9 0 0 -T- 0 , 8B - The Michigan Daily - FooTBALL SATURDAY - September 21, 2002 The Michigan Daily - FOOTBALL SATURDA Utes face equally upset 'M' ByDvdHrDaily Sports Editor PROCRASTINATION STATION li UTAH 21 M'VICHIGAN 42 Tomorrow's game between Utah and Michigan features two teams that feel like they deserve better. Utah lost last weekend at Arizona, after a series of disputed calls led Utes coach Ron McBride to question the allegiance of the Pac-10 official John Fogltance. With 38 seconds remaining, a touch- down pass to Josh Lyman that would have tied the game was ruled incom- plete, negating the Utes' game-win- ning drive. Earlier that day in South Bend, Ind., Michigan was involved in an emotion- al and controversial defeat at the hands of Notre Dame. A Carlyle Holi- day sneak run appeared to come up a yard shy of the end zone, but was ruled a touchdown. Add to that a phantom pass interference call on Michigan cornerback Marlin Jackson, and Michigan feels like it was a few bad calls away from being 3-0 instead of 2-1. But which team has more to prove? The perennial power trying to resume a winning rhythm or the scrappy, physical Mountain West challenger? "I think we're both upset about last week," Utah quarterback Lance Rice said. "it was tough. We had a chance DANN""MO 'L" '/Daly With Utah's leading rusher, Marty Johnson injured, Marlin Jackson and the rest of the Michigan defensive seconday will see more of the Utes' air attack. to win there. But there's a new game each week ... (Today) is a huge opportunity for our program. Any time you can play BCS teams it's exciting and a challenge for us. We have a chip on our shoulder." Utah prides itself as a hard-hitting, physical team. It will need to catch Michigan off-guard in the hopes that the Wolverines are either still coming down from their own tough loss, or are looking ahead to the beginning of the Big Ten season, which commences next weekend. "We are looking forward to playing a very good Utah team," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said. "It is going to be a challenge for us from the stand- point that anytime you come off an emotional game like last Saturday, it is a challenge for your team. We are looking forward to it." Michigan will focus on playing a clean game. Last weekend's loss to Notre Dame was plagued by turnovers and penalties, and the Michigan defense in particular seemed to have a knack for giving up the big play. Utah will be forced to air it out, having lost for the season its starting running back (and the nation's leading rusher at the time of the injury), Marty Johnson. The Utes will likely avoid Jackson, who has been spectac- ular at the corner for the Wolverines. "Jackson is obviously very talent- ed," Rice said. "He's a big-time player and it's going to be a huge challenge for us. You want to go away from him." Without their star running back and faced with the hostility and awe of Michigan Stadium, the Utes may be disappointed yet again. U U 'l bdcA% Bookstore Before every football game this season, two of the Daily football writers will take the weekend's matchup to the Playstation 2. For this week's matchup, coach Joe Smith led the Wolverines and J. Brady McCollough took the helm of the Utes. Play of the game - Covered by four or five Utes, Michigan WR No. 19 prac- tically jumped out of the Big House to catch a touchdown pass from QB No. 16 in the first quarter. Oh, wait, that happened four times. Most unrealistic play of the game - Down 35-14 with his team pinned deep in its own territory, coach McCollough rolled the dice with a fake punt on fourth-and-long. P No. 14 avoided the rush of Michigan CB No. 31, and threw a rope to a wide-open TE No. 10, who dropped the ball with nothing but green in front of him. Player of the game - Michigan WR No. 19. His gamebreaking speed helped him embarrass the Utah secondary for four touchdowns and 216 yards. Michigan key stats Passing: QB No. 16 -11-of-24, 323 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT Rushing: RB No. 23 - 8 carries, 26 yards Receiving: WR No. 19 - 7 receptions, 216 yards, 4 TD; TE No. 83 - 2 receptions, 46 yards, 0 TD Defense: SS No. 24 - 1 INT, 6 tackles, 2 forced fumbles; LB No. 37 - 2 sacks. Utah key stats Passing: QB No. 