The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - November 4, 2002 - 5B "THERE WAS NO CONTROVESRY THIS YEAR, JUST A STRAIGHT-UP WHIPPING." MICHIGAN CORNERBACK MARLIN JACKSON |||||||1||111|1|||| 111 11 1111 - WEEKEND'S BEST HOW THE AP TOP 25 FARED OH MY Goo: Boston College is every- one's favorite spoiler, so it shouldn't have surprised a soul when the Eagles went into South Bend and took one from Notre Dame, 14-7. Boston College forced seven fumbles, recovering three, and intercepted Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holi- day two times en route to unseating the previously unbeaten Golden Domers. One of the interceptions - by Josh Ott - was returned 71 yards to give the Eagles the first points of the game. Their other touchdown - which proved to be the game-winner - was run in by tailback Derrick Knight. In addition to his touch- down, Knight had 26 carries for 129 yards, wearing down a tough Notre Dame defensive line. MONEY IN THE BANKS: The opportunities for Iowa to get tripped up on its way to a BCS Bowl - indeed the Rose Bowl - are fleeting. The Hawkeyes cleared yet another hurdle in their Cinderella season, defeating Wisconsin 20-3 to improve their record to 6-0 in the Big Ten, and 9-1 overall. Quarterback Brad Banks - whose name is increasingly being mentioned among Heisman Trophy candidates - completed 17-of-30 passes for 275 yards and two touchdowns. He used two receivers, primarily; wide receiver Maurice Brown caught six balls for 107 yards, and tight end Dallas Clark caught five passes for 97 yards. Brown and Clark each had a touchdown reception. Iowa plays at home against Northwest- ern before traveling to Minneapolis to finish the Big Ten season against the Golden Gophers. Associated Press Poll for week of October 29. All games played November 2. Team: 1. Miami (Fla.) 2. Oklahoma 3. Virginia Tech 4. Notre Dame 5. Georgia 6. Ohio State 7. Texas 8. Washington State 9. Iowa 10. North Carolina State 11. Southern Cal. 12. Alabama 13. Colorado 14. Kansas State 15. MIcHIGAN 16. Arizona State 17. Louisiana State 18. Florida State 19. Oregon 20. Penn State 21. Bowling Green 22. Iowa State 23. Minnesota 24. Colorado State 25. Tennessee Last week: This week: beat Rutgers 42-17 at Tennessee beat No. 13 Colorado 27-11 at Texas A&M lost to Pittsburgh 28-21 at Syracuse lost to Boston College 14-7 at Navy lost to Florida 20-13 Mississippi beat No. 23 Minnesota 34-3 at Purdue beat Nebraska 27-24 Baylor beat No. 16 Arizona State 44-22 Oregon beat Wisconsin 20-3 Northwestern lost to Georgia Tech 24-17 at Maryland idle at Stanford beat Vanderbilt 30-8 Mississippi State lost to No. 2 Oklahoma 27-11 at Missouri beat Kansas 64-0 Iowa State BEAT MICHIGAN STATE 49.3 AT MINNESOTA lost to No. 8 Washington State 44-22 California idle at Kentucky beat Wake Forest 34-21 at Georgia Tech beat Stanford 41-14 at Washington State beat Illinois 18-7 Virginia beat Kent State 45-14 at Northern Illinois beat Missouri 42-35 at Kansas State lost to No. 6 Ohio State 34-3 Michigan beat Air Force 31-12 at San Diego State beat South Carolina 1810 Miami NEW AP TOP 25 (first-place votes in parentheses) TEAM PTS PVS 1. Oklahoma (42) 1,818 2 2. Miami (Fla.) (32) 1,804 1 3. Ohio State 1,705 6 4. Texas 1,564 7 5. Washington State 1,538 8 6. Iowa 1,501 9 7. Georgia 1,304 5 8. Virginia Tech 1,303 3 9. Notre Dame 1,268 4 10. Southern Cal. 1,210 11 11. Alabama 1,113 12 12. Kansas State 940 14 13. MICHIGAN 899 15 14. North Carolina State 795 10 15. Oregon 667 19 16. Louisiana State 647 17 17. Florida State 561 18 18. Colorado 486 13 19. Penn State 468 20 20. Bowling Green 437 21 21. Iowa State 372 22 22. Pittsburgh 357 NR 23. Florida 327 NR 24. Colorado State 307 24 25. Arizona State 155 16 Others receiving votes: Maryland, Tennessee, Texas Christian, Auburn, Boise State, Minnesota, Boston