0 Wednesday November 19, 2003 www.michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily. corn PORTS 8 I Can Bucks st By Courtney Lewis Daily Sports Editor Michigan receiver Braylon Edwards said last Sat- urday he doesn't think any secondary in the country could stop the Michigan receiving corps when it's playing well. Considering the Wolverines will face one of the best defenses in the coun- try this week, that was a pretty gutsy statement. The Buckeyes have relied on their 1 defense to win games all season, but $ much of the attention has been on their run defense, which gives up just 50.5 yards per game. Ohio State has been more yield- ing through the air, although many opponents have had to abandon the running game and get pass happy. The Buckeyes have given up just one touchdown pass longer than 30 yards (Michigan has thrown six touch- downs longer than 30 yards). The hype surrounding Ohio State's run defense prompted Michigan coach Lloyd Carr to joke that the Wolverines wouldn't even bother to test the front line. "I think we're probably going to have to throw every down," Carr said. "You'll probably see us with no backs in the backfield and just throwing." Not likely. And if Michigan does turn to its passing game, Ohio State's secondary won't make it easy. Juniors Dustin Fox and Chris Gamble line up at cor- nerback, and senior Will Allen and sophomore Nate Salley are the starting safeties. They've combined for seven interceptions this season. "The secondary is, I think, faster than they were a opc'the rew'? year ago,"Carr said. "There's not much space. When you catch the football, you'd better get ready to get hit, because they're going to be around the football because they're very athletic." That could set up well for Jason Avant, Michigan's physical receiver who likes to throw his body around. He may need to play a bigger role than usual this weekend. Despite Avant's one-handed touchdown catch against Northwestern that was all over the highlight reels, Edwards is still likely to be the wide- out that attracts most of Ohio State's attention. "Braylon Edwards is the go-to guy and (Steve) Breaston is the number-2 guy," said Fox, who leads the Buckeyes with three interceptions. "Number 15 (Breaston) is a great guy with high-caliber talent." The three starting receivers are all serious threats and all have different strengths, which makes them difficult to defend. Double-covering Edwards means giving room to the speedy Breaston or the bruising Avant. So far, no team has been able to shut down the Wolverines' passing game. Oregon, Iowa and Min- nesota all quieted Michigan's offense for parts of the game, but against all three, the Wolverines went to the air at the end and had little trouble moving the ball. And since its comeback win over Minnesota, Michigan's offense has rolled, avoiding the dry spells it had earlier in the season. EXTRA SPECIAL: Breaston has excelled as a return man, but otherwise, Michigan's special teams have been inconsistent. Special-teams miscues haven't really cost the Wolverines since the Iowa loss, but there have been shaky moments. Michigan has missed as many extra points (three) as Ohio State has Rivalry with Ohio State deeper than this weekend TONY DING/Daily Braylon Edwards makes a catch against Indiana. missed field goals. Ohio State tends to play close, low-scoring games, and if the Buckeyes can dictate the style of play Sat- urday, special teams could be crucial. That worries former Michigan coach Bo Schembechler. "I would say that going into this game, the one area of their football team that I would be concerned about would be the kicking game," Schembechler said of the Wolverines. "Ohio State has a great kick- ing game, and they are smart enough to play defense and to have that kicking game and play field posi- tion, kind of like the old days. "The kicking game will be very, very instrumental." 