9 Tuesday September 10, 2002 michigandaily.com sportsdesk@umich.edu P O h eRTShug tn tilg 10 . . . ........... . .. . . .. .. ... .. .. Turnovers key to opportunistic Irish DAVID HORN 9i By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Editor For Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, there may be nothing more important than hanging on to the football. Turnovers plagued the Wolverines at the end of last season, and it is a problem that the Michigan coaching staff has worked hard to correct this year. Thus far, the Wolverines have commited just three FOOTBALL turnovers: Two John Notebook Navarre intercep- tions and one fum- ble. But despite losing just one fumble, Michigan has still coughed the ball up four other times. Against Notre Dame, the Wolverines will have to be especially careful to take care of the football because they may not be quite as fortunate against an aggressive Fighting Irish defense. "Defensively, anytime that you pur- sue the football and get to the football, they turn and their defensive front turns and they chase the football," Carr said. "And anytime that you do that, you are going to be good. And they are good." So good in fact that the defense has led Notre Dame to a 2-0 record and an average of 23 points per game - all without an offensive touchdown. Last Saturday against Purdue, the Fighting Irish scored on three turnovers: Safety Jerome Sapp's 54-yard fumble return, a 4-yard fumble return by safety Lionel Bolen and a 33-yard interception return by cornerback Vontez Duff. With two Getting defensive While college football fans can joke about Notre Dame's impotent offense, the Fighting Irish's defense is no laughing matter. It ranks highly in many important defensive and special teams categories. Here is how they rate against the rest of the Division 1-A. Defense ,Category Rank Total defense No. 17 Scoring defense No. 11 Rushing defense No. 25 Passing defense No. 26 Turnover margin No. 8 Special teams Category Rank Kick returns No. 6 Punt returns No. 11 touchdowns on the season, Duff, who scored on a 76-yard punt return against Maryland, has been the biggest scoring threat for the Fighting Irish other than kicker Nick Setta. Michigan linebacker Victor Hobson knows how much scoring a defensive touchdown can impact the game. "It helps out the offense and it's a big momentum builder," Hobson said. "They have been able to do it the past two weeks and it is something we have to respect them for." Despite the lack of offensive produc- tion, Carr still respects the scoring threats of Notre Dame. "When you can establish a great defense and special teams, and the fact they are averaging 23 points per game, I don't think it matters how you score," Carr said. "You average 23 points per game and play defense and special teams like they have, and you are going to have a hard time losing games." While forcing turnovers, Notre Dame has been quite careful with the ball on offense. It has turned the ball over just once in two games while its defense has stolen the ball seven times. While turnovers are always empha- sized, Navarre knows that in preparing this week it will be especially important to prepare for turnover prevention. "It is a big premium every game but especially against a team that is danger- ous," Navarre said. "With the speed that they have and what they have done in the past couple of games, you have to be especially careful" Running back Chris Perry is con- cerned about Notre Dame's ability to cause turnovers, but he also sees this characteristic as an opportunity for the Michigan offense. "They're going to take a chance to try to strip the ball, so you have to take that chance to break and make a big play," Perry said. KICKING WOEs: While in the friendly confines of Michigan Stadium, the Wolverines have made just 1-of-5 field goals - Philip Brabbs', game-winner against Washington is the lone made attempt. Brabbs has looked good on extra points thus far, but has struggled with field goals. "It is a mindset like hitting a golf ball or baseball," Carr said. "There are so many things to think about that some- Best memories made when best teams are scheduled 0 BRENDAN O'DONNELL/DaiFy Michigan runningback Chris Perry has scored three touchdowns this season giving him three more than the entire Notre Dame offense. times you can think too much." Against Notre Dame, Brabbs will have one more thing to think about - 75,000 rabid Fighting Irish fans all wanting him to miss. Carr pointed to Brabbs' excellent kicking on extra points in order to dis- play Brabbs' ability. "We lost four footballs a week ago on extra points and that has never hap- pened," Carr said. "Brabbs hit four foot- balls over the netting. What that tells you is that those kicks would have been good from 50 yards." Carr even jokingly offered a reward for the safe return of the footballs, on one condition: They return the footballs to him personally. INJURY UPDATES: Last Saturday against Western Michigan, Michigan played without senior wide receiver Ron Bel- lamy and junior defensive lineman Grant Bowman. When asked whether Bellamy and Bowman would be ready to play against Notre Dame, Carr responded, "Affirmative." Wide receivers Tyrece Butler and Braylon Edwards have stepped up well in Bellamy's absence and have been the focal point of the Michigan passing game. An already deep defensive line will only be reinforced with the return of Bowman, who should jump right back into the rotation. Fullback Sean Sanderson received extensive playing time against the Bron- cos while wearing a wrap on his hand. As per his always endearing policy, Carr refused to comment on Sander- son's injury. Freshman year, fall of 1999. On Sept. 4 my life as a Michigan foot- ball fan commenced with a game that will be remembered by students of our generation as one of the greatest in the history of Michigan Stadium. Michi- gan's 26-22 victory over Bob Davie's Notre Dame team was my first ever game at the Stadium, and made an imprint so great that nothing I've seen over the last four years has displaced it as my finest memory of Michigan foot- ball. Six lead changes. Late-game hero- ics by David Terrell, Anthony Thomas, Tom Brady and Dhani Jones. A then- record 111,523 fans. I was not just a freshman, but an out- of-stater. I was drawn to Michigan in no small part by the mystique of Michigan football, but didn't really grasp the nature of that mystique until the clock ticked away on the Irish on that hot Sep- tember day. I sat by myself - the ticket office was putting freshmen in the south