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8B - The Michigan Daily - FOOTBALL SATURDAY - October 26, 2002
The Michigan Daily -FooTm
Game will keep scoret
By David Horn
Daily Sports Editor
You heard it here first: Points will be
scored in Saturday's game between
Michigan and Iowa. Tell all your friends.
When quarterback Brad Banks and
the Iowa offense - which is good
enough to be the 1 th-ranked scoring
offense in the nation, averaging 38
points per game - come to the Big
House, the Michigan defense will have
its hands absolutely full.
They can beat you on the ground:
Tailback Fred Russell has chalked up
897 yards already this season, and
Banks' 206 yards (4.6 per carry) give
him a McNabbian dimension.
The Hawkeyes can beat you in the
air: Banks has thrown for 1,575 yards,
which while not impressive itself, is
made extraordinarily impressive when
you consider that he has thrown more
touchdowns this season (15) than any
other passer in the Big Ten, that he aver-
ages more than nine yards per pass, and
that his interception total (four) and ten-
dency to avoid the rush (Banks has been
sacked just four times) gives him the
fourth-highest quarterback rating in the
country.
And the Hawkeyes can especially
beat you in a close game: Iowa's kicker
Nate Kaeding has been a perfect 15-of-
15 on field goals and leads the nation in
scoring with 80 points.
"You're definitely aware if you have
mobile quarterback back there, particu-
larly for the defensive ends making sure
they don't widen the rush pass lane or
rush lane, maybe contain them a little
bit more," Michigan defensive lineman
Shawn Lazarus said.
The Michigan defense has been spot-
)oard busy
ty this season. Its success has come in
its ability to shut down the run, but that
trait has been missing when the Wolver-
ines have faced mobile quarterbacks
like Banks. Notre Dame's Carlyle Holi-
day and Purdue's Brandon Kirsch both
brought a dimension of versatility to the
game that complicated Michigan's
defensive schemes.
Expect to see scoring on the other
side of the football as well. Iowa's sec-
ondary is undoubtedly the weakest link
in the Hawkeye chain, and Michigan
quarterback John Navarre has been pos-
itively dangerous in the pocket. Iowa is
allowing more than 320 yards per game
in the air, and Navarre's ability to pick
apart coverage seems to be getting bet-
ter with each passing week. But Michi-
gan will probably have little luck
running the ball to keep the Iowa
defense honest; the Hawkeyes rank sec-
ond in the country in run defense, hold-
ing opponents to less than 70 yards per
game on the ground.
"They have a dangerous offense,"
Navarre said. "Both teams are going to
try to keep the other offense off the
field. If we possess the ball and keep
their offense off the field, we're going
to have a chance. If we do get in a scor-
ing battle, we have confidence that we
will be able to give ourselves a chance
and be there until the end."
Both teams, then, will be firing out
of their well-stocked arsenals on
what is forecasted to be a sunny
October Saturday. An offensive
shootout favors neither team, but a
close shootout - a close anything -
favors Iowa and its reliable kicker.
No matter what, expect to see some
action on the scoreboard.
PROCRASTINATION
STATION
IOWA
MICHIGAN
28
14
AP PHOTO
Iowa's Fred Russell has come out of nowhere to earn the starting running back
position for the Hawkeyes this season and gain nearly 900 yards.
U U
'Ubd dill,
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 Jeff Phillips led the Hawkeyes and J. Brady
McCollough took the helm for the Wolverines.
Play of the game - With the Hawkeyes' leading 21-14, Michigan was driv-
ing with less than two minutes to play. After a bruising run by RB No. 23,
coach McCollough rolled the dice and called a deep route intended for WR
No. 9. QB No. 16 greatly underthrew the fly pattern, and Iowa FS No. 25
picked the ball off to seal the deal for low a.
Most unrealistic play of the game - With Michigan driving at the end of the
first half down 14-7, the Hawkeyes' defense forced a field goal attempt for
the Wolverines with just seconds left in the half. Michigan K No. 34 yanked
the kick wide left into 30 mph winds.
Player of the game - Iowa QB No. 7 - The option absolutely decimated the
Michigan defense. QB No. 7 weaved in and out of the Wolverines all day
long, and when they stacked the line, he hit them hard over the top.
