01 Friday September 10, 2004 sports. michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com he lId~icgan lu1g SPORTS 10 South Bender? No. 8 Michigan at Notre Dame . Tomorrow, 3:30 p.m. Notre Dame Stadium NBC Blue success rare at Notre Dame By Gennaro Filce Daily Sports Editor After a convincing 43-10 win over Miami (Ohio), the Wolverines will pack their bags and try to stop a disturbing trend: In each of the last four years, Michigan has dropped its first road game. One year ago, the Wolverines embarrassed Notre Dame 38-0 in Ann Arbor. But the last time Michigan traveled down to South Bend in 2002, the Wolverines gave the ball up four times and committed 10 penalties en route to an ugly 25-23 loss to the Irish. In that game, Michigan was a 4 1/2 point favorite, but this year the Wolverines are giving up a gargantuan 13 1/2 points. MICHIGAN PASSING OFFENSE vS. NOTRE DAME PASSING DEFENSE: This is the biggest question mark for the Wolver- ines. Nineteen-year-old true freshman Chad Henne played well in his first college start against Miami - 142 yards on 14-for-24 passing with two touchdowns and a pick - but he's never played outside the friendly confines of Michigan Stadium. How will Henne manage the hostile crowd of Notre Dame Stadium? Braylon Edwards, Jason Avant and Steve Breaston - arguably the best receiving corps in America - should make Henne's day much easier by giving a medio- cre Irish secondary fits. Notre Dame's back four gave up a slew of big pass plays to Brigham Young during last week's 20-17 loss. Also, the Irish may not have anyone capable of covering the pro-sized Edwards. The Michigan offensive line must contain senior defensive end Justin Tuck, who led Notre Dame with 13 1/2 sacks last year. Edge: Michigan NOTRE DAME RUSHING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN RUSHING DEFENSE: Notre Dame's offensive line had loads of trouble opening up holes against BYU, as the Irish rushed just 21 times for 11 yards. Marcus Wilson led Notre Dame on the ground with nine carries for 21 yards. Senior tailback Ryan Grant missed last week with a sore hamstring and his status is questionable for tomorrow. Grant torched the Wolverines at home two years ago, rushing 28 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Six-foot-4, 333-pound junior Gabe Watson headlines the biggest defensive line ever at Michigan. The Wolverines held Miami to 60 yards rushing on 25 attempts. Edge: Michigan SPECIAL TEAMS: Last season, Steve Breaston burst onto the national scene with a huge day against the Irish return- ing punts. But Michigan continues to struggle in many other areas of special teams. The Wolverines missed two extra points and heartily struggled to contain Miami punt returner Ryne Robinson. Against BYU, Notre Dame punter/kicker D.J. Fitzpatrick made his lone field goal attempt and was very effective punt- ing the ball. McKnight looked indecisive returning punts last week. Edge: Push INTANGIBLES: Michigan will face many challenges this weekend. The Wolverines have to travel to South Bend, a place that hasn't been too friendly to the Maize and Blue in the past (1-6-1 in their last eight trips to South Bend). They're giving the start to a true freshman who has never taken a snap in an away stadium. And they have to face a team that's been preparing all summer to erase the embar- rassment of last year's debacle. Also, it's never easy to beat God's team two years straight. Edge: Notre Dame 0 I TONY DING/Daily Michigan's David Underwood looked timid against Miami and will need a solid effort against the Irish. Both Jerome Jackson and Mike Hart looked promising late in Michigan's win and will probably see some time against Notre Dame. A successful running attack would take some pressure off Henne and prove huge for the Wolverines. The Irish shut down BYU on the ground last week, but the Cou- gars have never been known for their ground game. Edge: Michigan - who garnered plenty of interest from Lloyd Carr in high school - started nine games last year, but he's still very rough around the edges. Quinn had a prolific day against BYU, going 26-for-46 with 265 yards and a touchdown. But BYU's defense is less than imposing. Quinn's main target is Rhema McKnight, who caught eight balls for 92 yards and a touchdown against the Cougars. Last week, Miami tried to pick on senior Markus Curry, but Curry came down with two of the secondary's five inter- ceptions. Marlin Jackson banged up his shoulder last week, but is expected to play. Ryan Mundy excelled at free safety next to strong safety Ernest "Ambulance" Shazor, grabbing a pick of his own. Michigan's defensive line must apply more pressure than it did last week. Edge: Michigan MICHIGAN RUSHING OFFENSE VS. NOTRE DAME RUSH- ING DEFENSE: Last year, Chris Perry ran for 133 yards and three touchdowns against the Irish, but 2004 is a new year. The Wolverines struggled on the ground against Miami, amassing just 132 yards on 40 carries for a lowly 2.9-yard average. David Underwood took the bulk of Michigan's car- ries, but looked tentative and had trouble finding the hole. NOTRE DAME PASSING OFFENSE VS. MICHIGAN PASSING DEFENSE: Like Michigan, Notre Dame starts a quarterback that cannot yet enjoy a Thursday night at Scorekeepers ... at least legally. Nineteen-year-old sophomore Brady Quinn 9 Michigan 27, Notre Dame 10 Foreign £lavor brings hope for stickers By Amanda Shapin