'A great feeling': Blue finishes Buckeyes 38-26 CHRIS BURKE Goin' to work Frederic Hannan had no idea what he was starting when he scam- pered across the goalline for a 10-yard touchdown way back in 1897. Hannan's score marked the first score of the first football game between Michigan and Ohio State. The Wolverines went on to capture a 36-0 win in that inaugural contest, a game in which "Michigan had no trouble in defeating the Ohio State University representatives," according to The Michigan Daily's account of the game. Fast forward to this weekend, where the Wolverines and Buckeyes will meet in the 100th version of The Game. While the majority of you have prob- ably never heard of Frederic Hannan, there's a good chance that everyone's familiar with some piece of Michigan- Ohio State history. Therein lies what sets this rivalry apart as the best in the nation. You can't fully grasp how special The Game is without understanding how great it has always been. In 1935, the Michigan-Ohio State game moved to the last week of the conference season. Since then, the matchup has played a role in determin- ing the Big Ten champion 40 times - Saturday will mark number 41. Michigan's band - despite what any Buckeye fan will tell you - was the first to spell out the script Ohio in 1932. (Ohio State's band later turned it into "Script Ohio" with the rotating "O" and the dotting of the "I"). Ohio State gave Bo Schembechler to Michigan after he played for legendary coach Woody Hayes at Miami (Ohio) and then was an assistant for him in Columbus. And whenever the Wolverines' grudge match with the Buckeyes rolls around, there is always mention of the 1969 stunner when Michigan upset Ohio State 24-12 in Bo's first year. Just like there is always mention of how Hayes went for a two-point con- version at the end of a 50-14 whuppin' of the Wolverines in 1968 because he "couldn't go for three." To be fair, Michigan may have run it up a little during an 86-0 victory in 1902 during the days of Fielding Yost's "Point-a- Minute" Michigan teams. Just like people 30 years from now will look back on the day Jim Tressel announced his presence as Ohio State coach by all-but-guaranteeing a win in the Big House in 2001 - and then how he delivered on the promise. So now we come to this. Regardless of how much Ohio State fans will claim they "Don't give a damn 'bout the whole state of Michi- gan," or how the Michigan faithful tell you that "Ohio" is the dirtiest of the four-letter expletives, nary a soul from either side can ignore what this game means. You'll be able to pick out those with that knowledge - they're the ones unable to sit still in class or the ones that leave the office early because they can't concentrate. They're the ones who have that feeling, all week, in the pit of their stomach. That anxious, nervous feeling that only a Michigan-Ohio State game can quench. That feeling will tell you when you're a true Michigan fan. It'll keep you from selling your tick- et (shame on you that have) no matter the price. It'll prevent you from sleep- ing on Friday night because you can't wait for noon. It'll let you scream your- self hoarse on Saturday because, well, a win will make the season. And, most of all, it'll let you cele- brate a touchdown from 106 years ago, because it's just one more time that your team was the winner of The Game. 4 EDITOR'S NOTE: In preparation for The Game, the Daily will count down to Saturday's historic 100th meeting between Ohio State and Michigan by running excerpts from the past four games between the Buckeyes and Wolverines, By Mark Francescutti Daily Sports Editor (Nov. 20,2000) COLUMBUS - As Ohio State coach John Cooper left the field, the small, but engaging Michigan posse of fans smirked while it chanted its victory slogan of "Two, 10 and one, two, 10 and one." The Michigan football team - Coop- er's Achilles' heel for a better part of the last 13 years - continued its curse over the 62-year-old coach, as the Wolverines defeated his Buckeyes 38-26 before a THE MICHIGAN WOMEN' S BASKETBALL TEAM PLAYS IN THE WNIT SEMI- FINAL TONIGHT AT 7:30 P.M. AT RUTGERS. FOR COVERAGE, SEE WWW.MICHIGAN DAILY. COM. record 98,568 fans at the Horseshoe. The victory gave the Wolverines (6-2 Big Ten, 8-3 overall) a share of the Big Ten championship with Northwestern (6-2, 8-3) and Purdue (6-2, 8-3). It also almost guarantees them a spot in the Citrus Bowl on New Year's Day. On the other end of the field, Cooper is now 2-10-1 against Michigan. His Buckeyes are left with a likely Dec. 28 Alamo Bowl bid and another historic setback. "My record against Michigan "should be mentioned," Cooper said. "I can't hide behind it. My record is - well - just awful. No one is more dis- appointed than me." For the Buckeyes, it remained the same tune sung for most of the battles with Michigan - in a close game, they failed to execute on the snaps that mattered. Down by only five (31-26) with 4:14 left, the Buckeyes had 91 