catJle Anilbigtwu tlI *5,.. .M SNA Monday November 4, 2002 SECTION B MICHIGAN 49, MIIAv A S U Spartans: Help wante Varsity sends its rival spinning out of control By Joe Smith State's top, tailback is dismissed from team Smoker seeks help for substance abuse problem Just hours after the Spartans were embarrassed 49-3 at the Big House, Michigan State senior tailback Dawan Moss was dismissed from the team. This came after the captain was charged with a felony and two misde- meanors early yesterday morning, when police say he resisted arrest. Moss, 22, was charged with drunken driving, having an open alcohol con- tainer in his car and fleeing and eluding a police officer. "This type of behavior will not be tol- erated in this football program, regard- less of the players' status,' coach Bobby Williams said in a statement. Another Michigan State captain, sen- ior quarterback Jeff Smoker, is battling substance abuse problems and is seeking help, Michigan State officials said in a statement. Smoker was suspended for an unspecified violation of team rules on Oct. 24. He has refused comment about his situation since then, but his family released a statement last night about his struggle with substance abuse: "Jeff apparently has been fighting this battle alone for some time. When Bobby Williams and the rest of the staff became aware of Jeff's problem, they responded immediately and for this we are grateful." The family said they "had hoped to keep this matter private until Jeff was well and ready to speak about it, but it appears that we cannot have that luxury." Michigan State spokeswoman Becky Olsen told The Associated Press last night that the family was not immediately releasing further details about the type of care Smok- er was receiving or the exact nature of the substance abuse. Michigan. State Athletics Director Ron Mason said that, as of last night "absolutely nothing" related to Smok- er's situation indicated a violation of NCAA rules. - From staff and wire reports Daily Sports Edi0tor For the second straight season, time became an issue for Michigan in a game against Michigan State. But it wasn't because there was a clock controversy, a last-minute drive or a costly penalty. The Wolverines, who pummeled the hapless Spartans mercilessly into further oblivion with a 49-3 whipping at the Big House, just wished they had a few extra ticks to pour on some more points. "Yeah, guys were chanting 'Go for two!' at the end," Michigan sen- ior safety Charles Drake said. "Hey, it's a state rivalry, you want to rub it in their face. I'm sure they'd do it to us. One of the Ohio State coaches a long time ago went for two points against Michigan, we all know that story." The Ohio State coach Drake referred to was, of course, Woody Hayes. In 1968, with his Buckeyes leading 50-14, Hayes told reporters the reason he went for a two-point coversion with just seconds left was because, "I couldn't go for three." Drake said he wished he could have gone for a lot more than three. "I wouldn't have minded scoring 50 more points if we could." The Spartans, who lost their fourth straight game by more than 20 points and the sixth of their last seven, wouldn't have minded if the game ended after the third quarter. Some Michigan State players said they felt their teammates played like the game was over. "It's the same problems," Michi- gan State tight end Jason Randall said. "We can't convert from the practice field to the playing field. After a team starts scoring on us, people give up. That's what Coach (Bobby) Williams is searching for right now - people that will stick with it. We have people giving up on the field." After watching his Spartans' worst loss to Michigan since 1947, star wide receiver Charles Rogers said it's too late for the Spartans to save their season. "It's too far gone," said Rogers, who was stifled by Michigan's sec- ondary for just 75 yards on four catches with no touchdowns. "You can't turn this around. It's too late for a turnaround. We'll be lucky if we win another game the way things are going right now." Rogers was the Spartans' only hope, as their running game crashed and burned against the Wolverines' defensive front. Michi- gan State managed minus-3 yards in the first quarter and just 53 for the game. Damon Dowdell, making his second consecutive start at quarterback after taking over for suspended star Jeff Smoker, was forced into countless third-and- long situations and converted on just two of 14 third-down tries. See SPARTANS, Page 4B Clockwise, from left: DAVID KATZ. DAVID KATZ AND BRENDAN O'DONNELL/Daily Left: Michigan State cornerback Roderick Maples can't do anything but watch as the Spartans were dominated by Michigan. Top: Michigan State coach Bobby Williams looks on as his team falls to 3-6 on the season. Right: Michigan senior B. J. Askew breaks through one of many attempted Michigan State tackles. Complete collapse means Williams'days are numbered A fter Michigan's 49-3 victory over Michigan State, a throng of reporters icked their chops outside the Spar- tans' lockerroom as they waited for Michigan State media relations to let them talk to coach Bobby Williams. When the door was finally opened for Williams' press conference, a mad rush ensued, as if the reporters feared that Williams would no