C~Jbe N jrigau iflI SPOhhmjRTS ADA September 22,2003 SECTION ii!iil I Bill Duck, duck, lose REwN 31, IMICHIGAN 27 'West Toast' makes return to center stage in Eugene J. BRADY MCCOLLOUGH All About the Cause EUGENE, Ore. - After one season off, the cast members of the much- ballyhooed drama I like to call "West Toast" decided to take their show on the road one more time Saturday. Viewers saw the same plot and the same characters from the first two productions (2000 and 2001), but with a slightly-altered script. As avid fans of the first two seasons, we should have expected this plotline from the start. You know, the trip out West, the loss in nonconference play, the crushed dreams of a national championship just as we actually started to believe this team was different. Nope, no difference. I will give the heavens one thing: The set- ting they picked for this year's production of "West Toast" to unfold was magnificent. Sitting in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains, Oregon's Autzen Stadium is one of college football's hidden jewels. Before kickoff, Autzen is as peaceful as the Willamette River, which runs through Eugene just a few minutes from the stadi- um. After kickoff, the fans - even the alumni - forget who they are, where they come from and what their degree is in. The audience adopts a new collective identity for the next three-and-a-half hours: the 12th, 13th and 14th man. Autzen's 59,000 strong make the Big House collectively sound like a pathetic whimper. It's louder than any place I've ever been, and that includes "The Swamp" at Florida, "The Shoe" in Columbus and "Death Valley" at Louisiana State. Autzen Stadium is where great teams go to die. R.I.P. Michigan 2003. The protagonist of our drama, as always, was John Navarre. Navarre willed the Wolverines back from a 24-6 second-half deficit. He threw for 360 yards, most of which came after intermission, and three touchdowns. The fifth-year senior has been through it all. His character develops more and more with each pass he throws. His legacy at Michigan is still up in the air, but he has confirmed one thing with every single game he's played for Michigan: He's no quitter, See McCOLLOUGH, Page 5B FANS' CORNER Yes, the Wolverines' running explo- sion might have taken the week off. But that does not mean Daily foot- ball writer Kyle O'Neill took the week off as well. Check out his breakdown, along with staff picks, the Hype-meter and Ask the Foot- ball Writers. Page 5B Varsity bumbles into another nonconference road defeat By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Editor EUGENE, Ore. - One more chance. Braylon Edwards dove for an onside kick and then hung onto the ball like the game depended on it - which it did - and Michigan wasn't done yet. The Wolverines had made a frantic, roller-coaster-ride of a comeback after trail- ing Oregon by 18 points, finding new life when it looked like the game was surely over. Now the Wolverines were down by four with the ball in their hands and 2:12 left. But Edwards, who had made acrobatic catches and snatched balls away from defenders all game long, couldn't make one last big play. John Navarre's fourth-down pass sailed out of the reach of Edwards' fingertips, and with it slipped away Michi- gan's last chance. The Wolverines, unable to overcome crippling mistakes and a lifeless running game, fell to the Ducks, 31-27. "Bottom line is we need to come out and play Michigan football," defensive lineman Larry Stevens said. And for the first 40 minutes, the brand of football was a far cry from what Michigan had played in its first three games. In a deafening Autzen Stadium, filled with an Oregon record 59,023 people, the Wolver- ines' formerly blazing running game fizzled out. Oregon's defensive line repeatedly stuffed Michigan running back Chris Perry See DUCKS, Page 4B DANNY MOLOSHOK/Daily Oregon players celebrate after John Navarre's fourth-quarter pass to Steve Breaston was intercepted. The Ducks led 31-21. Despite sub-par showing, Blue wins Michigan/Nike Challenge BUMP, SET, SPIKE With its victory in yesterday's Michigan/Nike Challenge$ the Michigan volleyball team has now won three straight tournaments. Date Tournament Result (place) 9/7 Michigan/Pepsi Challenge 2-1 (first) 9/13 Toyota LV Classic 3-0 (first) 9/20 Michigan/Nike Challenge 2-0 (first) Punchiess Wolverines scoreless on weekend By Eric Ambinder and Krystin Kasak Daily Sports Writers Is it in you? After a