Friday
September 19, 2003
www.michigandaily.com
sports@michigandaily. com
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Before every football game this season, two of the Daily football writers will take
the weekend's matchup to the PlayStation 2 (OR GAMECUBE!)
For this week's matchup, coach Kyle O'Neill led the Ducks and J. Brady McCol-
lough took the helm of the Wolverines.
Play of the game - Michigan WR No. 27 has been "making big plays his whole
life" - at least according to Kirk Herbstreit. WR No. 27 went deep for the first time
in his career on a play-action pass to bring Michigan within 28-14.
Player of the game - Oregon CB No. 2. As Lee Corso put it, this kid was a
sack master. He had five tackles - all of them for a loss on the play. He'll be
showing up in Michigan QB No. 16's nightmares as well with his three sacks
and one interception. The kid even had a forced fumble in the second quarter.
Though Michigan recovered it, it was a third down stop allowing his offense to
get the ball back.
P RE SS C ON FE RE NC E QU OT ES:
MIchigan coach J. Brady McCollough: 0-4. 0-4 in the last four years on the
road in nonconference. I thought thi team was different. I thought the were
focused after last week's drilling of O'Neill's Irish. I've never been so disappoint.-
ed in a group of men - I'm always this disappointed with a group of women -
in my life. Drops. Injuries. Fumbles. Cryi ag gam e. Whining. Stop whining!
aainst Indiana. Gah Gah Gooh$ Go. Question ts? dlnsnx ek
Yes, that first drive of the game was a MICHIGAN drive. Meaning ... we didn't
throw the bal oncand an rthe ball seven times for about 70 yard for th
I got tired of watching QB No. 16 get sacked, so I went to the big guns and
bcoursehe was injured after hs first (fwha should have been'vmany) 20yard
runs. CGB No. 33 just didn't cut it as a quarterback.
an mos imoranly 'an odstyle of coachin g for me Iwent bac to my udneahm
rotsoff the no-huddle that I avoided for some reason in last week's game, and it paid
off. Also, defensivelyIplayed a "dog, cover three" for most of the game, which I believe
gave us our two of ortree picks.
Just like last week, I am not here to mention any names - even in victory I will not do
that - as this was a total team effort. And I'm proud of the way this group of outstand-
wsh Icould stick wit them or the rest of te season. Qestionsii.I ely
No, I don't believe coach Mc~ollough had his "A" game today. I'm not going to downplay
what we did today, but McCollough a far from hsbest.
Ducks fly together,
but 'M' ffies higher
By Naweed Sikora
Daily Sports Editor
Tradition vs. image.
That will be the theme in this week-
end's matchup between No. 3 Michigan
and No. 22 Oregon. The Ducks have
done everything from putting up bill-
boards in New York City to adopting
blinding yellow uniforms to attract
attention and build an image as a
young, exciting and brash group of
guys. With the exception of last season,
Oregon has backed up that image.
Enter the college football power-
house. Michigan could be the most tra-
dition-rich team in college football - a
far cry from the high-flying Ducks. The
energy level should be at an all-time
high in Eugene when these two teams
lock up this weekend.
MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE VS. ORE-
GON PASSING DEFENSE: John Navarre will
probably leave Michigan as the most
prolific passer in school history, but
leading the team to a win this weekend
in Oregon will probably do more good
for his legacy than breaking a couple
more records.
After a poor showing against Hous-
ton, the Wolverines' passing game was
on-point against Notre Dame. Navarre,
who threw for 199 yards and one touch-
down, spread the ball well amongst his
targets, even finding Chris Perry in the
endzone one time.
Braylon Edwards is still waiting for
that superstar catch and that breakout
game this season. In the meantime,
the gameplan with Edwards seems to
be focused on getting him the ball on
out-routes and passes underneath,
then allow him to work after the
catch.
Oregon's secondary is led by senior
free safety Keith Lewis, who has two
picks on the season.
But outside of Lewis, the Oregon
secondary is young and inexperienced.
Both Mississippi State and Nevada took
advantage of the Ducks' youth to mount
near comebacks.
Advantage: Michigan
MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. ORE-
GON RUSHING DEFENSE: This one should-
n't be too difficult to figure out. With
the nation's leading rusher in Chris
Perry (183 yards per game) and one of
the most powerful and experienced
offensive lines in the nation, the
Wolverines will win this matchup
against most teams in the country.
"I don't know if you can ever keep
someone like him under wraps," Ore-
gon linebacker Kevin Mitchell said of
Perry. "He's got all the tools you want
out of a back. He's quick, he's powerful,
he's fast, he's got great vision and good
feet. We've seen him stiff arm people
and keep running like he didn't even
stiff arm them."
Oregon has done well against the
rush this season, allowing just 71.7
yards per game. But even with the likes
of Mitchell leading the linebacker
corps, it is unlikely Oregon will be able
to shut down the nation's leading rusher.
Advantage: Michigan
AP PHOTO
Oregon wide receiver Samie Parker darts through the Arizona defense.
just under 50 a game. But it's clear that
the rushing game is not Oregon's main
attack because the three have combined
for just one touchdown so far this sea-
son. Michigan's front four should have
no problems shutting down these three
amigos.
Advantage: Michigan
OREGON RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHI-
GAN RUSHING DEFENSE: The Michigan
front four has been nothing less than
ferocious so far this season. After
allowing Central Michigan to run wild
- a performance that Michigan defen-
sive end Larry Stevens said made him
sick - the defensive line has dominat-
ed opponents. They have allowed the
Wolverine linebackers maximum free-
dom to put pressure on the opposing
quarterback and fill gaps. Overall,
Michigan has allowed 113.7 rushing
yards per game, but just 74 against
Houston and 49 against Notre Dame.
