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The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - October 28, 2002 - 5B
"WE LOST AS A TEAM, BUT THE RECEIVERS DDN'T SHOW UP TODAY. ME, BEING A SEN-
IOR, I TAKE FULL RISPONSIBILITY."
- MICHIGAN WIDE RECEIVER RONALD BELLAMY


WEEKEND'S BEST

HOW THE AP TO 25 FARED
Associated Press Poll for week of October 2
All games played October 26.

IRISH CONTINUE TO RISE: Despite its
unblemished record, Notre Dame
enters every week with a legion of
doubters who expect them to finally
slip up. This weekend's game at
Florida State was no exception, but
once again the Irish came out on
top.
The Golden Domers, a double-digit
underdog coming into the game,
once again relied on their big-play
defense and opportunistic offense to
come away with a convincing 34-24
win.
Tied 10-10 at halftime the Irish

came out in the third quarter and
capitalized on three Florida State
turnovers in a span of four minutes.
The defense also held the Seminoles
to 93 yards rushing on 32 carries.
Bobby Bowden best summed up the
game, and Notre Dame's season,
when he said, "The biggest risk
when you play Notre Dame is
turnovers - they beat everybody
the same way."
GAMBLE PAYS oFF: In the absence of
Maurice Clarett, injured in the first
quarter, Ohio State's two-way
starter Chris Gamble stepped up in a
13-7 Buckeye victory over Penn
State. Gamble returned an intercep-
tion for a touchdown and single-
handedly stopped another, leaving
the record crowd chanting his name.
The sloppy game saw five turnovers,
including three picks from Penn
State's Zack Mills, whose several
errant passes could be blamed as
much on a lack of judgement as his
sore shoulder. The Ohio State
defense also bottled up Larry John-
son, holding the tailback to a mere
66 yards.

NEW AP
TOP 25
(first-place votes in parentheses)

Team:
1. Miami (Fla.)
2. Oklahoma
3. Virgina Tech
4. Ohio State
5. Georgia
6. Notre Dame
7. Texas
8. Michigan
9. Washington State
10. Louisiana State
11. Florida State
12. North Carolina State
13. Iowa State
14. Oregon
15. Southern Cal.
16. Tennessee
17. Iowa State
18. Penn State
19. Alabama
20. Kansas State
21. Colorado
22. Air Force
23. Arizona State
24. Bowling Green
25. Minnesota

Last week
beat West ginia 40-23
bye
beat Temr20-10
beat No. Penn State 13-7
beat Ker ky 52-24
beat No. Florida State 34-24
beat Ncl lowas State 21-10
lost to. 13 Iowa 34-9
beat Amna 21-13
lost t(Jburn 31-7
lost tp. 6 Notre Dame 34-24
beat mson 38-6
beat>. 8 Michigan 34-9
lost 40. 15 Southern Cal. 44-33
bepO. 14 Oregon 44-33
lo No. 19 Alabama 34-14
lop No. 7 Texas 21-10
lko No. 4 Ohio State 13-7
L No. 16 Tennesse 34-14
it Baylor 44-10
At Texas Tech 37-13
,t to Wyoming 34-26
;at Washington 27-16
Sat Ball State 38-20
ye

This week:
at Rutgers
Colorado
Pittsburgh
Minnesota
Florida
Boston College
at Nebraska
Michigan State
Arizona State
bye
at Wake Forest
Georgia Tech
Wisconsin
Stanford
bye
at South Carolina
Missouri
Illinois
at Vanderbilt
at Kansas
at Oklahoma
Colorado State
at Washington State
at Kent State
at Ohio State

TEAM
1. Miami (Fla.) (59) 7-0
2. Oklahoma (14) 7-0
3. Virginia Tech 8-0
4. Notre Dame (1) 8-0
5. Georgia 8-0
6. Ohio State 9-0
7. Texas 7-1
8. Washington State 7-1
9. Iowa 7-1
10. North Carolina State 9-0
11. Southern Cal. 6-2
12. Alabama 6-2
13. Colorado 6-2
14. Kansas State 6-2
15. Michigan 6.2
16. Arizona State 7-2
17. Louisiana State 6-2
18. Florida State 5-3
19. Oregon 6-2
20. Penn State 5-3
21. Bowling Green 7-0
22. Iowa State 6-3
23. Minnesota 7-1
24. Colorado State 7-2
25. Tennessee 4-3

