12 - The Michigan Daily - Tuesday, September 14, 2004 Pigskin-palooza Teams tune up before beginning conference schedule 0 By Scott Boll and Dan Ording For the Daily As the Big Ten season rapidly approaches, there is one more Saturday of quality matchups outside of Michigan's confer- ence. There are two SEC games that could potentially decide the winners of both its divisions. Auburn will take on reigning champion LSU for the upper hand in the SEC West, and Florida and Tennessee once again match up in a classic rivalry that usually goes down to the final minute. In other regions, West Vir- ginia hopes to end its four- game losing streak against Maryland, while Oregon looks to upset Oklahoma1 in Norman.' from last year, LSU mirrors last year's Auburn squad as the underachievers of the SEC. Quarterback controversies and an early scare from Oregon State has left the Bayou quiet as many have already written LSU's national title hopes. Auburn, on the other hand, has come out of the blocks strong; a definite 180 degree-turn from its weak start last year. While attention was elsewhere, Auburn has quietly rolled in its first two games behind argu- ably the nation's top backfield. gCOSS Dynamic duo "Cadillac" Carnell Williams and Ronnie Brown have com- bined for over 450 yards runners in the SEC, but so far has fallen short of his preseason Heisman expectations. Once all the pregame hoopla is over, the contest will be decided in the trenches. It should all come down to whether or not LSU can stop Auburn's running attack. If the visiting Tigers can keep Auburn under 200 yards, then they should win. If LSU can jump out of the gates early and force Auburn to play from behind and rely on their sub-par passing game, they will win. If neither happens, then Auburn should ride the "Cadillac" to victory, leaving the door open for a different unqualified team to share a national championship with a far superior team this year. (Sorry LSU, not two years in a row). Auburn 31, LSU 21 No. 11 FLORIDA (1-0) AT. No. 13 TENNESSEE (1-0), 8 P.M., CBS In the unofficial "Hey, didn't we use to be national title con- tenders?" Bowl, the Florida Gators travel up to the Volunteer State to take on Tennessee. Although both are already des- tined for another mediocre season of 9-3, they'll still show up and play and pretend they can make it to a BCS bowl. Florida brings the more exciting team to the table, led by sophomore signal caller Chris Leak. The excitement only applies to its offense, though, as Florida coach Ron Zook has supposedly taken Steve Spurrier's defensive philosophy of "let them score, who needs defense anyway" to a new level. Any team that lets Eastern Michigan get across the 50-yard line once - let alone allow them to put up double digits - probably will struggle against a team not in the MAC cellar. The only problem is, Tennessee has also been stealing others' philosophies. Stolen from the "Offensive tactics that would make watching paint dry seem fun" book, Tennessee coach Phillip Fulmer has apparently made it his mission to make Florida's defense look good. But his play-calling mistakes might be challenged though by a team that does have legitimate talent. Although they don't have a standout player getting a lot of hype, the Vols are very similar to the 2002 New England Patriots squad that always won as a unit. The Volunteer defense is solid, arguably the best squad in the SEC apart from Geor- gia, but the SEC has never been a staple for defensive domi- nance, especially when they face the "fun 'n' gun" squad from Gainesville. The key factor could be Tennessee's home-field advantage, as the Vol fans go "Rocky Top" crazy and provide a great 1211 man. Expect a close game, decided by less than a touchdown. Tennessee 27, Florida 24 No. 21 MARYLAND (2-0) AT No. 7 WEST VIRGINIA (2-0), NOON, ESPN2 West Virginia, the preseason favorite in the Big East, faces the toughest test of the early season on Saturday against No. 21 Maryland. These teams are quite familiar with each other, having matched up twice last season, including once in the Gator Bowl. West Virginia looks to rebound after losing both games in 2003 and four straight against the Terps. The Mountaineers are coming off two blowout victories over East Carolina and Central Florida. Now West Virginia must deal with the strong possibility that star running back Kay-Jay Harris could miss the next game with a pulled ham- string. Harris is averaging an obscene 12.7 yards per carry with 344 yards and four touchdowns. If Harris is out, quarterback Rasheed Marshall and backup running back Jason Colson will have to step up to fill the void. Marshall accounted for five touchdowns and Colson rushed BIG TEN Continued from page 11 No. 21 WIsCONSIN (2-0) AT ARIZONA (1-1) --4 P.M. Wisconsin looks to avoid a recent trend that has seen Big Ten teams lose on the road to Pac-10 teams. New coach Mike Stoops, who gained a reputation as a defensive genius under his brother Bob at Oklahoma, leads Arizona into its first true test of the year. It will take time, however, for the new coach to get his bearings, proven last week by an embarrass- ing 23-6 loss at Utah. The Wildcats will need to get more production out of sophomore quarterback Kris Heavner. The Badgers counter with a sophomore quarterback of their own in John Stocco. However, Wisconsin could struggle on the ground as senior Anthony Davis will not play due to an eye injury. In order to win, coach Barry Alvarez must come up with a scheme that will exploit Mike Stoops aggressive defense. Expect this one to be nip and tuck all the way with a crucial turnover or penalty deciding the outcome. Arizona 24, Wisconsin 20 NOTRE DAME (1-1) AT MICHIGAN STATE (1-1) - 7:00 P.M., ESPN In a game of much interest to all in