Oregon uses a combination of three
running backs in its offensive attack.
Both Terrence Whitehead and Chris
Vincent are averaging just over 60 yards
per game, and Ryan Shaw is gaining
OREGON PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN
PASSING DEFENSE: Everyone knows that
Ducks fly together - and these Ducks
are no exception. Kellen Clemens and
Jason Fife share the role as quarterback
and have led Oregon to the best passing
attack in the Pac-10. The Ducks are aver-
aging 284 yards per game in the air, and
their quarterback tandem has combined
for 11 touchdowns.
The Ducks also boast two of the
nation's best receivers in Samie Parker
and Demetrius Williams. Parker, who is
well known for his speed, had seven
catches for 162 yards and two touch-
downs against Nevada, while Williams
had three touchdowns against Arizona.
"Everybody knows about Samie's
speed," Clemens said. "He's one of the
fastest college football players in the
country right now."
"Demetrius has really stepped into
that number two role and made big
plays. A lot of people didn't know about
him, but are learning about him the
hard way."
Parker injured himself in the first
quarter against Arizona and was forced
to leave the game. He will not be 100-
percent when these teams meet tomor-
row afternoon.
Thus far, the Wolverines' secondary
has gone untested. It has allowed oppo-
nents an average of 101.7 yards in the
air, but this is mainly because no team
has even tried to stretch the field.
Advantage: Even
SPECIAL TEAMS: If you caught Steve
Breaston's performance against Notre
Dame, this one should be another no-
brainer.
The field-goal kicking and punting
have also drastically improved from last
season. Michigan has been winning the
field position battle and will again this
weekend.
Advantage: Michigan
Michigan 35, Oregon 21
STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the
spread for 9/20/03
No. 3 MichIgan (-8) at No. 22 OREGON
North Carolina at WISCONSIN (-14.5)
Arizona at No. 25 PURDUE (-25.5)
Northwestern at DUKE (-3)
Bowling Green at No. 5 OHIO STATE (-14)
Michigan State at NOTRE DAME (-11.5)
No. 16 Arizona State at No. 18 IOwA (-8)
Kentucky (-8.5) at INDIANA
California at iwNOiS (-4)
Kent State at PENN STATE (-24.5)
West Virginia at MARYLAND (-9)
No. 12 Tennessee at No. 17 FLORIDA (-3.5)
No.7 Georgia at No.11 LOUISIANA STATE (-1)
Colorado at No. 10 FLORIDA STATE (-19)
Clemson at GEORGIATEcH (4.5)
Marshall at No. 6 KANSAS STATE (-18)
UCLA at No.1 OKLAHOMA (-19)
Texas Tech at NORTH CAROLINA STATE (-6)
Best bet.
Last week's record (best bets)
Total season record (best bets)
Courtney
Lewis
J. Brady
McCollough
Kyle
O'Neill
Naweed
Sikora
Michigan
Wisconsin
Purdue
Northwestern
Bowling Green
Notre Dame
Iowa
Kentucky
Illinois
Kent State
Maryland
Tennessee
Georgia
Colorado
Georgia Tech
Marshall
Oklahoma
N.C. State
Michigan
10-8 (1-0)
17-19 (2-0)
Michigan
North Carolina
Purdue
Northwestern
Bowling Green
Notre Dame
Arizona State
Kentucky
Illinois
Kent State
West Virginia
Florida
Louisiana State
Colorado
Georgia Tech
Kansas State
UCLA
N.C. State
Michigan
9-9 (1-0)
19-17(1-1)
Michigan
Wisconsin
Arizona
Northwestern
Bowling Green
Notre Dame
Iowa
Kentucky
California
Kent State
West Virginia
Florida
Georgia
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Marshall
UCLA
N.C. State
Bowling Green
11-7 (1-0)
19-17 (2-0)
Michigan
Wisconsin
Purdue
Northwestern
Ohio State
Michigan State
Iowa
Indiana
Illinois
Kent State
West Virginia
Florida
Georgia
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Kansas State
UCLA
N.C. State
Iowa
9-9 (0-1)
18-18 (0-2)
Barry from "Beiner's Weiners"
- outside 'M' Book and Supply
Michigan
Wisconsin
Arizona
Northwestern
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Iowa
Kentucky
Illinois
Penn State
Maryland
Tennessee
Georgia
Florida State
Georgia Tech
Kansas State
Oklahoma
N.C. State
Michigan
9-9 (1-0)
14-22 (1-1)
We'll have our picks
with relish and onion
Sticking with the food theme we
began last week, this week's Ann
Arbor celebrity is Barry from "Bein-
er's Weiners" who's been manning
the hot-dog stand outside Michigan
Book and Supply for the past 22
years. That's a lot of hot dogs, folks.
Barry remembers the day when
Book and Supply was a soda shop
and sodas only cost 25 cents. Those
were the days.
Barry also remembers the days
when Penn State was a respectable
football team, and it appears he let
his memories make his picks for
him. Sorry, Barry. It's all in good fun.
As you can see, no Daily football
writer has distinguished himself or
herself, and this week has a big
chance to separate O'Neill and
McCollough, as they disagree on
seven games.
O'Neill is confident that Ohio State
will continue to poop through its
schedule, so confident that he made
it his best best for the week. O'Neill
seems to have a good eye for best
bets.
Pete Poulos from Frank's Restaurant
got the celebrities going last week,
so hopefully for the celebrities'
efforts, Barry will come up with a 13-
5 week to at least get them up to
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