PTS
1,832
1,788
1,611
1,597
1,582
1,574
1,321
1,271
1,269
1,232
1,100
995
894
778
702
625
604
551
536
388
361
335
327
144
119

PVS
1
2
3
6
5
4
7
9
13
12
15
19
21
20
8
23
10
11
14
18
24
17
25
NR
16

Otrs receiving votes: Marshall, Florida, Mary-
land, Pittsburgh, Auburn, Boise State, TCU,
Nebraska, Air Force, Virginia, Oregon State

Penn State's Zack Mills


AP PHOTO

Nebraska finally had something to celebrate Saturday. The Comhuskers beat Texas A&M in College Statln, 38-31.

SCOUTING THE NATION

THE DAILY'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
For all of this week's players of the week, it was time to step up. All three play-
ers were crucial in their teams' victories that kept them in contention for their
respective conference titles. Carson Palmer finally backed up all the hype that
followed him into Los Angeles, Terrence Edwards took control of Georgia's
game against Kentucky when a few of his teammates were sidelined and Cedric
Benson helped Texas play to its full potential for the first time this season.
CARSON PALMER,
SOUTHERN CAL
Why Palmer?: In his first three seasons
at Southern Cal., Carson Palmer was
considered a disappointment - all hype.
This season, Palmer has backed it all
up, and Saturday, he threw for a career-
best 448 yards and five touchdowns in
the Trojans' 44-33 victory over Oregon
in Autzen Stadium. Palmer and the Tro-
jans were losing by five at the half, but
Palmer said he knew that his offense
would be able to catch fire in the second
half. The Trojans will need Palmer to
continue his consistent play if they want
to stay in the Pac-10 race with Washing-
ton State and Arizona State, which are
both undefeated in conference play.
Palmer was 31-of-42 and threw just one
Southern Cal.'s Carson Palmer interception Saturday.
TERRENCE EDWARDS,
GEORGIA
Why Edwards?: Most people wrote the
fifth-ranked Bulldogs off on their trip to'# x
Lexington to play Kentucky. Georgia
was playing without starting running
back Musa Smith and wide receiverb
Fred Gibson, which put a lot of pres-
sure on Edwards, the senior, to step it
up. In a record-breaking performance
for Edwards, he caught five passes for
127 yards and three touchdowns in the
Bulldogs' 52-24 romp of the Wildcats.
Edwards broke Georgia's all-timeA
record for career receptions, which was
previously 182 catches, as Georgia
made all the naysayers forget about>h
the absences of Smith and Gibson.
Edwards caught touchdown passes of a
41, 22 and 12 yards. Georgia's Terrence Edwards
t CEDRIC BENSON,
TEXAS
Why Benson?: The Texas Longhorns
Ya> have been a disappointment in many
ways so far this season, but more so
'than any other, the Texas running
game has not been up to snuf. In a
big game for Texas' dwindling Big 12
til opes against Iowa State in
Austin, Benson finally broke out of
his slump, rushing for 199 yards on
30 carries. Benson scored two touch-
downs, helping the Longhorns to a
21-10 victory over Seneca Wallace
and the Cyclones. Benson, who said
he was "sick" of how the Longhorns
had played this season, got loose for
a 59-yard touchdown run in the third
quarter to put Texas on top for good.
The most important thing about Ben-
son's performance was that he kept
Texas' Cedric Benson Wallace and the Cyclones' attack off
AP PHOTOS the field.

