;14 - The Midhigan Daily - Wednesday, September 3, 2003
TigbIers li'cking wounds fromUS
By Ryan Sosin
For the Daily
The second weekend of college football should
give all of those fans still nursing third degree sun-
burns a chance to let the Aloe Vera work.
No. 19 AUBURN (0-1) AT GEORGIA TECH (0-1) -
3:30 P.M., ABC: It's a good thing this game is on ABC
and not ESPN, or we could've
seen some transmission problems
as ESPN tries to save face. Fol- OSS
lowing Auburn's cover appearance A
on ESPN The Magazine, in which
they were heralded to be No. 1, the S
Tigers came out and fell on their
face against No. 8 Southern Cal.
This week, Georgia Tech will meet Auburn for the
first time since 1987. Don't expect any semblance of
home-field advantage as the series is tied at 34 (with
four ties) in games where Tech dons the home jersey.
The matchup will be an important one for Auburn
quarterback Jason Campbell, who needs to show
more polish than he did last week. He should be able
to take advantage of the Yellow Jackets' weak sec-
ondary and get back on track.
Georgia Tech's offense doesn't stand much of a
chance against Auburn. The Yellow Jackets commit-
ted four turnovers last week; it was the difference
between a win and a loss to Brigham Young. Auburn
is simply too talented on both sides of the ball to
cough up another loss to a weaker team.
The Tigers will redeem themselves and ESPN, and
you might even be able to catch the highlights on
Sportscenter.
Auburn 23, Georgia Tech 3
No. 18 FLORIDA (1-0) AT No. 3 MIAMI (1-0) -
8:00 P.M., ABC: Last season, Miami came into "The
Swamp" and dominated the Gators thanks to a 196-
yard rushing day from Willis McGahee.
With McGahee gone, the Miami offense will rely
on Florida transfer quarterback Brock Berlin for the
offense. Berlin will be the focus of Florida's reloaded
defense, which features a better secondary than he
faced last week. Berlin needs to turn in a better per-
formance or a lot of his passes will wind up in Flori-
da's hands.
Florida will keep the ball on the ground more this
weekend to avoid the Miami secondary. Using new
quarterback Ingle Martin's speed along with Ran
Carthon out of the backfield, the ground game could
spell the difference in this brewing rivalry.
If Carthon can put together a big game, look for
Miami to be upset by Florida. If Florida can pull off
the upset, it will mark the Hurricane's first home loss
since 1999 when they lost to Penn State, 27-23.
Florida 27, Miami 23
MARYLAND (0-1) AT No. 10 FLORIDA STATE (1-0) -
7:15 P.M., ESPN2: This game could be an extremely
exciting game or an easily forgotten massacre once the
Miami-Florida game starts 45 minutes later. Mary-
land looks to rebound after it saw its national title
hopes disappear faster than you can say P.J. Fleck. The
tough 20-13 overtime loss to Northern Illinios
bounced the Terps out of the top 25.
Quarterback Chris Rix was very impressive last
week, and should Maryland decide not to roll over
after last week's loss, it will be up to Rix to be the
difference maker. The Seminoles' offense needs to
come out flying and put Maryland down early.
If they can score first, the Seminoles will domi-
nate the contest and you can get a quick game of
NCAA Football 2004 in before the eight o'clock
game. If Maryland can put the first marker on the
board, it will be entertaining enough to watch until
eight, when everyone should flip to ESPN. Either
way, Rix will lead Florida State to victory.
Florida State 34, Maryland 10
WASHINGTON STATE (1-0) AT No. 16 NOTRE DAME (0-
0) - 2:30P.M.: Notre Dame will look to shake what-
ever caused it to go 2-3 down the stretch last year, and
return to the form that earned the Irish an 8-0 start.
Notre Dame quarterback Carlyle Holiday will con-
tinue to show marked improvement in his second sea-
son under coach Ty Willingham.
The offensive line in front of Holiday could be the
dime breaker, however: With only one returning line-
man, the Irish will look to Jim Molinaro and Mark
LeVoir to step it up and protect Holiday in the pocket
when he stays there.
Washington State first-year coach Bill Doba will
face his first formidable opponent this weekend. Last
weekend, Washington.State showed that its seven
returning defensive starters can still get the job done
effectively.
The offense didn't manage to put up much in the
air, considering Idaho's weak defense, but the stellar
running game more than made up for it. Senior quar-
terback Matt Kegel will need a much bigger game if
he wants his team to have a shot at beating Notre
Dame.
The Fighting Irish, who are 7-1 in their last eight
openers, will tack up another one in the win column.