Ann Arbor, Notre Dame looks to build on a huge upset of the Wolverines and sweep the Great Lakes State. Michigan State managed an unimpressive victory over Central Michigan, winning with quarterback-by-committee (freshmen Stephen Reaves and junior Drew Stanton). The Spartans survived despite allow- ing 236 rushing yards to Central Michigan. Michigan State will need to make some drastic changes to contain break- out Notre Dame running back Darius Walker. The fresh- man tore into the Michigan defense on Saturday, scoring two touchdowns and amassing 115 yards on 31 carries. If quarterback Brady Quinn does a better job of managing the game, Notre Dame will not need to over achieve as much as it did against the Wolverines for a victory. The sophomore is well on his way to matching his 15 interceptions last year after throwing three picks against Michigan in South Bend. Look for Tyrone Willingham to show some more uncharac- teristic jubilation as Notre Dame should stomp all over the for 108 yards against Central Florida. However, Maryland and Central Florida are not exactly on the same talent level. The Terrapins are looking to continue their perfect noncon- ference season after two wins against Temple and Northern Illinois. Maryland just barely squeaked past the Huskies 23-20 after losing to them last year. The Terps, who graduated their starting running back and quarterback, have found perfectly able replacements. Half- backs Sammy Maldonado, a transfer from Ohio State, and Josh Allen have combined to help Maryland average 200 yards per game on the ground. Quarterback Joel Statham has thrown for 437 yards with two touchdowns and just one inter- ception so far. Second-team All-ACC linebacker D'Qwell Jackson and defensive end Shawne Merriman lead Maryland's defensive effort. Jackson leads the team in both tackles and intercep- tions, while Merriman is pacing the team with four sacks. Though West Virginia is at home this weekend, the Terps and Coach Ralph Friedgen have the psychological edge. With- out Harris, Marshall will not have another playmaker to take the pressure off the passing game. Look for the Terps, with their balanced offense and quick defense, to win their fifth in a row against the Mountaineers. Maryland 28, West Virginia 21. OREGON (0-1) AT No. 2 OKLAHOMA (2-0), 3:30 P.M., ABC Oklahoma, fresh off a 63-13 spanking of Houston, faces another 2003 Michigan opponent this week - Oregon. The Sooners have not yet been tested this season, but now they finally play a BCS opponent. Though Oregon suffered a surprising loss to perennial Big Ten doormat Indiana at home last week, coach Mike Bellotti will have his team primed for an upset. Jason White, who has been in Norman for what seems like an eternity, leads Oklahoma. The sixth-year senior has already staked a claim for a second Heisman trophy by throwing for 495 yards and five touchdowns. All-American wide receiver Mark Clayton also decided to stick around as White's primary target, and has 12 catches already this year. In addition to the aerial assault, the Sooners also boast a prolific running attack. Blue-chip recruit Adrian Peterson has stepped into one of the top programs in the nation and aver- aged 108.5 yards per game. Kejuan Jones has chipped in with 92 yards per game as the backup. Antonio Perkins, the Sooners' stud returner/cornerback, won a spot on all highlight reels last week with his ankle- breaking punt return touchdown against Houston. That was his eighth career punt return, tying Wes Welker's NCAA record. Linebacker Lance Mitchell has returned from an inju- ry in 2003 to take over current Detroit Lion Teddy Lehman's role as defensive leader for the Sooners. Oregon must figure out how to compete in Norman after turning the ball over seven times against Indiana. The defense certainly was not the problem - it only surrendered 212 total yards, including only 64 through the air, and three yards per carry. Running back Kenny Washington also needs to use his speed to keep Oklahoma defenders from keying on the wide- open Oregon passing attack. If the offense, especially quarter- back Kellen Clemens, who threw three interceptions, can take care of the ball, the Ducks' defense will keep the score close. The Ducks are not of the same caliber of talent as Oklaho- ma. Therefore, a mistake-free game is a must. This game will be close early, but Jason White simply has too many weapons at his disposal. Oklahoma 42, Oregon 14 4 Spartans. Notre Dame 30, Michigan State 10 BURKE Continued from page 11 "Obviously, our ineffectiveness run- ning the football (against Notre Dame) put us in a lot of down-and-distance situations," Carr said. "We threw the football too many times. We don't want to throw the ball 45 times a game, but when you rush for (56) yards on 30 car- ries, that's what happens." Lest you've forgotten amidst all the Notre Dame's Brady Quinn looks to repeat his recent success against Michigan State this weekend. And there's Bo again. If he were writing this column, he'd be telling everyone to stop acting like a loss to Notre Dame is the end of the world. He'd tell you the season's young and Michigan's team is pretty young and things take a while to come together. And he'd probably tell you to get ready to go to Pasadena in January. We're not in the "Point-a-minute" days of Fritz Crisler anymore when Michigan just steamrolled everyone So here's what going to happen: Michigan's going to be fine. This program isn't one of the best and most storied in the country by chance. The Wolverines are going to iron out some of the kinks - they'll figure out that running game, just you watch, and they'll get everything else settled, too by the time the conference season rolls around. A 12-0 season with a national title _____ __w -