16 -12-of-32, 321 yards, 3 TDs, 1 INT Rushing: RB No. 1- 8 carries, 33 yards, 1 TD; RB No. 2 - 6 carries, 32 yards Receiving: WR No. 27 - 9 receptions, 256 yards, 3 TDs; TE No. 88 - 2 receptions, 50 yards, 0 TD Defense: Horrible. PRESS CONFERENCE QUOTES: Utah head coach J. Brady McCollough: When I coached Notre Dame last weekend and went up against coach Smith, it was a much different story. He quit the game after it was 31-0 at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Too b ad the game wasn't televised. I have to tip my hat to RB No. 1, who was supposed to be out for the sea- son. He got up in the lockerroom at halftime and said he was tired of watching RB No. 2 lollygag around out there. But, in retrospect, we're lucky his leg is still attached to his body. I'm disappointed in this team. This was a statement game for us and the only statement we made was that we just plain stink. We fumbled the ball twice, in crucial situations, and the blocked punt by CB No. 31's privates hurt, too. Although, I have to say, the blocked punt was more my fault than my team's. I didn't put them in the "max protect punt," and we paid for it. Who stole my PlayStation? I woke up this morning to start reviewing some film of the game, and it was gone. It's the second time in two months my- PlayStation has been stolen. My players, coaches and this University deserved better than that. Now what are we going to do? If you find an abandoned PlayStation, call our media relations department immediately. Michigan head coach Joe Smith: First things first, coach McCollough needs to stop living in the past. No. 19 made tremendous strides in practice this week and I knew he'd have an outstanding game. Coach McCollough said No. 19 couldn't catch the ball. But we made a believer out of him today ... I was impressed with the way Utah's tailback No.1 changed out of his street clothes at halftime and played the entire second half on a torn MCL. Thank God we stopped him. Michigan K No. 34 had trouble with his kickoffs and his lone field goal attempt. But he did an outstanding job on his extra points. He's been near- perfect in practice, so I'm not concerned. Didn't know Jerry Rice played for Utah? Utah WR No. 27 had a tremendous g ame. We just couldn't stop him. He victimized our secondary for I don't now how many yards, and I'm just glad we won't see him ever again. I can't comment on the injury to Michigan- CB No. 31, who took one for the team by blocking a punt with a body part below his belt. He's an extremely tough young man. Too bad coach McCollough's PS2 got stolen after the game last night. Maybe it was the Michigan State timekeeper. When you're right 52% of the time Entering the week, the Michi- gan Daily football writers are a mere two games above the .500 mark, thanks in part to David Horn's extraordinary first week. But now the writers must prove that a quarter wouldn't beat them in Staff Picks. This week features a myriad dif- ficult games to pick, but the football writers racked their brains and the Internet to get an egde. A surprising feature of this week is the lack of respect for Florida and Texas A&M. And while Michigan State looked pathetic against California last week, it is favored against Notre Dame and rightfully so according to three writers. Michigan has yet to cover this season, but remain 9.5 point favorites this week and have most of the writers convinced they can cover. It should be an interesting week again in Staff Picks, with every writer likely wondering, 'How could I possibly pick this team?' at some point during the weekend. STAFF PICKS WEEK 3 SELECTIoNS ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD. HOME TEAMS IN SMALL CAPS. MiwaG95) vs. Utah Michigan Michigan Utah WISCoNSIN (-5.5) vs. Arizona Wisconsin Arizona Wisconsin PENN SIATE (44.5) VS. LOUIS1ana'Tech Pen State Penn State Penn State PURDUE (-10) vs. Wake Forest Purdue Purdue Purdue MIC;IAN SAE2) .NtrDm. ..hign Stateg ILLINoIS (-23) vs. San Jose State San Jose State Illinois Illinois OhiO State (47) atC~eNT iAmnatflfl State Cmncinnati IowA (-21.5) vs. Utah State Iowa Iowa Iowa MJNN~sOTA (-3I) vs BuffaO Minnesota. Mrnhesota ufo INDIANA (-6.5) vs. Central Michigan Indiana Indiana Indiana N~y(3 s otwsenNorthwestenNv