Notre Dame 24, Washington State 10
4
AP PHOTO
Auburn quarterback Jason Campbell hopes his Tigers will have better luck against
Georgia Tech this weekend and regain some of the preseaspn hype.
Clarett banned from practic
COLUMBUS (AP) - Ohio State
Athletic Director Andy Geiger said
Tuesday night that he doubted sopho-
more tailback Maurice Clarett would
return to the defending national cham-
pions this season.
"I'm not optimistic about any num-
ber of games at this point" Geiger said.
Earlier last night, coach Jim Tressel
said Clarett would no longer practice
with the team until questions about his
eligibility are answered - an abrupt
reversal from 10 days earlier when he
was allowed to work out with the sec-
ond-ranked Buckeyes.
"It appears to me - without having
seen anything official or any black-
and-white indications - that the sus-
pension is going to be significant,"
Tressel said. "It's going to be long."
Last week, Tressel and Geiger
announced Clarett's suspension from
the team. However, they said he would
be permitted to practice while the
NCAA and an Ohio State panel looked.
into off-the-field NCAA violations and
charges of academic fraud.
The sophomore tailback watched
Saturday from the bench as the defend-
ing national champions defeated
Washington 2&'9.
Just before the game, Geiger said
Clarett was suspended for "multiple
games" because he misled investiga-
tors. Ohio State officials are in the
process of responding to several pages
of the NCAA's allegations.
Clarett set Ohio State freshman
records by rushing for 1,237 yards and
scoring 18 touchdowns last season as
the Buckeyes went 14-0.
He practiced with the team last
week, wearing a Washington jersey
and mimicking Huskies' running back
Rich Alexis while running plays
against Ohio State's first-team defense.
Tressel said he made the decision to
hold Clarett out of practice after talk-
ing to the staff.
"I think that's what's best to right
now," he said. "I don't think it would
be appropriate to talk about it beyond
that."
Geiger and Clarett's attorney, Scott
Schiff, did not immediately return tele-
phone messages- seeking comment.
z. NAME,. :<
UNDERWOOD
e s C.tinued from Page 12
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr said Underwood was giddy
about his first chance at significant playing time.
"I always ask them if the 're nervous (before their first
real chance to play), and ifhey say no, that worries me,"
Carr said. "Because the truth is, they should be nervous.
Especially David, because David knows going into this,
season that he's going to play an important, role on this
football team, and I think you're going to see him get bet'
f ter and better."
Carr now considers Underwood a balanced, complete
running back. He has improved his pass blocking, as well
as his tendency to hold the football dangerously in front
of his body instead of tucked neatly at his side.
"It felt good to just get out there and show what I can
do" he said. "It felt like I was in high school again."
Those were the days for Underwood. The other 4,999
people knew him as "Little Earl," as he was nicknamed
after the famous "Texas Rose" Earl Campbell for his low
and powerful running style.
Being a celebrity isn't the only thing Underwood has
missed during his years in Ann Arbor. He misses his
mom, little sister and little brother, who are still there.
Homesickness has been something Underwood has had to
fight.
"Freshman year, I was homesick," he said. "I didn't get
AP PHOTO to go home until December. It was really a burden.
"Thanksgiving, I almost cried because everyone else
am was going home."
There are certain things that Underwood gets emotion-
al about. There are others, like his lack of playing time
the past two years,. which he keeps to himself. Under-
woodthought about transferring, buthe never said any-
thing.
"That's the way I was raised," Underwood said. "If you
have a problem, you don't point the finger at other people
and you try to correct the problem yourself. That's what I
did last year. I just kept my mouth closed and corrected
the problems.
"The rough times have helped me become a better per-
son as well as a better player."
Underwood is hoping that his 11 earries -Saturday
weren't just a tease for the rest of the year. He says that
there is a very logical way to handle both he and starter
Chris Perry's number of carries.
"You have to go with what's working," he said. "If
Chris is hot, why take him out? If I'm rolling, why take
me out? Just as long as I'm playing and out there con-
tributing, that's all I want to do. I expect there to be a bal-
ance and for both of us to perform well."
Little Earl has another talent. Sometimes, his dreams
come true. Literally.
"A lot of things that happen on the field, I see weeks in
advance, I visualize and dream them," he said. "I swear
to you that I dreamed about looking at a stat sheet and
seeing Chris Perry rush for like 238 yards on 16 carries
(he ran for 232 on 22), I'm not lying."
The next pear Underwood will try to snatch is contin-
ued minutes in Michigan's crucial nonconference games
against Notre Dame and Oregon and during the Big Ten
schedule.
All he has to do is dream it.
Ohio State running back Maurice
Clarett can't practice with the te
until further notice.
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