GAME PROGRESSION
First Quarter:
On the opening drive, Iowa quarter-
back Brad Banks carries the
Hawkeyes downfield. He throws for
65 yards and runs for 15 more, and
finishes the drive with a 39-yard
touchdown pass to C.J. Jones.
Nate Kaeding converts the extra
point.
Iowa 7, Michigan 0
After a Michigan punt, the Hawkeyes
march to the Michigan 1-yard line in
eight plays. The Wolverines come up
with a goal-line stand, and Iowa set-
tles for a 19-yard field goal by Kaed-
ing.
Iowa 10, Michigan O
Second Quarter:
With 6:26 left in the half, Michigan
starts a drive at its three and takes it
to the 36. On 1 st-and-i , John
Navarre sees Bralyon Edwards break
free downfield and unleashesta throw
that falls through his arms at the
Iowa 15. The drive ends with a punt.
Michigan catches a break when Iowa
punter David Bradley fumbles the
snap and gives the Wolverines
posession at the Iowa 1-yard line.
Two plays later, Chris Perry runs into
the end zone.
Philip Brabbs misses the PAT.
Iowa 10, Michigan 6
Third Quarter:
To start the second half, Navarre
leads Michigan down the field and
the Wolverines creep closer to Iowa.
Navarre throws a.14-yard pass to
Bennie Joppru to avoid a three-and-
out, and two plays later Navarre
scrambles left for 39 yards. After
Navarre throws a 12-yard pass to
Edwards, the drive stalls.
Michigan punter Adam Finley
replaces Brabbs and kicks a 40-yard
field goal.
Iowa 10, Michigan 9
On the next possession, Michigan
forces Iowa to punt. Markus Curry
fumbles the punt return to give the
the Hawkeyes the ball on the Michi-
gan 16. From there, Banks throws
passes to Jones for 14 and three
yards, the latter for a touchdown.
Kaeding converts the PAT.
Iowa 17, Michigan 9
After another Michigan punt, Iowa
storms down the field again and
takes a commanding lead, when run-
ning back Jermelle Lewis runs into
the end zone from five yards out.
Lewis runs for 39 yards during the
drive.
Kaeding converts the PAT.
Iowa 24, Michigan 9
Fourth Quarter:
The Hawkeyes' next possession
begins at midfield and ends four
plays later when Lewis takes a shovel
pass from Banks runs 23 yards down
the sideline. Lewis started the drive
with a 28-yard run.
Kaeding converts the PAT.
Iowa 31, Michigan 9
Michigan goes three-and-out in its
next two possessions. After Kaeding
boots a 27-yard field goal, backup
quarterback Spencer Brinton enters
for Michigan's final drive. He com-
pletes two passes to Edwards for 28
yards, but is also sacked twice,
including on fourth down.

NEWS AND NOTES
. Just when Michigan State coach Bobby Williams thought
things couldn't get worse, they did. His Spartans, playing
without starting quarterback Jeff Smoker - who is suspended
indefinitely for an undisclosed violation of team rules - lost
their third straight game and fifth out of six.
In Michigan State's second consecutive blowout loss at home,
this time in the form of a 42-24 drubbing by Wisconsin,
Williams once again heard "Fire Bobby" chants resonate
throughout the student section. To make matters worse,
Williams lost his backup quarterback, Damon Dowdell, as
Dowdell sprained his right ankle with less than six minutes left
in the game.
Ohio State's freshman sensation, tailback Maurice Clarett,
injured his left shoulder six plays into the Buckeyes' victory
over Penn State on Saturday and did not return. Clarett, who
had averaged 140 yards per game, rushed for 39 yards in limit-
ed action to bring his impressive total to 1,019 yards in just
seven full games.
"I can't tell you if it's a one-day thing or a five-day thing," Ohio
State coach Jim Tressel said of Clarett's injury.
Alabama can't go to a bowl game due to NCAA sanctions, but
the Crimson Tide sure had fun contributing to the misery of
rival Tennessee.
Alabama's first victory over the Volunteers since 1994 also
marked the first time in Tennessee school history that the Vol-
unteers lost to rivals Florida, Alabama and Georgia in the same
year.
To add insult to injury, Tennessee receiver Kelley Washington
was kept out of Saturday night's game due to a head injury he
suffered two weeks ago.
Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer said after the Alabama game
the decision was made Friday because only 95 percent of
Washington's symptoms had cleared.