longer be the Spar- tans' head coach by the time they got to him. It was a moment that some writers had been waiting weeks for: to question Williams after his team's complete collapse in the biggest game of the season. This game was Williams' chance to partial- ly redeem Michigan State's most disappoint- ing season in recent memory. Instead, the game sunk the Spartans even lower to depths that only Fraggles survive and what Williams admitted was his lowest point as coach. Before any fingers are pointed at Williams - and there will be plenty - one should take a look as the way Michigan State played against the Wolverines. His players admitted that they were embar- rassed and that some of their teammates have quit playing. Tight end Jason Randall said that the Spartans "have peo- JEFF ple giving up on the ILLIPS field." Star wide receiv- er Charles Rogers said Ramble that only five of 11 On players on the field are committing themselves on every play. This troubling deterioration of the players' attitude cannot be completely blamed on Williams. But a problem lies in Williams' leadership and how he reacted to the media scrutiny. He blamed the media for distracting the team following the suspension of starting quarterback Jeff Smoker - which Rogers confessed to reporters was indeed a distraction. "Ninety-nine point nine percent of the things you are writing about aren't even true," Williams said. The rumors "are so far out in space, they aren't even worth dignifying." Deflecting the blame to the media isn't going to help his team on the field. The majority of the rumors have come on mes- sage boards and sports talk radio. If Williams want to clear the air, he can tell everyone why Smoker is suspended. Those rumors finally built up to a point that forced Smoker's family to release a statement on his entry into a substance abuse program. The vagueness of Smoker's suspension breeds this kind of speculation from fans and the media. If Williams wants to eliminate rumors, then he should come out and say why Smoker was suspended. He isn't helping his cause by refusing to comment. What is worse is that Williams lacks the confidence in himself and his team that is necessary to coach. When asked whether he has lost his players, Williams said, "I don't know" He refused to comment on whether the Spartans are playing for next season with three games remaining on the schedule. This kind of behavior and lack of decisive- ness is what produces such a backlash from the media and fans. When Williams was initially given the job See PHILLIPS, Page 4B A week of reckoning It seems like it can't get any worse for Bobby Williams and the Michigan State football program. In the past 10 days, Williams has seen players suspended, quit and get arrest- ed - along with getting embarrassed by the rival Wolver- ines at the Big House on Saturday. Suspended: Star quarterback Jeff Smoker saw his season blow up in smoke as he was suspended on Thursday, Oct. 24 for an unspecified violation of team rules. Smoker's family released a statement last night stating that their son has asked for help dealing with his substance abuse problem. Defensive end Greg Taplin was also suspended last Tuesday. Quit: Just five days after Smoker's suspension, two redshirt sophomores - fullback Jason Bradley and linebacker James Cooper - quit the football team. Dismissed: After being charged with a felony and two misde- meanors - for drunken driving, having an open alcohol con- tainer in his car and eluding a police officer - senior captain and starting tailback Dawan Moss was dismissed yesterday. Women capture Big Ten championship WOMEN'S CROSS COUNTRY II T EN WEST LAFAYETTE By Mustafizur Choudhury Daily Sports Writer WEST LAFAYETTE - After a lackluster performance at the NCAA Pre-Nationals on Oct.19, nobody expected the Michigan women's cross country team to shine any brighter at the Big Ten Championships yesterday. That is, nobody except Michigan coach Mike McGuire, who never doubted that his tem mwc anahle of mwin- ago behind us because we didn't commit ourselves," McGuire said. "It was non-indicative of how we had been racing and training up to that point. Our (goal) for today was, to go out, commit and compete, and we did. "We had kids that were hurt and some that were hanging on, but at the end, everybody had fire in their eye and they stormed for home. Once you're committed, it just fires vn un and keene the momentum conference going into the race behind No. 9 Wisconsin, No. 18 Indiana and No. 23 Michigan State. But a few Wolverines stepped up at key moments, helping the team cap- ture its fourth Big Ten title and its first since 1994. Rebecca Walter and Lindsey Gallo ran side-by-side, pushing each other throughout most of the race. With about 200 meters left in the race, the duo passed several other runners including Michigan "Gallo and Walter did a great job at the end," McGuire said. "Walter has been an absolute anchor in the lineup; she's just been so steady. Lindsay's a talented runner and hopefully, next year, she can even compete for the individual title. The expectation of the program and the athletes is to step up, and I would say someone who did step up was Chelsea Loomis, who struggled with her races this year, but came up big today." r l - ~A'. - ~ a~ ~ m xui