18A - The Michigan Daily - Thursday, September 8, 2005
Week two follows wild opener
By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Sports Writer
Oklahoma found out that life without Jason
White would be much, much harder. The Notre
Dame fans are very close to replacing "Touch-
down Jesus" with a picture of Charlie Weis in
a robe. And the Miami-Florida State game was
once again decided by the
field goal team - this time
it was the Hurricanes that Cg0S
contrived a way to lose a
game by messing up a field'
goal attempt (Note to punter
Brian Monroe: LOOK the
ball into your hands). Yes, it
was another wild and wacky weekend of college
football, and we're only heading into week two.
Here's a look at some of this weekend's action.
Southern Mississippi (0-0) at Alabama (1-0)
- Saturday, 7:45 p.m., ESPN 2
Last season, Alabama was poised to challenge
for the SEC West title and return to the top of the
conference food chain. But injuries to its start-
ing quarterback and running back hurt its con-
ference title hopes. This year, running back Ray
Hudson doesn't return, but junior Ken Darby
does. And he will line up behind senior quarter-
back Brodie Croyle, who is also back. Darby and
Croyle looked good in their first game against
Middle Tennessee State. The Rainbow City,
Ala.-native Croyle went 16-for-24 for 210 yards,
a touchdown and an interception and Darby ran
for 90 yards on 17 carries. Alabama's defense
is just as strong as last year and refuses to be
embarrassed in front of a home crowd. Hur-
ricane Katrina forced Southern Mississippi to
postpone its opening game and the lack of a first
game will hurt the Eagles.
Alabama 20, Southern Mississippi 10
No. 16 California (1-0) at Washington (0-1)
- Saturday, 3:30 p.m., ABC Gameplan
The hunt for Aaron Rodgers' replacement
couldn't possibly go worse for the Golden Bears.
First, redshirt freshman Nate Longshore broke
his leg. Then backup Joe Ayoob threw 10 straight
incompletions. Now, California might have to
start junior Steve Levy, who switched to fullback
last season because he wanted more playing time
- only to sit on the bench. Sophomore Mar-
shawn Lynch was a bright spot with his 147 yards
and a touchdown on 24 carries and should be
the workhorse for the team in week two. Tyrone
Willingham's squad looked to break its six-game
losing steak last week, but the defense allowed a
14-play, 83-yard game-winning touchdown drive
with less than three minutes remaining in the
game, showing the same intestinal fortitude as the
Buffalo Bills circa early '90s'. Despite Levy, "the
little fullback that could," starting behind center,
Lynch should have a big game, and California
should run away with this easily.
California 31, Washington 13
South Carolina (1-0) at No. 9 Georgia (1-0)
- Saturday, 5:30 p.m., ESPN
At Florida, Steve Spurrier's offense was known
as the "Fun 'n Gun." Now his offense is being
dubbed the "Cock 'n Fire." Whether or not you
understand the play on words or have the maturity
level of a junior high student, it's clear that the
offense is pretty good. Quarterback Blake Mitch-
ell went .18-for-23 for 330 yards and three touch-
downs in the nationally televised season opener
against doormat Central Florida. But the defense
allowed a team with a 16-game losing streak to
come back into the game with a 12-point fourth
quarter and needed a goal line stand to prevent the
upset. This week, the defense will have a tougher
time against Bulldogs senior D.J. Shockley who
threw for 289 yards and five touchdowns against
Boise State while leading the team in rushing
with 85 yards and a touchdown. Spurrier's return
to the SEC should be interesting. The Bulldogs
will want to stick it to Spurrier for that embarrass-
ing 1995 loss against Florida. (Was it necessary to
score 52 at Georgia, Steve?)
Georgia 37, South Carolina 17
No.5 LSU (0-0) at No. 15 Arizona State (1-
0) - Saturday 8:45 p.m., ESPN
New LSU coach Les Miles is thought to have
the easiest job in the county. The former Oklaho-
ma State coach is joining a team that needs almost
nothing more than a coach to push the auto pilot
button. This LSU squad is supposed to be even
better than the 2003 national championship team.
Unfortunately, its first home game was postponed
due to Hurricane Katrina, and its second one is
now a road game. Arizona State may not be "The
Swamp" but anytime you have to go on the road
against a top-25 team, that's tough. Plus, Miles
must also make sure his team stays.focused since
many of them have families directly affected
by the storm. Sophomore JaMarcus Russell is
back and will be dangerous behind center. The
defense will once again be dominant. The Sun
Devils answer back with redshirt freshman phe-
nom Keegan Herring - whose 134 yards broke
the school record for a debut game - and junior
quarterback Sam Keller who passed for 208 yards
and four touchdowns last week.