College, Marshall, UCLA, Georgia Tech Iowa's Brad Banks THE DAILY'S PLAYERS OF THE WEEK In a week when Goliaths fell all over the country, The Daily's players of the week honors go to a group of Davids. Pittsburgh running back Brandon Miree helped tha Panthers knock off a seemingly invincible Virginia Tech team. The Boston College defense forced fumble after fumble as the Eagles took down Notre Dame and Georgia Tech quarterback A.J. Suggs led the Yellow Jackets in the fourth quarter in their upset over previously unbeaten North Carolina State. GAME PROGRESSION First Quarter: The Spartans start their first drive of the game with excellent field position and complete a 28-yard pass to Charles Rogers, putting them deep in Michigan territory. But the drive quick- ly stalls, and Michigan State settles for a 41-yard field goal which turns out to be their only points on the day. Michigan State 3, Michigan 0 Following the Spartan field goal, Michigan marches down the field with the help of big completions to Ronald Bellamy and Jermaine Gonza- les. The Wolverines have a hard time getting the ball into the end zone, however, and eventually face a 4th- and-1 from the Michigan State 2-yard line. Michigan elects to go for it, and B.J. Askew rumbles into the endzone on fourth down for the first of his two rushing touchdowns on the day. Adam Finley converts the extra point. Michigan 7, Michigan State 3 After an Michigan State punt, the Wolverines start with the ball on their own 41. With the help of good field position, strong running by Askew and a huge 15-yard penalty on the Spartans, Michigan takes the ball down to the Michigan State 1. On the next play, John Navarre keeps the ball for touchdown. Finley converts the PAT. Michigan 14, Michigan State 3 Second Quarter: Following yet another Spartan punt, John Navarre throwsra 39-yard bomb to Ronald Bellamy on the fifth play of the drive for a Michigan touchdown. Finley converts the PAT. Michigan 21, Michigan State 3 Third Quarter: On their second drive of the half, Michigan once again has great field position, beginning the drive at their own 47. Several strong carries by Askew take the ball down to the Michigan State 36 yard-line. After an 11-yard pass to Braylon Edwards and another key penalty on the Spartans, Navarre tosses an 11- yard touchdown pass to tight end Bennie Joppru. Finley converts the PAT. Michigan 28, Michigan State 3 With 3:18 remaining in the quarter, Navarre finds a wide-open Bellamy for a 47-yard touchdown, Bellamy's sec- ond of the day. Finley converts the PAT. Michigan 35, Michigan State 3 Fourth Quarter: Michigan State fails to convert on 4th-and-10, giving Michigan the ball at its own 19. Ten straight rushing plays later, the Wolverines have the ball at Michigan State's 1-yard line. B.J. Askew takes it in for the score. Finley converts the PAT. Michigan 42, Michigan State 3 After an interception is thrown by Michigan State third-stringer Aaron Alexander, Michigan starts their drive deep in Spartan territory. Michigan backup Spencer Brinton completes a 7-yard pass to Andy Stejskal, and Dave Underwood carries it down to Michigan State's 5-yard line. Tim Bracken takes it in for Michigan's final touchdown of the day. Finley converts the PAT. BRANDON MIREE, PITTSBURGH Why Miree?: In arguably the biggest upset of the day, running back Brandon Miree was the game's best player. Ana- lysts had already assumed that both Vir- ginia Tech and Miami (Fla.) would be undefeated when they meet, but that was before the vaunted Hokies' defense encountered Miree. Virginia Tech came into the game allowing just over 40 yards per game rushing (No. 1 in the nation) but the Panthers racked up 275 yards - 161 from Miree. Miree also ran for the game-winning touchdown, a 53-yard scamper with just four minutes left in the game. This performance solidifies Miree as the