0 0 a 0 9 S S i 6B - The Michigan Daily - FooTBALL SATURDAY - October 18, 2003 The Michigan Daily - FooTBALL z STAFF PICKS Predictions AGAINST THE SPREAD for 10/18/03 Illinois at No. 17 Michigan (-26) No. 13 Purdue at No. 14 WISCONSIN (No LINE) Temple at No. 2 MIAMI (-31) No. 10 Louisiana State (4) at SOUTH CAROLINA Texas Tech at No. 23 OKLAHOMA STATE (No LINE) Mississippi State at No. 19 AUBURN (-21) Florida at No. 11 ARKANSAS (-5) No. 5 Southern Cal. (-8.5) at NOTRE DAME No. 15 Michigan State at No. 25 MIESoTA (-6) No. 7 Florida State (-7.5) at VIRGINIA No. 9 Iowa at No.8 OHIo STATE (-3.5) No. 24 Missouri at No. 1 OKLAHOMA (-26) Texas A&M at No. 18 NEBRASKA (-10.5) Western Michigan at No. 12 NORTHERN IWNoIS (NO UNE) No. 6 Washington State (-9) at STANFORD No. 20 Texas (-16.5) at IowA STATE Aabamnaanmingham at No.16 TExAs CHRISIAN (-10.5) Washington at No. 22 OREGON STATE (-10) Best bet Total season record Courtney Lewis J. Brady McCollough Michigan Wisconsin Miami South Carolina Texas Tech Auburn Arkansas Southern Cal. Minnesota Virginia Ohio State Oklahoma Texas A&M Northern Illinois Washington State Texas Texas Christian Oregon State Southern Cal. 57-51 (4-2) Michigan Purdue Temple Louisiana State Texas Tech Mississippi State Arkansas Southern Cal. Minnesota Florida State Ohio State Missouri Texas A&M Northern Illinois Washington State Texas Texas Christian Oregon State Mississippi State 57-51 (3-3) Kyle O'Neill Michigan Purdue Miami Louisiana State Texas Tech Mississippi State Florida Southern Cal. Minnesota Virginia Iowa Missouri Nebraska. Northern Illinois Washington State Texas Texas Christian Washington Texas Tech 53-55 (5-1) Naweed Sikora Illinois Wisconsin Miami South Carolina Oklahoma State Mississippi State Arkansas Southern Cal. Michigan State Florida State Ohio State Missouri Nebraska Northern Illinois Washington State Texas Texas Christian Oregon State Missouri 57-51 (1-5) STRONG BY NECESSITY Juan Mathews Crisler Arena Michigan Wisconsin Miami Louisiana State Oklahoma State Mississippi State Florida Southern Cal. Minnesota Florida State Iowa Oklahoma Texas A&M Northern Illinois Washington State Texas Texas Christian Washington Wisconsin 48-60 (3-3) After the tragic loss of his niece, Carl Diggs has had to bounc By J. Brady McCollough Michigan game Aug. 30. He dropp Daily Sports Editor football and all his other responsibilit in Ann Arbor and headed straight; C arl Diggs looked into 3-year- his home in Warren. old Auntavia Atkins' eyes, open "He had to go down and keep1 for the last time. Alone in a family together," said Courtney M Cleveland hospital room with his fami- gan, a Michigan offensive tackle a ly crying outside, Diggs held his niece Diggs' roommate. "He shed a tear,1 in his arms as the life slowly drained crying wasn't really going to solveI from her body. problem. He had to be the strong one "I could just hear her gasping," Diggs Said Bernita, Carl's mother: "AfterI said. "I just held my niece until her last first game, I had to tell him about1 breath. To me, that's one of the hardest niece ... she would never be righta things I've ever had to do in my life. I would always be in a vegetable state. never thought I'd be in that situation." was determined to come back bef Diggs was in that situation because they pulled the plug. At the funera Auntavia's mother and Diggs' sister, was a wreck, and he held up for me." Angel Diggs, couldn't handle being in Diggs would argue that Bernita t the room when the doctors pulled the been holding up for him since day o plug on her daughter. Neither could Raising her kids in the Warren proje Diggs' brother, Grover Diggs. Bernita had to rule with an iron fista "We asked Carl, 'Are you going to be instill strong family values in her kid able to do this?'" Grover said. "Carl "I did not play. I did not play," Ber said 'yeah.' ta said. "It's hard to raise children th "He was pretty much the heart and days, but it's exceptionally hard to ra soul of the family that day. Having him a young black man. But they alwa there made it a lot easier. A lot of people had a job, and I always kept th couldn't do that." involved in something." "It was just hard to hold my niece ... The youngest of four siblings, Di I never thought I'd see any of (my has filled more of an older-brother r nieces and nephews) go before I did," for his family. Everyone in the fan Carl said. "I held her in my arms and can't help but be proud of Diggs a just prayed. I just wanted to be strong respect what he's accomplished, mak for my sister." a name for himself outside of Warren Everyone's always counted on Diggs, "His nieces and nephews really lt even when it would have been easy for up to him; he's at Michigan playi him to be weak. football," said Morgan, who consid Diggs, 22, became a father at the age himself a part of the Diggs family. " of 17. And in the past year and a half, a lot of people where he comes fr he's had to overcome being shot in the get a chance to go to college and get1 back of his left leg, breaking his right degree. He's the youngest sibling,I leg and now losing Auntavia. he kind of has to carry the burden Diggs' friends, family and team- being one of the oldest. He has the o mates collectively wonder, "How