The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 29, 2003 - 5B

X'S AND 0'S
Michigan Daily Sports Editor Kyle O'Neill is not a collegiate athlete, nor is
b* he a collegiate coach. But he was a starting wide receiver for his winless
team at Garber High School, was third in Bay County in receptions his sen-
ior year and claims to know something about the game of football. So each
game, we'll let him and his 5-foot-10, 158-pound frame break down why
Michigan either succeeded or failed.
3 observations Key play: Fourth quarter, 9:05; 2nd-and-6

1. Jason Avant definite
gets the Most Under-ap
ciated by the Media aw
While all attention has(
to Braylon Edwards an
mythical No. 1 jersey o
Steve Breaston and his
runner-esque speed, A
just continues to be clu
Third and long? Avant r
or out routes take care
that with little problem.
also bides his time, asI
caught just three ballsi
three passing attempts
him - all coming in on(
drive to set up a touch
to Breaston. Two of the
completions were to co
third-down attempts an
keep the drive alive.
2. No Larry Stevens? N
Ernest Shazor? No pro
lems for the defense. W
out two of its hardest h
Michigan's secondary a
defensive front lookedj
fine, showing the depth
the positions. Safeties
Shaw and Jacob Stewa
filled in for the injured S
zor with nine tackles
between them - seven
them being solo, open-
tackles. Shaw also had
pass deflection. And wh
Stevens' constant pres
in the backfield was not
replaced on every play,
front seven saw Patrick
Massey develop into aI
play maker with five tac
(three of them for a los
3. Freshman kicker Ga
Rivas shouldchave mad
enough of a case on Sa
day for the starting kick
spot. He seems to be
money from the middle
the field and the left ha
mark. His only miss has
come from the right has

ly
ppre-
iard.
gone
d the
r
s road
vant
itch.
post
of
He
he
in
to
ie
down
nvert
d
4o
Vith-
itters,
and
just
iat
Jon
art
Sha-

QB NAVARRE
TB PERRYi LT STENAVICH
FB THOMFsoN LG BAAS
FL E~DwARPs C PEARSON
TE MIGNERY RG LENTZ THINLINE PRE-SNA?
SE AVANT RT PAPE TICKLINE: AFTER SNAP

Hype-meter
Ohio State fans
Penn State
game last year
- Lloyd's proud
You'll be a fine
Michigan alum
Shaking keys
on 3rd down
Sorority girls
r on cell phones
Well, we weren't expecting
much, and we didn't get
much - the only reason
why the rating isn't any
lower. The only other plus
was for the student section
and its stopping of the wave
in the second quarter. Of
course, the students tried
too hard to get it started in
the third quarter. Booing the
alumni after Michigan had
just scored doesn't speak
well about your awareness
for the game. Other than
that, it was a pathetic game
on your part. But, we don't
blame you - the game was
tough to get into.
Unfortunately, this would
have been your chance as a
crowd to establish yourself
as one of the elite. You per-
formed to the level of the
emotionally-drained team,
instead of lifting it to a
ruckus level of insanity that
it so desperately needed
from all of you.

Ask the
Football Writers
EDITOR'S NOTE: On page
5B of SportsMonday, the foot-
ball writers will answer your
questions about anything, and
we mean anything. E-mail us
with questions or just to vent at:
askthefootballwritersrCumich.edu

Q
A

Whatever happened to
Jermaine Gonzales? In
the 2001 season, the
Michigan coaching staff
thought so much of Jer-
maine Gonzales that
they found every excuse
possible to get him on
the field ( ersonally, I feel
this may have hurt
Navarre's confidence a
bit when they put him in
at quarterback). That
year they often put him in
as a wide receiver, where
he was as much of a
threat to throw as he was
to run or catch. Since his
switch to a full-time wide
receiver last season, I
seldom see him during a
game (mostly on the
sidelines). What hap-
pened to him? Why
aren't the coaches using
him, at least as a diver-
sion to the defense?
- Mark Holdread
Class of 1994
Mark,
Here's a response from
Gonzales himself:
"I've had the cast off
for about a week and a
half," Gonzales said
about the broken hand
that kept him sidelined
for theopening two
weeks.
As for what Gonzales'
role is with the team, he
is "trying to let the
coaches see what I can
do. I'm playing receiver
and I'm just a receiver
but (playing quarterback
is) m in the back of
y our mind. You never
now what the future
has for you."
His actual time at quar-
terback is over, but Gon-
zales has said that on
the video game, NCAA
College Football 2004,
he plays himself at quar-
terback and runs wild.