starting running back for the Pan- thers, which has been in doubt through- out the season. DEFENSE, BOSTON COLLEGE AP PHOTO Wisconsin star running back Anthony Davis was stabbed in a domestic dispute yesterday morning. SCOUTI NG THE NATION NEWS AND NOTES Wisconsin running back Anthony Davis was stabbed in the left thigh yesterday morning during a domestic dispute. Police were called to an apartment around 5:30 a.m. after a report of a domestic disturbance. They found Davis with a deep puncture wound in the middle of his thigh, and he was taken to the hospital. A 22-year-old woman was arrested on a tentative charge of second-degree recklessly endangering safety, police said. Officials said Davis was taken to the University of Wisconsin Hospital and admitted, but a hospital spokeswoman said he was not there yesterday afternoon. The 20-year-old Davis was the Big Ten's leading rusher last year and has 967 yards on 188 carries and six rushing touchdowns this season. Wisconsin wide receiver Lee Evans, who's been out the entire season with a knee injury, was charged with misdemeanor marijuana possession, when police pulled over the car he was driving in a routine traffic stop Friday night. Coach Barry Alvarez said after Saturday's game with Iowa that he had been made aware of Evans' situation, and the legal system would have to run its course. Florida receiver Taylor Jacobs injured his knee Saturday in a 20-13 victory over Georgia and could miss up to four weeks. Jacobs, the leading receiver this season for the Gators, appeared to get struck on the side of his right knee by a teammate as he turned to block during Florida's first posses- sion. Coach Ron Zook said it was an injured MCL that would not require surgery. Ohio State receiver Chris Vance caught a touchdown pass in the sixth-ranked Buckeyes' 34-3 win over Minnesota after learning about the death of his younger brother, Percy, who was shot Friday night. The senior flanker had his brother's name, birth date, date of death and "R.I.P." written on a por- tion of his uniform." Kliff Kingsbury threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns in Texas Tech's 62-11 win over Baylor, despite injuring his right ankle slightly in the first quarter and hobbling until coming out in the third. Kingsbury broke the Division I-A record for career pass- ing attempts with 1,696, 17 more than Louisville's Chris Redman. Larry Johnson ran for 279 yards to break his own school record and scored on an 84-yard run as No. 20 Penn State beat Illinois 18-7 Saturday. Johnson had a second 84-yard touch- down run called back because of a holding penalty early in the fourth quarter. With a 10-yard run in the third quarter, he broke the school record of 257 yards he set two weeks ago against Northwest- ern. But Johnson fumbled the ball to Illinois' Derrick Strong on the play. WHAT THEY'RE SAYING Rutgers coach Greg Schiano watched his team fall apart against the Hurricanes after taking a 17-14 lead into the final quarter, then he remarked at how close the Scarlet Knights are to becoming a national power. "For three quarters, we led the No. 1 team in the country," Schiano said. "When we figure out how to do it for four quar- ters, then we'll be the No. 1 team in the country someday." Against in-state rival Kansas, Kansas State quarterback Ell Roberson ran for three touchdowns and threw for another - before halftime - en route to a 64-0 win. "I didn't think it would be this easy, but if you have an offense that's clicking and a defense that can shut them out, it can happen," Roberson said. Notre Dame quarterback Pat Dillingham through quite possi- bly the ugliest interception of the year, which Boston College linebacker Jason Ott returned 71 the game's first touchdown in the 14-7 upset. "I was thinking, 'Don't trip, don't trip,"' Ott said. "The trick is to always