does est-sibling-type responsibilities." he do it?" Grover says losing Auntavia h According to Diggs, there's no choice made Carl even more mature than but to be strong. Otherwise, he "proba- was before - mature, but not immu bly would have given up everything." to the pain the rest of the family e ped ties for his or- and but the e." the his and He ore 1, I has ne. cts, and s. ri- ese aise ays em ggs ole nily and ing n. ook ing ers Not om his but of old- has he rune is Crisler s best to clean up 48-60 mark Anyone associated with Crisler Arena, or the Michigan athletic department in general, has run into Juan Mathews at some point. Everything from men's basketball to women's gymnas- tics to K-Grams events, Math- ews hassbeen in there- making sure that you can enjoy whatever event you are attend- ing in clean surroundings. Now, he is turning his Kaivac and BetCo cleaning supplies toward the mess that the Ann Arbor celebrities have left: their 48-60 combined record. Mathews is showing his confi- dence in Wisconsin - as he should considering Purdue is based around a 4-3 defense and not a choke-an-opposing- quarterback defense. Mathews also has the winning touch of Tommy Amaker (whose office, Mathews cleans) on his side, which is more than what the football writers can say. By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Editor Things couldn't get m Illinois. The Illini sit att the Big Ten, haven't won Sept. 6 and got beat up State last weekend. TI their starting quarterbac this week. Beutjer has a injury that will force hin lines this weekend. Now Illinois has to Big House and play team that's riding hi emotional, season-sav Minnesota. MICHIGAN PASSING ILLINOIS PASSING DEFE gan's offense has ten out sluggish this seaso ly in games that it's win. But with an ul receiving trio (Brayl Steve Breaston and J that seems to be clicki terback John Navarre, start won't stop the Wo nois' defense is giving age of 216 passing yal and safety Marc Jack Illini's only interceptio Advantage: Michigan MICHIGAN RUSHING ILLINOIS RUSHING D Heisman talk has fad Perry still has impres - 859 yards and nin on the ground. His ave yards per game leads and ranks sixth nation run defense ranks nint Beuj er, Ilini in ference. Linebacker Matt Sinclair leads the Illini with 67 tackles and three sacks. uch worse for Advantage: Michigan the bottom of a game sinceI by Michigan1 hey also lost ILLINOIS PASSING OFFENSE VS. k Jon Beutjer MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE: This nagging back was Illinois' one bright spot - the m to the side- Illini's passing offense is third in the Big Ten and has produced 10 come to the touchdowns. But that was with a Michigan Beutjer taking the snaps. Senior igh after its Dustin Ward has five career starts ing win over for the Illini, but he's still battling redshirt freshman Chris Pazan for OFFENSE VS. the job this week. ENSE: Michi- Michigan's secondary has had at ded to come least one interception in its last three n, particular- games, and coach Lloyd Carr is hope- expected to ful that cornerback Jeremy LeSueur tra-talented can return from an injury this week. on Edwards, Advantage: Michigan Jason Avant) ng with quar- even a slow lverines. Illi- ILLINOIS RUSHING OFFENSE VS. g up an aver- MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: Illinois rds per game, has the worst rushing offense in the kson has the Big Ten. It has scored just two n. touchdowns on the ground, and one n was a kick return. Freshman running back E.B. Halsey has the team's lone rushing touchdown, and leads the team with 464 yards. Michigan's defense has the potential to shut OFFENSE VS. down the Illini - if it shows up. EFENSE: The Last weekend, the Wolverines ed, but Chris gave up 424 yards to the Gophers, sive numbers who scored all five of their touch- e touchdowns downs on the ground. rage of 122.7 Advantage: Michigan the Big Ten, rally. Illinois' h in the con- big trouble SPECIAL TEAMS: It's been a roller coaster ride for Michigan in this department. Special teams mistakes cost the Wolverines against Oregon and Iowa. But it rebounded nicely last weekend. Michigan went back to its regular punt formation and didn't turn the ball over on special teams, and the game-winning points came off a field goal. And look out for Breaston. The shifty punt return- er has been a thrill to watch in Michigan's four home games. The Illini's special teams have been more consistent. Their streak of 185 successful extra-point tries dates back to 1998 (Michigan has missed two this season alone). John Gockman has hit 10 field goals in seven games. Defensive end Derrick Strong has blocked a field goal and two extra points this season. Illinois' punt returning has been futile, but Halsey has racked up yards while returning kickoffs. Advantage: Michigan vichigan captain back yet again to see her as much as I'd like to," Diggs said. "She's growing up fast. When I go home for a break, any time I get a chance to go home, she's always with me. I can't go anywhere without her being right on my hip." When Deja comes to Michigan foot- ball games, she can't put the game pro- gram down. "She gets the program and points his picture out," Bernita said. "It's all she talks