Michigan key stats
Passing: QB No. 16 - 8-20, 188 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: RB No. 23 - 13 carries, 87 yards; RB No. 41- 1 carry, 6 yards,
1 TD
Receiving: TE No. 83 - 2 receptions, 69 yards; WR No. 9 - 2 receptions,
75 yards; RB No. 23 -1 reception, 17 yards, 1 TD
Defense: LB No. 37 - 7 tackles, 1 sack, 3 tackles for loss
Iowa key stats
Passing: QB No. 7 - 6-10, 140 yards, 2 TD
Rushing: RB No. 34 - 15 carries, 77 yards, 1 TD; QB No. 7 - 21 carries,
141 yards, 1 TD
Receiving: TE No. 44 - 4 receptions, 96 yards, 2 TDs; WR No. 9 - 2 recep-
tions, 44 yards
Defense: DT No. 94 - 3 tackles, 1 tackles for loss, 1 sack; FS NO. 25 -1
interception; CB No. 36 - 1 interception
PRESS CONFERENC E QUOTES:
Michigan head coach J. Brady McCollough: I'm tired of these neutral sites
for crying out loud. Coach Smith, my usual opponent, needs to set hisass
in gear and buy me a PlayStation2 since he took that spot outside Schem-
bechler Hall for the second straight season.
On a football note, Iowa QB No. 7 made my defense his !@#$%. The guy
was absolutely unstoppable, except for when he came in contact with LB
No. 37, who played his best game since he's been at Michigan. QB No. 7 is
a Heisman Trophy candidate, at least with coach Phillips in control.
Speaking of coach Phillips, he called a good game. He forced me to go to a
goal line defense to shut down his option, and like any coach with some sense,
he hit my defense over the top time and time again. Phillips also avoided my
wrath in our rematch by kneeling the ball with a few seconds left and a chance
to really embarrass me in front of the home crowd. I shouldn't want his pity,
but I definitely begged for it. That's just the kind of day it was.
RB No. 23 played a tremendous game for us. He played his best game
since he has been at Michigan. Every one played their best game since
they'ye been at Michigan except for QB No. 16, who really let us down in
the final two minutes.-hat's allI have to say about that.
Iowa head coach Jeff Phillips: This was David vs. Goliath - except this time,
Goliath won! Coach McCollough called me out and I responded as expected, by
winning.
The transition to the PlayStation2 was tricky at first, with QB No. 7 running
down the sideline then inexplicably gunning the ball into the Michigan bench.
RB No. 34 tried pitching the ball back to QB No. 7 and refused to juke right. In
the end, playing on a PlayStation2 was like riding a big wheel in a bike with
training wheels world.
I was warned by Coach McCollough not to punch it in, because if I did, the
next time we played "could et ugly." To that I say, "Meh." If I wanted to fake
spike it for the fans, I would ye.
I knew if I just let Michigan QB No. 16 keep passing, it would pay off. My sec-
ondary was toying with him all day. A 50-yard pass here, a 10-yard run there -
it doesn't matter when you throw two picks with the game on the line.
Is there a more unstoppable force in the history of forces than QB No. 7? The
answer is yes. But he moved the ball with ease and could run the option when
there were 10 guys in the box. He didn't fumble despite Coach McCollough's
pleading.rI was a bit worried when QB No. 7 injured himself during aupregame
scrimmage, but he came back with a vengeance during the game and showed
no ill-effects.
D-LINE
Continued from Page 36
the Wolverines had a rough time con-
taining Notre Dame quarterback Car-
lyle Holiday as well as Purdue's
Brandon Kirsch - who rushed 15
times for 81 yards last Saturday.
But the Wolverines will have two of
their main cogs on the defensive line
back to help chase down the pesky
Hawkeyes. Both Orr, who returned to
action last week after missing two
games with an undisclosed knee injury,
and defensive tackle Norman Heuer
are expected to play together for the
first time since Sept. 2 1. The presence
of both lineman should give the
Wolverines' defensive line more confi-
dence, and help them put more pres-
sure on Banks and Co. Just 13 of
Michigan's 27 sacks this year have
come from its front four, as the
Wolverines have relied on several
stunts and safety blitzes.
"You know those guys are going to
do their thing and know you won't
have to make all the plays," said
Rumishek. "Because the past couple of
games you almost had to play cautious
and feel like you couldn't screw up or
you'd put a lot of stress on the rest of
the defense."
Overall record (Best bets)
52-51-2 (2-5)
55-48-2 (3-4)
55-4
Varsity to prevail in a Close one
By Jeff Phillips
Daily Sports Editor
A Michigan Tradition Since 1934
The Big Ten title could be decided
this week. The winner of the Michi-
gan-Iowa game will be a favorite to
represent the conference in Pasade-
na. A loss for either team will be
demoralizing and the winner will be
catapulted into the ranks of the
nation's elite. The teams are evenly
matched, and the game will come
down to the wire. With both teams
possessing potent passing attacks
and ineffective passing defenses,
there will be plenty of points scored.
MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS.
IOWA RUSHING DEFENSE: Chris Perry
is not 100 percent and B.J. Askew
was ineffective against Purdue. That
isn't good news for Michigan as it is
facing an Iowa defense that allows
just 68 yards per game on the
ground and just 2.2 yards per rush.
If Michigan has any chance at
moving the ball on the ground, it
will need the offensive line to play
its best game of the season thus far.
Which isn't to say that the offensive
hasn't played well, but this is the
most formidable line it has faced or
likely will face this season.
Edge: Iowa
Since Michigan has potent
weapons in Braylon Edwards and
company and a constantly improving
quarterback in John Navarre, you
can bet that the Wolverines are lick-
ing their chops for Saturday's game.
Edge: Michigan
STAFF PICKS
WEEK 6 SEECIONS
ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD.
HOME TEAMS IN SMALL CAPS.
David
Horn
IOWA RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHI-
GAN RUSHING DEFENSE: While not
quite as good as Iowa's rushing
defense, Michigan has a strong unit
of its own. The Hawkeyes have quite
the little running game with the
minute Fred Russell handling the
duties, but the Wolverines have the
best defensive line that Iowa has
seen this season and it will show on
Saturday.
The Wolverines expect Norman
Heuer to rejoin the team, providing
the line with even more depth. In
short, Iowa is talented, but so is
Michigan's line.
Edge: Michigan
.:..
MicuaAN(-3.) v. loa lwa owa
ILLINoIS (-9) vs. Indiana Illinois Indiana
0HK0 STATE (-4.5) v& Perm State Ohio $tate 'Oho State 11
FLORIDA STATE (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame Florida State Notre Dame Not
M.iam (a.) (4.5) .t.West.Virgini .M:am (Fla:) Miami (;.).W
Louisiana State (-3.5) at AUBURN Louisiana State Louisiana State
OLO:A:. (&) VS. Texas I... C61.. ado C.i:r:d. C
TEXAS A&M (-5) vs. Nebraska Texas A&M Nebraska Te>
Soiuthern CaL (4) atORGQO Sotthem CeI. Oren. (
TEXAs (-13) vs. IowA STATE Iowa State Iowa State lov
GeorgI ' (-n) at KENTU K Georga Georg.< K'
OREGON STATE (-5.5) vs. California California California C
TENrs~sEE (-2) vs. Aabam Thnnessee AMabama Tel
ARIZONA STATE (-3.5) vs. Washington Washington Arizona State Arizi
Washington State (-11) atARIZA Wasingtn~ State Washirngton State 'Washi
Best bet Georgia California C
Record last week (Best bets) 8-7 (0-1) 8-7 (0-1) 7-
J. Brady Jeff
McCollough Philli
SPECIAL TEAMS: Iowa's Nate Kaed-
ing has made 15-of-15 field goal
attempts this season. Michigan, as a
team, has attempted 14 field goals,
just one fewer than Kaeding. So real-
ly on paper, this matchup is even.
Both teams have potential game-
breaking punt- and kick-returning
threats. But the Hawkeyes get the
edge in this matchup with one more
field goal attempt.
Edge: Iowa
Michigan's John Navarre will likely stay
Michigan here - the Wolverines
will just have to limit how badly
Banks hurts them.
Edge: Iowa .
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Football Season is here.
Stock up on your
Maize & Blue!!
Click and Shop @
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INTANGIBLES: The Big House has
been good to Michigan this season.
Not just good -very good. The
Wolverines have found a way to win
every close game at home this sea-
son and there is no reason to doubt
them now.
Edge: Michigan
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MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS.
IOWA PASSING DEFENSE: For as good
as Iowa's rushing defense is, its
passing defense is bad. Not just bad
- it is bad to the XXXtreme (That's
right - three X's). The Hawkeyes'
are ranked second to last in the
nation, just above the WAC's worst
in Idaho and just below every other
team in Division I-A.
IOWA PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHI-
GAN PASSING DEFENSE: Michigan
struggles against mobile quarter-
backs, especially good mobile quar-
terbacks. Banks is a mobile
quarterback. He's a good mobile
quarterback - one of the most effi-
cient in the nation. Got that? Michi-
gan will need to contain the
explosive Banks in order to avoid
another Donovan McNabb-like dis-
aster in Michigan Stadium.
Banks will get the better of
There is little doubt the game will
be close and high scoring, but
Michigan will prevail with its
defense doing just enough to win.
Michigan 35, Iowa 34
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