The Michigan Daily - SportsWednesday - October 15, 2003 - 5B X'S AND (kyve) 0'S Mid he a teaam ER3 for y r~ . gam Mid 3 Observations 1. Give credit to Michigan's offensive line, it came up huge when it needed to - mainly during Michigan's shotgun offense. Holes were opened up for John Navarre to pass through, even to the point where Navarre was able to step up to the line and deliver his throws uncontested. Considering the line was having difficul- ties moving the ball on the ground early on - thanks in part to Minnesota loading up defenders in the box - the successes the line had at the end of the game showed the All-American line that was promised at the beginning of the season. 2. It was LaMarr Woodley's time to shine. On a day when it was tough for any of the front seven to be spectacular - giving up over 400 yards on the run will do that - Woodley shined. He had nine tackles, but it was when he wasn't making a play that made him good. He'd take up two offensive linemen at a time, which should have freed up for tackles for loss. It was just that Asad Abdul- Khaliq was an elusive quar- terback for many of Michigan's defenders. 3. Can't dominate with the run? No problem. Michigan offensive coordinator Terry Malone went right to the screen and swing passes that gave Chris Perry the freedom he needed to make big plays. The same that he would usually make through holes in the line. Kudos to Malone for keeping Perry a large part of the offense. higan Daily Sports Editor Kyle O'Neill is not a collegiate athlete, nor is collegiatecoach. But he was a starting wide receiver for his winless a at Garber High School, was third in Bay County in receptions his sen- ear and claims to know something about the game of football. So each e, we'll let him and his 5-foot-10, 158-pound frame break down why higan either succeeded or failed. Key play: 1 st-and-10; 11:12, Third quarter FRALEY WARD BANKS MINNESOTA 3-YARD LINE WEST CAMPBELL. DozIER MCKENZIE CLARK 36-YARDLINE ... ..--------.- --+* ""'" .........6 - - - m -i - - - - QB NAVARRE FL BREASTON RT PAPE SE AVANT RG ENUz Ng ytRRPEARSON LSB PERRY LC BAAS RSB MIGNERY L STENAVICH THIN LINE: PRE-SNAP It MSAQU4yyrPenn State game last year - Lloyd's proud lYou'll be a fine Michigan alum Shaking keys on 3rd down Sorority girls on cell phones Minnesota was deafening at points ... yeah, because Golden Gophers fans were encased in a dome. Minnesota had its largest crowd ever ... yeah, and there were still empty seats in what was its biggest game of the season. Minnesota stayed until the end ... yeah, and they booed their team as it left the field. Consider us not that impressed with Minnesota, and it had a chance to stun us after a sub-par perform- ance from Iowa. Pointless spellings of "M-1-N-N-E-S-0-T- A" were impossible to under- stand as one half of the arena would be on "E" while the other was mumbling out S. While this crowd was more vocal than most Michigan home games, it was hardly up to what it could have been: Hence the poor rank- ing and disappointment. But ... the food was good. And while we've never con- sidered this before, a good brat can make the differ- ence when the crowd isn't delivering what it should. Ask the Football Writers EDITOR'S NOTE: On age 5B of SportsMonday, the f oot- ball writers will answer your questions about anything, and we mean anything. E-mail us with questions or just to vent at: askthefootbalwriters@umich.edu We do have an update on Jeff Zuttah, the freshman offensive lineman, from last week. Michigan coach Lloyd Carr verified what he had said this past summer, giving Zut- tah a chance to leave Michigan and transfer without the penalty of having to sit out a year. Zuttah is still a student at the University, howev- er. And though he will keep his scholarship, he has not been a part of the team at this point of the season. Q Michigan went for it on 4th-and-1 near mid- field when it was tied 35-35. This didn't seem like a very Lloyd Carr thing to do. Why did he go for it? - Alyson Lobert, LSA Senior Alyson, Carr said he knew that if they didn't convert, they could lose the game. He considered punting because after converting two QB sneaks early in the game, he wasn't sure they could convert another one with a stacked line. But all the coaches and play- ers wanted to go, and as Carr said, "Thank God]I did." Carr also said, "The other thought that went through my mind is if you punt the ball away, you may never get it Four Big East schools file lawsuit against Boston CQllege,ACC HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) - Officials from four Big East football schools approved a lawsuit Monday against Boston College, its athletic director and four Atlantic Coast Conference officials, state Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said. The suit, filed yesterday in Vernon Superior Court, alleges that the ACC and Boston College conspired to weaken the Big East. Boston College announced Sunday that it would follow the University of Miami and Virginia Tech, which are leaving the Big East to join the ACC. n }"We just got off a conference call,"' Blumenthal said early Monday evening. "All the presidents have authorized this lawsuit." The suit names Boston College athletic director Gene DeFilippo, ACC Commissioner John Swofford, ACC President Carolyn Callahan, ACC Vice President Donn Ward and ACC Treasurer Cecil Huey, Blumenthal said. Connecticut, Rutgers, Pittsburgh and West Virginia already are suing Miami. A judge last week threw out a case against the ACC on jurisdictional grounds. vi"I suspect the same will happen to those of us who, by virtue of our rotation, happen to be officers," Ward said. "And I suspect the people of Connecticut want their attorney general to chase