about." But when it comes to the time Diggs does have with Deja, who reportedly looks just like her dad, football is the last thing on his mind. "I can recall us going out to Chuck E. Cheese's sometimes," Grover said, "and people will come up to Carl and say, 'Good game,' but he'll say, 'I appreciate it, but I'm with my family now.'It will be in a nice way, and they'll understand. They're fathers, too." Diggs is comfortable with being a father now, but when he first found out his high-school girlfriend was pregnant, he wasn't so calm. "It was a big shock. I was nervous, especially with me wanting to go to col- lege," Diggs said. "Me and (Deja's) mother talked, and she gave me the go- ahead. It was the best thing for me to do, having a baby, to further my education. Give our daughter a better opportunity." Diggs has five credits left before he can graduate with a degree in sports management and communications, which has been his No. 1 goal since he arrived at school. "I remember a time where he said, 'I don't know if I can do this,' " Grover said. "Go to school, get a degree and play football. It was a goal he didn't think he could do." Diggs had Deja to make the decision for him. "She's five years old, so she under- stands what Daddy's doing up here," he said. "If we're going to have a better future for her, I have to get that degree." Bernita will never forget the day she and Carl were driving home from foot- ball practice when he was 15. "He just said, 'I want to use my God- given talent, go to college and be the best that I can,' " Bernita said. "All Carl has to take care of is Carl and Deja. No one else, though." An inspiration The Michigan football team has also witnessed Diggs' unwavering mentality the past five years. In May 2002, Diggs (left leg) and teammate Markus Curry (back) were shot outside an off-campus party. Diggs, in line to play significant min- utes at inside linebacker, had to devote himself to getting his leg ready for the opener against Washington. "(Me and Markus) kind of joke about it a lot," Diggs said. "We knew it could have been worse, especially for Markus. If the bullet were an inch high- er, he could have been wounded pretty badly. It's a lesson that we learned, and we just moved on" Diggs would have to move on again. After starting most of the season at line- backer, Diggs suffered a broken right leg against Ohio State. He needed surgery to be ready for opening day this season. "I think Carl is an inspiration with how he just keeps it rolling," Morgan said. "He was shot, he's broken his leg, and a lot of people could have quit and just given up. You don't see him hang- ing his head a lot." Diggs inspired his teammates enough to be named captain for his sen- ior season. And when he spoke up after Michigan's 30-27 loss to Iowa - a rare occurrence for the soft-spoken Diggs - people listened. "He just basically set the record r i l t INTANGIBLES: Two words: Inex- perience and rejuvenation. Illinois has the former; Michigan has the latter. Twenty first-year players have seen action for the Illini this season, and they lost their top four receivers from last season. Michigan got new life from its comeback over the Gophers. The Wolverines know they have to win out to win the Big Ten title, but they're happy to still be in the hunt. - Advantage: Michigan Michigan 38, Illinois 7 Family ties Angel Diggs, 29, was just starting to get her life together when Auntavia died. For the past year, Angel's three children had been living in a court- approved foster home, but Diggs' moth- er, Bernita Diggs, said Angel was on her way to getting her kids back in the near future. Angel's children were put into the hands of 40-year-old Ethel Wilbert- Bethea of Cortland, Ohio. The Diggs family is accusing Wilbert-Bethea of murdering Auntavia. "The things that were done to her caused her death," Bernita said. A representative from the Warren, Ohio, Court of Common Pleas said the State of Ohio is charging Wilbert- Bethea with four counts of endangering children, one count of felonious assault and one count of murder. Wilbert- Bethea is being held in the county jail on $1 million bond. The pre-trial hear- ing is set for Nov. 4. Diggs first heard about Auntavia's serious condition after the Central feeling. "Still to this day right now, it's hard for me to deal with," Diggs said. "Her name pops up in my mind at weird times, and I just think about everything that went on. I get on my knees and just pray to God" A different kind of responsibility Since Auntavia's death, Diggs has called Grover or Bernita just about every day to check on his five-year-old daughter, Deja. Because Diggs can't be in Warren to take care of her, he's forced to live vicariously through his mother and siblings where Deja is concerned. "Everyone basically has to give a helping hand and add Deja into their schedule," Grover said. "When he's away at school, I make sure the stuff she needs gets to her. Like when she has plays in school, I'll go watch them, or I'll go to her parent-teacher conference." On Deja's first day of kindergarten, Diggs made sure Bernita, whom Deja lives with, watched her and took a pic- ture of her going into school. "It's hard at times because I don't get