endzone that year - directly behind an enthusiastically inebriated assemblage of Irish hooligans. It was the first and last time I ever sat alone for a Michigan game, and although at the time I felt like an extraordinary loser, in retrospect I'll argue that the experience was all the more special-I am tempted to use the word spiritual - as a result. This Saturday in South Bend, things come full circle. The supremacy of that game above all other games was seri- ously challenged two week's ago in Michigan's last-second defeat of Wash- ington. This year's version of Michigan- Notre Dame may or may not outshine that Washington game, but it's the kind of game that could. Michigan-Notre Dame: A war that has seen 29 battles over 115 years. It is something that, as coach Lloyd Carr said yesterday, "everybody that loves college football will watch, want to watch, or want to know what the score is.". This game and games like it are the reason Michigan schedules the way it does. Michigan-Notre Dame will remain on the docket for at least anoth- er 10 years, but Carr believes that Michigan's current schedule - which includes nonconference games against two ranked teams (Notre Dame and Washington), as well as a difficult matchup against a WAC power (Utah) - is not the kind of schedule that makes a national title bid easy. Never- mind the regular trials of the Big Ten season; Michigan plays 12 games, some of them more difficult than they need to be. There is a school of thought that to best take advantage of the BCS; a team need not schedule difficult non- conference games. If a team is serious about being a national contender, it should avoid early season losses in unnecessary games. "When by scheduling you put them at a disadvantage as compared to the peo- ple you're competing against, then you have to wake up," Carr said. When Carr began discussing his dis- satisfaction with the Michigan schedule, I at first objected. I thought of three things: How unbelievably incredible is to witness games like Notre Dame in 1999 and Washington two weeks ago, how uninterested I would be if there was nothing but Western Michigans on the nonconference schedule and how illegit- imate a national title claim would be without a few difficult nonconference games to booster the Michigan resume. The reality, though, is that Carr is absolutely right. To study the BCS mathematics is to study a system so flawed that if it wasn't for schools' incentive to schedule games that will entice people to buy tickets (Florida- Miami being a prime example) or entice television networks to broadcast games, there would be nothing but Western Michigans on everyone's schedules. Indeed, some teams in the Big Ten have already run that route, and if Carr gets his way, Michigan may eventually do that as well. Please don't, coach. Schedule the Notre Dames. Schedule the Washing- tons. Schedule the Oregons or the Vir- ginia Techs or the UCLAs. That game freshman year made me a real fan, and the game two weeks ago probably made some freshman sitting in the strato- sphere behind the south end zone a fan too. Notre Dame will remain on our schedule for years, but the opportunity to develop new rivalries - such as the one developing with the Huskies - should not be lost in an attempt to "beat" the system of the BCS. The BCS needs to be reformed, to be sure. But we're Michigan; and we should be afraid of no one. We should challenge our team and not leave any questions when the pieces finally come together in a national championship sea- son. And as long as I watch Michigan football- in the Big House or on tele- vision - I will be watching for games like my first. David Horn can be reached at hornd@umich.edu. ps ,, / A , Butler a slam dunk in M' receiving core , By Joe Smith Daily Sports Editor learn how to be a nulrse, bybeing al'nUrse Here's your chance to do what other students only read about. To get hands-on clinical experience, one-on-one training, and a shot at a scholarship worth thousands, It's all part of the Army ROTC Nursing program, Talk to an Army ROTC advisor today to find out more. Because it's time you put your passion into practice. AR M Y ROTC Unlike any other colege course you can take. Junior Tyrece Butler often finds him- self challenging fellow receiver Braylon Edwards to slam-dunk contests at the. CCRB and IM Building. Both 6-foot-3 wideouts were former basketball stars in high school. And while Edwards, 19, may have some fresher legs than the elder Butler, 22, Butler was a state finalist in the long jump in high school - and he can sup- posedly jump out of the gym. So who comes out on top in these "cut throat" match-ups? "We have some battles, but I got to prove that the older guy has still got it," Butler said with a grin. Butler finally is showing he's "got it" on the football field as well this season. Butler is leading the Wolverines with 10 receptions for 129 yards, and he's become a clutch, go-to guy. He caught several key, third-down passes from quarterback John Navarre in Michigan's dramatic 31-29 win over Washington on Aug. 31. And coach Lloyd Carr called him the savior of the game for his hustle play and recovery of Edwards' fumble on a critical fourth- and-two play with 27 seconds to go. If Butler hadn't fallen on the ball, Wash- no-ton would have ran out the clock and Butler had zero catches. "He was extremely down," said Mike Gillin, Butler's high school coach at Decatur Central High School. "He was always demanding of the ball, and that's what I liked about him." Butler wanted to play. He wanted the ball. He remembered reading Keyshawn Johnson's controversial book "Just Give Me the Damn Ball!," a couple times, but he never planned on writing his own novel. He realized that he had to wait. While he was waiting, he took notes from watching Terrell. He noticed that buried behind all of Terrell's brash con- fidence and charisma was a tireless work ethic and a "film rat" mentality. "Dave used to watch film on Sun- days, then sneak back into the building on Mondays to watch it again," Butler said. "It was definitely something I was missing." SButlernever lacked competitiveness. Gillin remembers when Butler tried out for his sixth grade travel football team called the Junior Hawks. A lanky Butler had to lose 14 pounds in a week to qual- ify for a spot in the backfield, instead of on the line. Gillin said Butler looked like a "skeleton" by the end, but starred on the team. And he's looking like a potential star now. After catching four balls last year, including a 77-vard homb in Michigan's ____. __ m