far more important issues." The case against the ACC was thrown out because attorneys could not prove the conference did enough business in Connecticut to warrant a state suit. By suing the conference directors as individuals, Big East schools hope they can get around the jurisdiction issue. "We are not required to show they are transacting business," Blumenthal said. "If they have violated the law and have damaged Connecticut or its citizens, they can be sued." Messages seeking comment were left at the homes and offices of the other school and conference officials. Hugh Keefe, an attorney who represented the ACC, did not return a page. Miami and Virginia Tech will join the ACC next year. Boston College might not change conferences until 2006. The suit makes several tort claims, including unfair trade practices, civil conspiracy and breach of contract, Blumenthal said. As in the suit against Miami, the Big East schools seek unspecified damages. The suit singles out DeFilippo for allegedly using his role as a conference director with Big East to manipulate discussions between BC, Miami and the ACC, Blumen- thal said. "One of the key reasons that BC and DeFilippo were able to engage in this secret scheme with Miami and the ACC is that they had access to sensitive and confidential information from the Big East and its member schools," Blumenthal said. He said Boston College's defection strengthened the case. "The more we learn, the more appalled and astonished we are by the depth and breadth of the illegality," Blu- menthal said. No Mo' lawsuit: COLUMBUS (AP) - An attorney for Maurice Clarett clarified Monday that Clarett is not suing Ohio State, but rather is asking that the school be held in contempt of court for violating Clarett's student privacy rights and be ordered to pay him at least $2.5 million, the Cleveland Plain Dealer reported yesterday. "I want to make clear that we didn't sue the universi- ty," Percy Squire told the paper by telephone. Squire told the paper that he filed a motion, and an accompanying complaint, on Friday, in which he claims Ohio State committed a "deliberate, calculated and mali- cious violation" of a permanent injunction issued in 2000 by a U.S. District Court that prohibits universities from releasing "student disciplinary records" or any "personally identifiable information" about a student. According to the report, Ohio State was a defendant in that case in which a judge ruled disciplinary records are considered educational records protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA). Clarett is accused of filing an exaggerated theft report with campus police in April after a dealership's car he was borrowing was broken into. Clarett has pleaded innocent to one count of falsification, a misdemeanor with a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $1,000 fine. Squire claims the university obtained information about that theft report during the course of an NCAA investigation into possible eligibility violations and then turned that information over to city prosecutors. According to the report, Squire is asking the court to prevent that information from being used against Clarett because it was provided illegally. "I don't think it's fair for Mr. Clarett to go down and face criminal charges for evidence that was in violation of a court order," Squire said. On Saturday, a university attorney called the federal action "procedurally irregular" and "misguided," because the school hasn't had time to respond to a coun- ty complaint filed last month seeking information to help determine if Clarett should sue. Squire claims that Clarett could suffer significant eco- nomic harm if the school's disciplinary records are allowed to be used in the criminal case. Boston College Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo speaks Sunday in Boston. The school agreed to join the Atlantic Coast Conference. abe tdbtgan Otil STAFF PICKS Predictions AGAINST THE SPREAD for 10/11/03 No. 20 Michigan at No. 17 Minnesota (-1) No. 21 Michigan State (-3.5) at ILLINOIS Northwestern (-3.5) at INDIANA Penn State at No. 18 PURDUE (-12.5) No. 3 Ohio State (-2.5) at No. 23 WISCONSIN No. 18 Texas Christian at SOUTH FLORIDA (-1) No. 2 Miami at No. 5 FLORIDA STATE (-7) Syracuse at No. 4 VIRGINIA TECH (-18) No. 22 Kansas State (-3) at OKLAHoMA STATE No. 25 Virginia (-2) at CILmsoN .,- .A .-.,16: Courtney Lewis Minnesota Michigan State Northwestern Purdue Wisconsin Texas Christian Miami Virginia Tech Kansas State Virginia a.a.m J. Brady McCollough Michigan Illinois Northwestern Purdue Ohio State South Florida Miami Virginia Tech Kansas State Clemson A rkar na Kyle O'Neill Michigan Michigan State Northwestern Purdue Ohio State Texas Christian Miami Virginia Tech Kansas State Virginia Ahurn Michigan Michigan State Indiana Purdue Wisconsin Texas Christian Miami Virginia Tech Kansas State Virginia Auburn Naweed Sikora George Washington Minnesota Michigan State Indiana Purdue Ohio State Texas Christian Florida State Virginia Tech Oklahoma State Clemson Arkansas No lie: Washington can 't produce He commanded the Continental Army? So what? He had no faith in Michigan. So why should we have faith in him? Led the revolution against the British? Your point? The guy couldn't even manage a .500 record this week. Even Kyle O'Neill managed to go above that this week at 10-8. Aside from the perennial losers - Ann Arbor's best and O'Neill - it is all left to play for. Courtney Lewis, J. Brady McCol- lough and Naweed Sikora are in a three-way tie for first and nei- ther are looking to give a leg up to their opponent. In fact, things have gotten tense at work. .................................. ........................... ................................