yards to a vic- tory. On his own 9-yard line, quarter- back Steve Bellisari set his sights on Ken-Yon Rambo, who was wide open on the left sideline thanks to a blown Michigan coverage. But Bellisari's pass sailed two yards too far, and Rambo couldn't stay inbounds. Then on 4th-and-1, Ohio State's Jonathan Wells tried to blast up the gut, only to get squashed back by Michigan linebackers Larry Foote and Victor Hobson. "I thought we could knock them off the ball and at least gain a half a yard," Cooper said. Unlike the Buckeyes, Michigan con- verted on its fourth with 1:18 left. After Anthony Thomas failed to get the ball in the endzone on three consecutive runs, quarterback Drew Henson ran a naked bootleg for the game-winning touchdown. "From the moment we took over (on downs), in my mind I was not going to kick a field goal," Lloyd Carr said. The Wolverines built up a 31-1.2 lead and turned slightly conservative in the fourth quarter. Bellisari recovered from his three earlier interceptions and found some rhythm to put together two touch- down drives to slim the lead to 31-26, but couldn't connect on the third. Both coaches pulled out the bag of tricks for the new millennium battle. Some worked, some didn't. But in the end, when it came down to 4th-and-1, the Michigan curse frustrated Cooper again. "They made plays and we didn't," Cooper said. Chris Burke can be reached at chrisbur@umich.edu. Robinson shows 'confidence'; C By Daniel Bremmer Daily Sports Writer Bernard Robinson shot a respectable 46 percent from the floor last season, but he knew that improving his jumper would make his game even better. That's why Robinson spent all;' summer working on his mid-0©5 range shot, taking "game- B' paced" jumpers every day. Although Robinson has appeared in just one of Michigan's two exhibi- tions so far this season, his 8-for-13 performance from the floor against the NBDL's Fayetteville Patriots left no doubt that Robinson's jumpshot is ready to go. "(My shot) was clicking tonight," Robinson said following Friday's game. "It felt good out there." "Good" might be an understatement. Robinson looked as comfortable as ever with his shot, as evidenced by the pair of pullup . jumpers he hit from near the left elbow early in the first half on Friday. "You can see his confidence. I r think that's the biggest difference in Bernard Robinson (from last year)," Michigan coach Tommy Amaker said. "I think there's a sense of purpose about his game, a sense of purpose about this year, his senior year." Robinson's improvement was evident on Friday not only in his jumpshot, but also in his overall game. The 6-foot-6 winger led the Wolverines in points (18), assists (5) and steals (5) and contributed five rebounds in his 25 minutes. TURNING IT UP A NOTCH: BRETTMOUNTAIN/Daily Michigan's defensive effort on Bernard Robinson Friday was impressive, especial- rawford delays, ly against a squad of NBA-hopefuls who have experience taking care of the ball. The Wolverines forced a total of 13 steals against Fayetteville, leading to numerous easy baskets in transition. "They are very athletic, and they cause a lot of problems to open the floor for their offense," Fayetteville coach Jeff Capel said. "That's as athletic a team as I've seen in college in quite a while." Defense is something that Amaker has stressed. When freshman Brent Petway threw down a monster windmill dunk off a steal in the first half, Amaker was more pleased with Petway's effort to get the swipe than with the dunk itself. "Sometimes we can just see the end result of something and not remember what were school decision the steps to get to that end result; Amaker said. "I love the fact how he read the play, to get himself up in the passing lane to knock the pass down to make that play." THE WAITING GAME: Joe Crawford, one of the top high schQol recruits in the nation, called off a press conference scheduled for Monday during which he was supposed to announce which col- lege he would sign with. The 6-foot-4 shooting guard from Detroit Renaissance High School has instead opted to wait until the spring period to sign, forgoing the early signing period which ends Wednesday. "I want to be sure," Crawford told The Detroit News. "I might commit early, but I'm not going to sign until April." Crawford has reportedly narrowed his choices down to Michigan and Kentucky. He's ranked as the top shooting guard in the nation by Athlon Sports. rr Aw