;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. y.,,.7j .........*..............,.., 4n r a .c,.,.y . w" r r ,1'11 uf"' I 't onl I $299 ,.-Own a Complete Systemony$ 9 I Great for Home or Salon Use Same System Used By The Pros! Safe & UV Free! EZ to Master! Salon Quality - Includes everything needed! Compressor, Airbrush, Instructions & 1/2 Gal. of Tropical Sun Tanning Solution ...enough for 30 Tans! Order online - www.ProAirbrushTanning.com Or CALL 1-877-7GET-TAN Today! "It's pretty simple. When I need them, they're there. 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