The Michigan Daily - Wednesday, September 8, 2004 -19 Coast-to-coast football Canes, 'Noles set to wage battle By H. Jose Bosch For the Daily calling a spike and instead called a swing left that resulted in a two-yard loss. Game over. But it won't matter much for this After a weekend packed with thrillers and near upsets, col- game because the Rams are seriously overmatched. lege football rolls on towards weekend No. 2. Here's a look at Colorado State coach Sonny Lubrick might as well hold up what to expect from key matchups from around the country: a large card with the play drawn out because his team doesn't have a chance against this defense. At least the plays will be No.6 Florida State (0-0) at No. 5 Miami (0-0) - Friday, the right ones. 8 p.m., ABC The Trojans won't fall asleep like last week, and their studs Due to Hurricane Frances, this originally sched- will be at the top of their game. Junior quarterback uled Labor Day event will now be on in prime time Matt Leinart has 272 yards and 3 touchdowns under on Friday, and there is no better game to watch than his belt and the Rams better be prepared because this one. One of college football's greatest rivalries bombs will be dropping all over L.A. only gets better as the Seminoles make the dreaded Prediction: Southern Cal 31, Colorado State 3 trek to the Orange Bowl to face in-state rival Miami, this time as a conference foe. Houston (0-1) at No. 2 Oklahoma (1-0) - Sat- Miami has owned the Seminoles during the urday, 7p.m. AP PHOTO Sophomore quarterback Drew Tate and his Iowa Hawkeyes could open some eyes this weekend against in-state rival Iowa State. In-state rivals battle in Iowa last five meetings, and since 1991, have enjoyed three wide rights and a wide left from kickers. Will it be another heart- breaker for Florida State? Both teams lost their top runners and receivers but the Seminoles still have a big playmaker in senior wide receiver Craphonso Thrope (51 receptions for 994 yards last season). Put that against Miami's top returning receiver, sophomore Ryan Moore (44 receptions, 637 yards) and Florida State has the edge. But all of that doesn't matter, because rain is in the forecast, and that makes passing harder than sucking wet con- crete through a paper straw. Miami has the better running game, and will win, end of story. Sorry Seminole fans - stock up on your tissue. Prediction: Miami 13, Florida State 10 No. 17 Missouri (1-0) at Troy State (1-0) - Thursday, 7 p.m., ESPN The second full week of college football begins Thursday when the nationally televised matchup between No. 17 Mis- souri Tigers and the mighty Trojans of Troy State. While only their mothers care, the Trojans are aiming to avenge their 44-7 bushwhacking of two years ago. The Trojans' confidence is running high after their 17-15 upset over the Marshall Thundering Herd last week despite producing an anemic 65 yards rushing. The only thing weaker last week was Missouri's defense. The Tigers looked more like Tigger as they allowed Arkan- sas State junior quarterback Nick Noce of to throw for 240 yards. To make things worse, after Noce left the game with an injury, his replacement threw for another 110 yards. The Tigers may have won the game, but against a good team, a 110-yard day by the back-up quarterback will not equal a win. The only bright side of the day was the brilliant performance by junior quarterback Brad Smith, who threw for 233 yards, 3 touchdowns and ran for 64 yards and one more score. This game should be better than their last matchup, but the Trojans will break down eventually. Give a mighty roar for the Tigers! Prediction: Missouri 24, Troy State 13 Colorado State (0-1) at No. 1 Southern Cal. (1-0) - Sat- urday, 8 p.m., ABC After barely escaping with a win over Virginia Tech, 24- 13, the newly energized Trojans will now go head to head with downtrodden Colorado State. The Rams are coming off a heartbreaking loss against archrival and summer headline grabber Colorado. Not only did they lose to a team whose future was iffy over the summer, but they did it in grand fash- ion. Junior quarterback Justin Holland couldn't hear his coach Some things are guaranteed in life: death, taxes and Sooners football. Few teams have been as consistent as the boys from the Big 12 over the past four years - three bowl titles, two conference titles and a national championship. Last week the Sooners seemed stronger than ever. Bowling Green's defense allowed two 100-yard rushers and a 238-yard passer. This week their competition doesn't get much harder as the Sooners face off against the Houston Cougars. For those who don't remember, the Cougars made a nice little trip from Houston to Michigan Stadium last year, and their first mistake was getting off the bus, as the Wolverines pounded them, 50-3. Last week, Houston lost to Rice, 10-7, a team they beat last year 48-14. This sleeper of a game will do nothing more than pad the stats of Heisman hopeful senior quar- terback Jason White, and provide a nice little paycheck for the University of Houston. Try challenging yourself next