North~westerr TENNESSEE (-3.5) vs. Florida Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee A s (),C i.............he Co. J.outhern Cat ..ns.s $tate Virginia Tech (-2) at Texas A&M Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Best bet Tennessee Virginia Tech Miami (Fla.) Record last week (Best bets) 5-10 (1-0) 7-8 (1-0) 7-8 (1-0) David Horn Overall record (Best bets) 16-12-2 (1-1) 14-14-2 (2-0) 14-14-2 (1-1) Heart-breaing losses fuel the fire Utah's only hope is run defense and inconsistent Michigan kicking 4 By Jeff Phillips Daily Sports Editor A Michigan Tradition Since 1934 Last week, both Michigan and Utah suffered crushing defeats and now are looking to make a state- ment. Utah coach Ron McBride has his Utes on the rise, earning the respect of big-time conferences and competing for the Mountain West conference title. Utah lacks the depth and talent of Michigan, but if it can shrug off last week's loss, the Utes will give Michigan problems. MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. UTAH PASSING DEFENSE: Against Notre Dame, the Michigan passing offense was on and off with over- thrown and dropped passes, fum- bled balls and throws tipped at the line. Some of that was caused by the aggressive Irish defense, but the unit is still flawed. Utah's pass defense has not been spectacular, giving up an average of nearly 300 yards per game. The Wolverines will need to find a pass- ing game before the Big Ten sea- son, and this could be their game to find it. Edge: Michigan aggressiveness and regardless of how talented the Michigan back- field is, Utah will win this battle if the Wolverines cannot hold on to the ball. Edge: Utah UTAH PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHI- GAN PASSING DEFENSE: Utah is pri- marily a rushing team, but an injury to Marty Johnson has forced the Utes to move to a more pass-orient- ed offense that has had only moder- ate success. Quarterback Lance Rice has been efficient but unspec- tacular. Marlin Jackson will again shutdown one side of the field for Michigan, and the rest of the Wolverines' secondary should con- tain the rest of the Utes receivers. Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday proved that the Wolverines are susceptible to mobility. If Rice can find this characteristic and take advantage of it, Utah has a chance against the Wolverines' defense. Edge: Michigan J. Brady McCollough Jeff Phillips lls 41& the Michigan line last week, rushing for over 100 yards and two touch- downs. But without an emerging running back, Utah should be stopped by a Michigan defense looking for respect. Edge: Michigan Football Season is here. Stock up on your Maize & Blue! ! Click and Shop. @ www.ulrichs.com or for a Free Catalog (800) 288-5497 SPECIAL TEAMS: Michigan has no kicking game. Teams need a kicking game to win. Above all else, this is the most important aspect of special teams. So while Michigan has a quality return unit, Utah has a kick- ing game. If this winds up to be close, the Utes can rely back on kicker Bryan Borreson, who has made 75 percent of his field goals, including two from 50 yards and beyond. Edge: Utah INTANGIBLES: While Utah is admit- tedly not intimidated by Michigan Stadium, home field advantage is still a major factor in college foot- ball and will be on Saturday. Also, historically, Michigan has faired will against mid-major conference teams at home. Edge: Michigan Michigan will need Braylon Edwards to hang on t .k MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. UTAH RUSHING DEFENSE: Like Notre Dame, Utah forces turnovers and especially fumbles. Last week against Arizona, the Utes forced four -fumbles and recovered two. Michi- gan coughed up the ball three times against the Irish, including one each by Chris Perry and B.J. Askew. Add a stifling rush defense to the UTAH RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHI- GAN RUSHING DEFENSE: The Utes had one of the best rushing games in the nation before the loss of star run- ning back Johnson. Now with John- son out for the season, Utah needs someone to step up. That didn't hap- pen against Arizona aspfive players combined for 32 net yards rushing. Notre Dame running back Ryan Grant had surprising success against Michigan 28, Utah 21