volleyball was deflected into the Wolver- ines' cooler early in the Michigan/Nike Challenge, not only was the beverage knocked down, it appeared as if the team's morale was beginning to spill as well. At this point, Gatorade would ask: Is it in you? Even though the Wolverines 3 captured their third consecu- MICHIGA tive tournament championship at Cliff Keen Arena on Saturday, many of the Wolverine players would say no, it wasn't in them. This weekend's tune-up matches were supposed to be momentum builders going into the Big Ten sea- son, but according to Michigan coach Mark Rosen, wins don't necessarily translate into success. "I like the wins, but I don't think we played very well at all, Rosen said. "That frustrates me; I would rather win the right way than the wrong way." Even though Michigan (8-3) only dropped one set this Saturday against Central Michigan (5-6) and Valparaiso (11-4), it was plagued by inconsis- tent defense and frequent attack errors throughout the tournament. "We didn't control the ball very well," Rosen said. "Our attackers didn't make very good choic- __ - -A T ..2 f+ ..;-3, -_A Go x- oxr- ir r lost the next four points and struggled throughout the second set. Twenty-one tie scores and 15 lead changes later, the energized fans helped the Wolverines to a 34- 32 win. "The crowd was definitely trying to get us going," Michigan junior Jennifer Gandolph said. "It wouldn't have mattered if there were 500 or 1,000 people. They were ridiculous." Building upon the crowd's excitement, Michigan quickly captured the final set over the Chippewas, 30-16. Hoping to improve upon their error-filled, yet convincing victory over Central Michigan, the Wolverines went into their final match against Val- paraiso with higher expectations. Michigan's Erin Moore paced the Wolverines from the start with a match-high 19 kills and 13 digs as Michigan took the first set, 30-25. "I'm really proud of Erin because she is hurt- ing," coach Rosen said. "She had to come in and be the hero." Gandolph and teammate Nicole Poquette sparked the Wolverines to an easy 30-18 second-set victory, giving them a 2-0 match lead and the apparent momentum heading into what should have been the final set. But Michigan committed 13 of its 34 match errors in the third stanza, losing its first set of the tournament, 30-28. The Wolverines continued to struggle in the fnrhet~nl ottefr-4carie - - r aw vuntil By Melanie Kebler Daily Sports Writer It wasn't the way the Michigan women's soccer team wanted to start its Big Ten season. Not since 1998 have the Wolverines gone into their opening weekend of conference play and emerged without a victory. Michi- gan also hadn't lost to Northwest- ern in four years. But yesterday, both of those things happened. Michigan fell to Northwestern 1- 0 after allowing a goal early in the first half. Those results, combined with the Wolverines' 0-0 double- overtime tie with Illinois on Friday, meant that Michigan went winless for the weekend. "We need to figure something out quick," Michigan coach Debbie Rademacher said. "We (have been) playing good defense and having some shutouts these past few games. We should be winning games." Strong defense just wasn't enough to put Michigan over the top. The Wolverines have been plagued by a tendency to fall behind early, and that makes emerging with a win much been prepared to play yesterday, but was quick to say that it wasn't the only reason. "It started with the mental (mis- takes). If you underestimate a team then you play a little bit more lethar- gic," Rademacher said. "I think it had a little bit to do with both." Michigan might have been worn out after playing 110 minutes on Fri- day against Illinois. The game went int double-overtime - the third dou- ble-OT game the Wolverines have played this season already - and it ended in a scoreless tie. "Illinois is a great team, and they're very dangerous," Rademacher said. "We played real solid and real physi- cal. If there was any tie that was going to be good, it was that one." Freshman goalkeeper Megan Tuura - who played all 110 minutes - made a save with less than five min- utes to go in the second overtime to preserve the tie. Tuura is part of a solidifying Michigan lineup that Rademacher says has lately become more consistent but it still open to change. "If someone wants to step up and be that person to take over the game offensively, then they will earn a start- V ii~' S- S~ tia. ;kay'y s'i ' : . .. t '