year, Sooners. Prediction: Oklahoma 63, Houston 3 By James V. Dowd Daily Sports Writer When you compete in a confer- ence that is as deep as the Big Ten, non conference games become so much more important. For teams like Michigan State, it is a time to pad the schedule and hope to add some wins before heading into the brutal grind of conference play. For a team like Illinois, it is a chance to face teams which R ' ; E , IC,'T allow the Illini to regain confidence after poor play last season. How- ever a team goes about their non- conference schedule, it provides an interesting look at how the Big Ten stacks up on the field before the real games begin. Iowa State (1-0) at No. 12 Iowa (1- 0) - Saturday, noon, ESPN-Plus Perhaps the country's most loyal college sports town, Iowa City plays host to one of college football's overlooked rivalry games Saturday when the hometown Hawkeyes take on Iowa State. In last week's opener, Iowa smashed lowly Kent State 39-7 with a well-balanced offense led by sophomore quarterback Drew Tate, who was 13-for-22 for 136 yards and two touchdowns. The Hawkeye defense was stellar, allowing just 110 total yards. Iowa held Kent State's leading rusher to just 17 yards and Kent State's team total on the ground was -13. The Cyclones, on the other hand, will provide Iowa with a more worthy opponent this week after cruising through their week one matchup against Northern Iowa. The Panthers managed just 99 total yards, but don't expect the Cyclones to hold the Hawkeyes to less than 200. Tate should continue his winning ways and Albert Young should beat his 82 yards and one touchdown of last weekend. The Cyclones may sustain a few drives and put some points on the board, but not nearly enough. Prediction: Iowa 35, Iowa State 14. UNLV(0-1) at No. 22 Wisconsin (1-0) - Saturday, noon, ESPN Many consider Michigan lucky to not play Wisconsin this year. Few consider UNLV lucky for hav- ing No. 15 Tennessee and No. 22 Wisconsin as its season-opening games. The Runnin' Rebels head to Madison this week in hopes of a solid performance before confer- ence play, after being blown out by Tennessee in their opener. With the Rebels surrendering nearly 300 rushing yards at Tennes- see, Badgers running back Anthony Davis is ready to show why many consider him the Big Ten's best run- ning back. Davis piled up 78 yards of Wisconsin's 230 rushing yards last week. UCLA (0-1) at Illinois (1-0) - Saturday, noon, ABC If you're a fan of high-scoring football, tune into ABC for its broadcast from Champaign on Sat- urday. The Illini will face off against the Bruins in a matchup between two teams that piled up the yards in their opening games. With 561 total yards for Illinois and 447 for UCLA, there is no doubt that the scoreboard operator will be earning his keep at Memorial Stadium. Illinois gave up 351 total yards to Florida A&M last Saturday, but held them to just 13 points. They allowed both A&M quarterbacks to amass 140 passing yards. After UCLA's Drew Olson threw for 251 yards, the Bruins are sure to test the Illini secondary early. UCLA's downfall against Okla- homa State was its rushing defense. Oklahoma State tore UCLA apart for 429 rushing yards, so expect Illinois coach Ron Turner to send his offense running. Illinois ran for 301 yards against Florida A&M, so look for them to continue to run until someone can stop sophomore Pierre Thomas, who ran for 144 yards and two scores last week. Expect a high-scoring affair, and if Illini quarterback Jon Beutjer can beat the untested UCLA secondary, the Illini will come out on top. Prediction: Illinois 56, UCLA 45. Central Michigan (0-1) at Michigan State (0-1) - Saturday, noon, ESPN-Plus Like Iowa City, East Lansing will witness an interstate matchup this weekend. This one is more of a mismatch than a rivalry. Central Michigan will head to Michigan State with hopes of legitimizing their floundering program, but the Spartans should have little trouble winning the game. Michigan State struggled in its opener against Rutgers, allowing 420 total yards. But once the Scar- let Knights crossed into Spartan territory, Michigan State's defense locked down, and forced Rutgers to try seven field goals, four of which were good. The Spartans offense was ade- quate, as senior quarterback Damon Dowdell threw for 270 yards and two touchdowns. Jason Teague and DeAndra Cobb combined for 98 yards. Against Central Michigan's weak rushing defense, the duo should be able to break loose like four separate Indiana players did for touchdowns last week. The high point for Central Michi- gan was holding Indiana quarter- back Matt LoVecchio to only 122 yards passing, but the Choppewas will likely struggle with Dowdell's many options. Eight Spartan receiv- ers caught passes last week, includ- ing touchdowns by Matt Trannon and Eric Knott. Perhaps the Chippewas will start quickly, as they had a tendency to do last year, but they will likely wear down fast against the bigger and stronger Spartans. Prediction: Michigan State 38, Central Michigan 13. 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