wide
receiver Mark Clayton was the offense
® for Oklahoma. The Sooners' rushing
e offense was shut down, leaving Clayton
as the only viable option. As such, he
stepped up nicely by catching a 32-yard
pass from Jason White (who later suf-
fered a season ending ACL injury) and a
51-yard pass from White's replacement,
Nate Hybl. Against Tulsa, Clayton had
just one catch for one yard, but he
stepped up when Sooners needed him.
And oh did they need him. Oklahoma
netted just 257 yards of offense and
Clayton scored two of the Sooners' four
offensive touchdowns. On a team with
so many athletes, it is difficult to tell
who will have a great game. But Satur-
day was Clayton's day and he should
give Oklahoma fans a reason to not fear
Oklahoma's Mark Clayton the absence of White and the return of
AP PHOTOS much-maligned Hybl.
Notre Dame's Carlyle Holiday (7).
WHO'S NEXT:
NOTRE DAME
Michigan meets a Notre Dame team
brimming with confidence next week in
South Bend, Ind. New coach Tyrone
Willingham replaced the Irish's option
offense with his West Coast style, but
it has been defense and special teams
leading the way so far.
Notre Damebeat Purdue 34-17 on Sat-
urday, with all three Irish touchdowns
coming off turnovers.
Vontez Duff has been the big-play man
for Notre Dame, scoring on an intercep-
tion against Purdue and returning a
punt 76 yards for a touchdown against
Maryland last week.
The Irish blanked the Terps 22-0 in Will-
ingham's debut. Notre Dame displayed
its efficient, but hardly prolific offense,
controlling possesion for more than 41
minutes. Quarterback Carlyle Holiday
completed 17 of 27 passes for 226
yards, but no touchdowns.
Notre Dame has gone 2-0 without scor-
ing an offensive touchdown, and will
need more production from Holiday and
Co. against the Wolverines.
I.
BIG TEN STANDINGS
Horn makes an
early statement
Daily Sports Editor Horn threw
the gauntlet down with an
impressive 11 correct picks in
week 1. Some say he got lucky
in his picks, but only time will
tell. What we do know is that
his first week has earned Horn
early bragging rights around
the Daily, which he has taken
advantage of to the highest
degree possible.
McCollough, Phillips and Smith
were all middle of the road,
which means Koko the monkey
could have picked just as well
as they did. Nevertheless, the
football staff will continue to.
STAFF PICK
WEEK ISELECTIONS
ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPR
CORRECT SELECTION IN BOLD.
M1CHiGAN (-23) vs. Western Michiga
SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPi (-4.5) vs. Illinol
WlseoNsi (-11) vs, West Virgirnia
MICHIGAN STATE (-25) vs. Rice
NotRE DAME (-6) vs. Purdue.
Texas Christian (-6) at NORTHWESTER
UTAH (-13.5) vs, Indiana
OHIO STATE (-29) vs. Kent Sate
r ar AIu MHA0
EAD.
David
Horn
Team
Wisconsin
Iowa
Michigan
Michigan State
Minnesota
Ohio State
Penn State
Indiana
Purdue
Illinois
Northwestern
Big Ten
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
0 0
Overall
3 0
2 0
2 0
2 0
2 0
2 0
2 1
1 1
0-2
0 2
J. Brady Jeff
McCollough Phillips
Joe
Smith
n Western M..higan, -M.hIgn Western Mt higa WesMlchig
Is Southern Mississippi Illinois Southern Mississippi Southern Mississippi
WIscons - West-Vfrglnia Wcni Wsosn
Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State
Notre Dame Purdue P 4rue Ntr
N Texas Christian Texas Christian Texas Christian Northwestern
Uta - Utah,. U
hio State Ohio State Ohio State Kent State
lawa towa lwa '-W:
THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
MICHIGAN 35, Western Michigan 12
MICHIGAN STATE 27, Rice 10
NOTRE DAME 24, Purdue 17
WISCONSIN 34, West Virginia 17
OHIO STATE 51, Kent State 17
I
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