be around the ball and eventually something will happen." Staff and wire reports contributed to this report. Why the Boston College defense?: Because it certainly wasn't the Boston College offense that won the game for the Eagles. In its 14-7 upset of Notre Dame, the Boston College defense gave the Irish a taste of their own med- icine by forcing five turnovers in the first half and returning an interception 71 yards for a touchdown. It also held strong in the second half by letting up just one touchdown - an incredible play by freshman wide receiver Maurice Stovall. The play of the Eagles' defense made up for the fact that the Irish held Boston College to under 200 yards of total offense and just 77 yards passing by quarterback Brian St. Pierre. Boston College's defense A. SUGGS, GEORGIA TECH Why Suggs?: Although his statistics are not overwhelming - 21-of-36 for 211 yards with a touchdown and an interception - it was A.J. Suggs' fourth quarter composure in leading the Yellow Jackets to a 24-17 win over North Carolina State that earns him this week's honor. Down 17-9 after North Carolina State scored early in the fourth quarter, Suggs and the Georgia Tech offense went to work. He led two scoring drives - one for 80 yards and the other for just 21- and converted a crucial 2-point conversion on the for- mer to tie the game. After the scores, Suggs was aided by running back Gor- don Clinkscale, who ran down the clock and kept the ball out of the Wolfpack's claws. Clinkscale ended the day with 15 rushes for 94 yards and the game- winning touchdown. Minnesota's Asad Abdul-Khaliq Georgia Tech's A.J. Suggs AP PHOTOS WHO's .N : MINNESOTA After an emotional two week rollercoast- er of being blown out (vs. Iowa) and blow- ing out (vs. Michigan State), the Wolverines travel to Minneapolis to take on the Golden Gophers. They play on the road, at night, indoors and on turf, so who knows what that alchemy yields? Minnesota looks to reaffirm its strength after a bad loss to Ohio State. I BIG TEN STANDINGS Idiot No. 1 agrees with Idiots 2, 3 and 4 At Daily Sports, we make every effort to aid you, the student gam- bler, in your picks against the spread every weekend. So this week, when a 6-9 record (shared by David Horn and Jeff Phillips) is the best we can offer, we're going to fill you in on a little pattern we've noticed. Look at the games that all four of us picked the same: Penn State, North Carolina State, Colorado, Texas and Virginia Tech. All four didn't cover. Thus, we suggest that in the future, when all four Daily football writers pick the same team to cover, put .ni mnavnnth nthar tm- fght ichtguln latzu STAFF PICKS WEEK 9 SELECTIONS ALL PICKS MADE AGAINST THE SPREAD. CORRECT PICK IN BOLD. David Horn J. Brady McCollough lowa Penn State Ohio State Missouri Boston College North Carolina State South Carolina Colorado Team Iowa Ohio State Michigan Minnesota PennState Purdue Illinois Wisconsin Michigan State Indiana Northwestern Big Ten 6 0 5 0 4 1 3 2 3 3 2 3 2 3 1 4 1 4 1 4 1 5 Overall 9 1 10 0 7 2 7 2 6 3 4 5 3 6 6 4 3 6 3 6 3 7 Jeff Phillips Joe Smith IOWA {-8) vs. Wisconsin PENN STATE (-14) vs. Illinois OHIO STATE (-13.5) vs. Minnesota IOWA STATE (-10) vs. Missouri NOR DAME (-10) vs, Boston College NORTH CAROLINA STATE (-10) vs. Georgia Tech Tennessee (-1.5) at SOUTH CAROLINA OKLAHOMA (-12.5) vs. Colorado Iowa Penn State Ohio State Iowa State Notre Dame North Carolina State Tennessee Colorado W1isconsin owa Penn State Penn State oaState Missouri Iowa State 5oton College Notr~e Dame - North Carolina State North Carolina State Tennessee CoSouth CrolL a Colorado Colorado THIS WEEKEND'S RESULTS Michigan 49, Michigan State 3 Penn State 18, Illinois 7 Northwestern 41, Indiana 37 Iowa 20, Wisconsin 3 Ohio State 34, Minnesota 3 I ................. .....................................................