I of Explanation: Michigan's offense struggled readily against Indiana thanks to its four turnovers,
field and the passing game took its hits when wide receiver Braylon Edwards was not entered into the
a game until midway through the second quarter. But by then, things were clicking, especially in
hile the air for John Navarre. His final pass of the game was undoubtedly his best, as he connected
sure with Edwards for a 15-yard touchdown strike. Guard David Baas and tackles Adam Stenavich
the and Tony Pape each won their one-on-one battles, while center Dave Pearson and right guard
Matt Lentz dropped Indiana defensive tackle Jodie Clemons five yards out of the play. Edwards
big went in motion from the slot back position into a left flanker spot. He ran toward the left corner of
Ikles the endzone before cutting toward the goalpost. Split end Jason Avant ran a post from the right
s). side, fullback Brian Thompson ran a route into the left flats and tight end Andy Mignery ran an in
rrett route along the goalline. Navarre ran a play-action play to Perry and then dropped back for a
atur- quick throw. Indiana dropped into two-deep coverage as its linebackers and cornerbacks stayed
:er underneath. Navarre saw Indiana free safety Joe Gonzales in Avant's direction, and linebackers
Kyle Killion and Josh Moore in Mignery's way. Indiana strong side linebacker Kevin Smith
of dropped into the flat to cover Thompson. While Thompson was the safe bet, being three yards in
sh- front of Smith, Navarre was obviously looking for more. That's where Edwards came in, as both
sh. the defensive backs on his side of the field got into position, but failed to account for where No. 1
was actually going. Edwards split the two defensive backs; and Navarre led him right into the
endzone for a wide-open catch.


Ale fidotgan jBaduy
STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the
spread for 9/27/03
Indiana at No. 11 MICHIGAN (-34)
Ball State at BOSTON COLLEGE (-22)
Notre Dame at PURDUE (-10)
Louisiana State (-14) at Miss. STATE
North Carolina at NORTH CAROUNA STATE (-18)
Washington State at OREGON (-4)
Iowa (-7) at MICHIGAN STATE
Stanford at WASHINGTON (-13.5)
Southern Cal. (-13.5) at CAUFORNIA
Wisconsin (-2.5) at ILUNOIS
Florida (9.5) at KEmucY
Florida State (-30) at DUKE
Tennessee (-16) at Sou CARoINA
Missouri (-10) at KANSAS
Cincinnati at MAMIi (0I10) (-7)
Minnesota (-2) at PENN STATE
Northwestem at OHo STATE(NOLUNE)
Connecticut at VIRGINIA TECH (NO LINE)
Best bet
Week record
Total season record

Courtney
Lewis

J. Brady
McCollough

Michigan
Boston College
Purdue
Mississippi State
N.C. State
Oregon
Iowa
Washington
California
Illinois
Kentucky
Duke
Tennessee
Missouri
Miami (Ohio)
Minnesota
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
lowa
7-11 (0-1)
35-37 (2-2)

Indiana
Ball State
Purdue
Mississippi State
North Carolina
Oregon
Iowa
Stanford
Southern Cal.
Wisconsin
Kentucky
Florida State
South Carolina
Missouri
Miami (Ohio)
Penn State
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
South Carolina
10-8 (1-0)
37-35 (2-2)

Kyle
O'Neill
Michigan
Ball State
Purdue
Louisiana State
N.C. State
Washington State
Iowa
Stanford
Southem Cal.
Wisconsin
Florida
Florida State
South Carolina
Missouri
Miami (Ohio)
Minnesota
Northwestern
Virginia Tech
Florida
9-9 (0-1)
37-35 (3-1)

Michigan
Boston College
Purdue
Louisiana State
North Carolina
Oregon
Iowa
Washington
California
Wisconsin
Kentucky
Florida State
South Carolina
Kansas
Miami (Ohio)
Minnesota
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Miami (Ohio)
13-5 (0-1)
39-33 (1-3)

Naweed
Sikora

Hello Naweed! shows
superiority

Faz Hussain, owner
of Hello Faz Pizza
Michigan
Ball State
Notre Dame
Louisiana State
North Carolina
Oregon
Iowa
Washington
Southern Cal.
Wisconsin
Florida
Florida State
South Carolina
Missouri
Miami (Ohio)
Minnesota
Ohio State
Virginia Tech
Iowa
8-10 (0-1)
30-42 (1-3)

While no one among the top
three spots last week would
make a move into the top spot, it
was last-place Naweed Sikora
who dropped a bombshell on the
other football writers with a 13-5
record. It would have been 14-4
had it not been for a near col-
lapse by Miami (Ohio) in the final
eight minutes.
Courtney Lewis went the other
direction of Sikora, as her 7-11
record sent her to the bottom
quicker than Florida State sent
Duke and the rest of the AO Cinto
a basketball state of mind.
It was a decent week for every-
one else, as no one dipped under
8-10. Faz Hussain put that record
together, and would have been
above .500 had it not been for
the falling of supposed Pac-10
powers Oregon, Southern Cal.
and Washington.
The battle for second place (and to
close in on Sikora) wages on
between J. Brady McCollough and
Kyle O'Neill as neither gives an
inch past an Ohio State game here
or a Mississippi State game there.
Either way, this seems to be the
greatest showdown between a Red
Sox/Bills/Louisiana State fan and a
Tigers/Lions/(insert any MAC team
here) fan ... ever.



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THE CLAWWWWWVV"WW!!!!!!
Encyclopaedia Britannica describes the Wolverine as "the meanest
animal on the planet." The Wolverine is known in the animal kingdom
for its ferocity, toughness and sheer will-power. So why fight it any
longer? It's time to embrace this mascot and start doing ... The Claw!
After third down defensive stops, the chop has been the traditional
action for Michigan students. But that's a thing of the past. It's time for
a change. The Claw is the future!

---n-N-m a

m o n m m m-- m m m o m -o-m m-mm


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