For the Daily Uruguay, and freshman Lauren Con Irish longing to take revenge on Varsity i- By Bob Hunt Daily Sports Editor The Michigan field hockey team has always been extremely unified, and this year it is also a particularly diverse team. Senior Jessica Blake from Perth, Western Australia, leads the Wolverines with a unique style of play that she acquired from age 8 back in Australia. "Learning to play in Australia showed me a different pace of play, especially with much more forward attacking," Blake said. The team has players hailing from around the United States and from around the globe, including Blake, freshman Lucia Belassi from Paysandu, forzi from Mississauga, Ontario. Each player brings something special to the team. Although these athletes come from different backgrounds, unity is a component that seniors focus on to keep the team strong. Respect, on and off the field, is a key element the players hope to keep intact. "As seniors, we work with the fresh- men so they can trust and respect what we have to say," Blake said. "We also make sure we can accept and give constructive criticism." Along with team bonding, Blake, as well as the other team leaders, have put a great deal of effort into making every JOEL FRIEDMAN/Daily Senior Kate Dillon and the Wolverines pride themselves on their diversity. THE TRUTH IS...T UD H S SN~~i DNEVE player realize her love for the game. These seniors rave that they have never seen a team quite like this year's. With their time at Michigan rapidly dwindling, these dedi- cated players hope to shape the program before they leave, working hard to help athletes bring all they have to each prac- tice and game. Even with the variety of playing styles and strong unification among players, Michigan (2-2) has not had an easy start to its season. After losing seven seniors from last year's squad, the Wolverines quickly realized through two losses against North Carolina and Wake Forest that they have a tough job ahead of them to turn the season around. Senior captain and Grand Rapids native Kate Dillon had no problem mov- ing into a leadership role at defense to help correct mistakes, and was able to lead the Wolverines to their two victories against Maine and New Hampshire. "The best way to gauge our teams abil- ity was playing against the harder teams," Dillon said. "After North Carolina, we saw that our game speed was something we would have to focus on and we quickly fixed that for our following two games. We realized we had to set the tempo and can no longer allow ourselves to play below our level." With a range of playing styles from each athlete, the Michigan field hockey team looks forward to coming together for a rewarding season and will take the next step when it plays Syracuse today. For Notre Dame, the number is 38. During the off-season, each Notre Dame player did 38 of every practice maneuver. 38 of each practice drill. 38 of each lift in the weight room. It was all a reminder of one of the worst losses in program histo- ry. The Fighting Irish had not been shutout by the Wolverines since 1902, and they had never lost three straight at Michigan Stadium. "Personally, it was a complete embarrassment," Notre Dame tight end Anthony Fassano said. Tomorrow's game serves as an opportunity for revenge. But it also signifies a crucial point in the his- tory of the Notre Dame program. After briefly "returning to glory" upon the arrival of former Stanford coach Tyrone Willing- ham, the Fighting Irish have hit one of the biggest lulls in the his- tory of one of college football's great programs. Notre Dame thought it had hit rock bottom when it finished last season with a 5-7 record, with additional losses to Florida State and Southern Cal by more than 30 points. But then came last week. At this point last year, the Fight- ing Irish were scheduled to open their season this week against the Wolverines. But with the number 38 hanging over its head, it sched- uled a supposed tune-up against Brigham Young, a historically powerful mid-major program that managed to finish just 4-8 last sea- son. Notre Dame left with a loss. The Fighting Irish performed horribly on offense in the first half, and the Cougars jumped out to a 13-0 lead and held on for a 20-17 vic- tory. A traditional running team before Willingham instituted the West Coast offense, Notre Dame ended with a dismal 11 net rush- ing yards. Numerous alumni have e-mailed the school asking for Willingham to be fired. One Florida man was indicted on a charge of threatening the head coach. Notre Dame's fall in national prestige has also led to speculation that it could lose its exclusive tele- vision contract with NBC, some- thing crucial as a member of the dying breed of Division I football independents. On Monday, Michi- gan coach Lloyd Carr said that the Big Ten would eventually add a 12th team and that Notre Dame would be a good fit. At Tuesday's Notre Dame press conference, however, See IRISH, Page 12 i BE SEeRET. The Michigan Head'Pain & Neurological Institute is seeking individuals 18 years of age and older to participate in a research trial evaluating an investigational medication for early treatment of migraine. If you (or someone you know)experience an average of 1 to 4 headaches per month and are in good physical health, you may n I li-ti ,vtVI The best date night - A A -U I SOlM THINGS S~HOU~LD 91- twLIU YOUR SECRET LFE AS Wk