Nebraska snapped a five-game road losing strealaturday
when it knocked off Texas A&M at Kyle Field, 38-, The Corn-
huskers hadn't lost five in a row on the road since058.
WHAT THEY'RE SAYING
After his Nittany Lions suffered yet another he-breaking
loss in the Big Ten - this time to No. 4 Ohio St - leg-
endary Penn State coach Joe Paterno had someittering
words to say about the Buckeyes.
"They're the best team we've played," Paterndid. "It'd be
close between them and Iowa. Do they play le0? That would
be a pretty good game."
Not only did Paterno neglect to mention Miclan (who beat
Penn State in overtime, just like Iowa did) a'lg the top Big
Ten teams, he ignited curiosity in a matchuptween Iowa and
Ohio State that won't happen this year. Due the revolving
Big Ten schedule, the current top two teams the conference
won't knock heads this year.
Despite trailing by five points at halftimel the road against
No. 14 Oregon, Southern Cal. quarterbackirson Palmer was
extremely confident in the Trojans' ability come back.
"We knew they couldn't stop us offensiveand they didn't
stop us offensively," said Palmer,whose jans beat Oregon
44-33. "The feeling in the locker room wkhat we were going
to blow it out."
A frustrated Texas tailback Cedric Bern said his Longhorns
had enough of the criticism of not beingtop-caliber team.
"We were tired ofplaying like we werera top team," said
Benson, who had 45 carries for 113 ya, in the previous two
games while playing with a nagging tuoe injury.
"It started to make some guys sick."

Michigan State's Charles Rogers
WHO'S NEXT:
MICHIGAN STATE
Things couldn't possibly be much
worse in East Lansing as the Spartans
wprepare for their trip to Ann Arbor.
Michigan State has lost five of its last
six games, and if it loses two more
games, a bowl game would be out of
the question for the Spartans. Michi-
gan State will have nothing to lose
come Saturday at the Big House. °

Staff and wire repocontributed to this report.

"We didn't want to risk it," Fulmer said.

Y

BIG TEN STANDINGS

Tremendous week
for Smith
When you see Joe Smith this
week, give him a pat on the back.
What a week for Smith. We knew
that he was capable of tying
Phillips and McCollough in a given
week, but we just didn't know if
he would ever put all the pieces
together. Now, with another
mediocre week from David Horn,
Smith is nine games back of third
place.
McCollough and Phillips continue
to mirror each other every week.
Phillips jumped out to a 7-0 start,
but J. Brady never gave up,
h~awicP h knew that he had the

STAFF PICKS
WEEK 8 SELECTIONS
AlL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD.
HOME TEAMS IN SMALL CAPS.

Team
Iowa
Ohio State
Minnesota
Michigan
Illinois
Penn State
Purdue
Wisconsin
Michigan State
Indiana
Northwestern

Big Te
5 0
4 0
3 1
3'1
2 2
2 3
2 3
1 3
1 3
1 3
0 5

Overall
8 1
9 0
7 1
6 2
3 5
5 3
4. 5
6 3
3 5
3 .5
2 7

MICHiGAN (-3.5) vs. Iowa
ILLINOIS (-9) vs. Indiana
Omio STATE (-45) vs. Penn State
FLORIDA STATE (-9.5) vs. Notre Dame
Miami (Fla.) (-18.5) at West Virginia
Louisiana State (-3.5) at AUBURN
CoLoRAo ( 6) vs. Texas Tech

David
Horn
Iowa
Illinois
Ohio tat '
Florida State
M iam (Fly,)
Louisiana State
Colorado
T, ... ... O

J. Brady
McCollough

Jeff
Phillips

>, owa ?oaloa
Indiana Illinois Indiana
Ohio State ' Statv Penn $t4t:<
Notre Dame Notre Dame Notre Dame

Joe
Smith

l

Miami (Fla.)
Louisiana State
Calorado .

West Vrg> "Mlamhi (FlaX'
Aubur Aubur
o oro Q.M 1ohrsado
-r - o0su -1,

THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS
Iowa 34, MICHIGAN 9
Wisconsin 42, MIcHIGAN STATE 24
OHio STATE 13, Penn State 7
ILLINoIS 45, Indiana 14
Purdue 42, NORTHWESTERN 13

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