Arizona State 16, LSU 10
01
AP PH(
After Georgia dispatched Boise State 48-13 in week one, quarterback D.J. Shockley will lead
the Bulldogs against Steve Spurrier's South Carolina squad.
Ohio State-Texas headlines Big Ten slate
By Dan Ketchel
Daily Sports Writer
Now that opening weekend has come
and gone, it's time for college football to
get down to the nitty-gritty. Last Satur-
day, Michigan's defense struggled against
a savvy Northern Illinois running game
while the Iowa
Hawkeyes acted
as the birds of prey
- striking down
the lesser foul in a
56-0 romp of the
Ball State Cardi-
nals. The Big Ten
NYQO
this season, and some foresee them atop
the Big Ten when the season closes. Rid-
ing a wave of emotion after embarrassing
Ball State, expect Iowa's stellar offense
to continue. Led by standout quarterback
Drew Tate, the Hawkeyes should have no
problem putting points on the board and
extending their home winning streak to
an even 20 games. But the Iowa defense
is young and may have a few more issues
with Iowa State's more complete offensive
package.
Iowa 31, Iowa State 13
Hawaii (0-1) at Michigan State
(1-0) - 3:30 p.m., ESPN Plus
The first football game of the season is
an exciting and invigorating time for most
college teams. Not for Hawaii - the only
bigger buzz-kill for a team than having to
face Southern Cal in week one is succumb-
ing to predictions and getting clobbered.
This week, the Warriors roll into East
Lansing looking to make amends. In what
appears to be a fairly evenly matched bat-
tle, the Spartans will welcome the chance
for revenge for the season-ending loss they
suffered at the hands of Hawaii less than
a year ago. Keep an eye out for Michigan
State quarterback Drew Stanton to have a
good game. He had almost 300 yards in the
air and 60 yards on the ground in just three
quarters last week. Stanton can also put
together some impressive late game drives.
Expect one of those to seal the deal.
Michigan State 24, Hawaii 20
Northern Illinois (0-1) at Northwest-
ern (1-0) - 4 p.m., ESPN Classic
Northern Illinois certainly proved it
could hang with a Big Ten team last week,
making things moderately interesting
with the Wolverines. Huskies miniatureo
running back Garret Wolfe packs a lot
of punch for a guy who looks like a mis-
placed 12-year-old in the huddle. Wolfe's
148 yards - including a 76-yard touch-
down run - gave the Michigan defense a
run for its money. But Northern Illinois has
some turnover issues to resolve after it gave
the ball up five times last week - unchar-
acterjstic for a team who turned the ball
over only once last season. The Huskies
undoubtedly have to protect the ball much
more effectively this Saturday against a
lesser but still decent Northwestern team.
The Wildcats will push the ball down field
with an effective passing game propelled
by wide receivers Kim Thompson and
Shaun Herbert. The Huskies will travel to
nearby Evanston to meet the Wildcats in
what should be an offensive showdown.
Northern Illinois 41, Northwestern 31
No. 2 Texas (1-0) at No. 6 Ohio State
(1-0) - 8 p.m., ABC
Testicular fortitude. That's the technical
term for what it takes to schedule an early
season game against No. 2 Texas. The
Longhorns - who furthered the Big 12's
dominance over the Big Ten with their win
in last year's Rose Bowl - look to take
the wind out of the Buckeyes' sails before
conference play even begins. Ohio State
features arguably one of the most talented
players in the country, wide receiver Ted
Ginn, Jr., who started the season off with
86 all-purpose yards and a touchdown
in the Buckeyes' 34-14 win over Miami
(Ohio). Texas answered skeptics last week
when it found a healthy replacement for
Cedric Benson in running back Jamaal
Charles. The freshman had 135 yards (a
Longhorns freshman opening day record)
in last week's 60-3 trouncing of Lousiana-
Lafayette. This promises to be the game
of the week,, not just for the Big Ten, but
also for all of college football. Look for a
tight one throughout and possibly even for
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel to pull off an
unexpected upset thanks to the home field
advantage.
Ohio State 24, Texas 17
as a whole began with an auspicious 10-0
weekend but some nonconference rivalries
this coming game day could bring a few
teams back down to earth and back to a
.500 record.
No. 11 Iowa (1-0) at Iowa State (1-0)
- 3:30 p.m., ABC
Iowa State came out looking flat last
week, barely salvaging a victory against
a weaker Illinois State team. This week,
they'll be in for a rude awakening if their
mediocre play continues because now
they stand toe-to-toe with cross-state rival
Iowa. The Hawkeyes have high hopes for
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Texas Quarterback Vince Young ran all over Michigan's defense in last year's
Rose Bowl.
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