The Michigan Daily - SportsMonday - September 26, 2005 - 5B
'The Daily
Dashboard
After every game of the
20O5 season, The Michigan
Daly's football writers will
take ycu fir a ride in Lloyd's
The gauges all refer to
different varables that will
4 Quuate from week to week,
depending on how the team
aK nd fans perform..
:e fensie 1ntensity is a
measure of - you guessed it
-how well the Wolverines
manage t4 stop their oppo-
The Cavr-o-meter is a rough
gauge ofbhead coach Lloyd
ar's opinion of his team's
play, sedgedfrom his
postgame mments.
This week's Hypemeter is
S te different. We are
tuing how we think the
Wicnsin fans measured up
gnt Michigan's.
Rush Yards is a straightfor-
ward measure of Michigan's
ground yardage total in each
g ake. an effective;
run nng game is crucial to
ptsasn uccess - espe-
cial$y for this year's squad,
which is loaded at running
this statistic figures
to be a consistently impor-
tant indicator.
Defensive Intensity
Once again, it's a little tough to rate this. In
the first half, it looked as if the Wolverines
were going to bottle up Brian Calhoun and the
rest of the Badgers' offense. But when the sec-
ond half started, and the game changed. The
Michigan defense looked fatigued throughout
the final 30 minutes of the contest. Coach Carr
admitted that the defense was worn down dur-
ing Wisconsin's offensive surge in the second
half. Overall, there were good things to look at
it, but the Wolverines couldn't get it together
for both halves.
Carr-o-meter
To say Lloyd Carr was deflated after the game
would be quite the understatement. His trade-
mark wit when dealing with the media was
missing - no jokes, no minute-long stares
and very few answers. He described the game,
especially all Michigan's second-half mistakes,
as frustrating, and that just about sums it up.
Like many Michigan fans are bound to do, Carr
placed much of the blame for the loss squarely
on his own shoulders. For maybe the first time
this season, he didn't blame the defensive line,
the one unit to elicit any real praise.
Hypemeter
Rush Yards
Football writer Matt Venegoni actually sat
in the student section and got to see first-
hand what Wisconsin students are all about.
Sticking out like a sore thumb in his maize
Michigan T-shirt, Venegoni was heckled and
harassed, but it was mostly in good fun. More
importantly, the students were loud and high-
ly engaged in the game. They made it difficult
on the Wolverines when they were on offense
and always stayed behind their beloved Bad-
gers. And the classic "Jump Around" was
straight up out of control.
Unfortunately, Michigan was without sopho-
more standout Mike Hart, although he did
at least dress for this game. Max Martin
and Kevin Grady had to carry the load, and
they combined to do a pretty decent job. But
both made a crucial mistake that aided in the
loss. Grady - often described as a "bull"
- couldn't push across the goal line on a
fourth-and-goal from the one-yard line in
the first quarter. Later, in the fourth quarter,
Martin fumbled, giving Wisconsin posses-
sion at Michigan's 23-yard line.
STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the
spread for 9/24/05
No. 14 Michigan (-3) at Wisconsin
. Southern Cal (-21.5) at No. 24 Oregon
No. 15 Georgia Tech (+6.5) at No. 4 Virginia Tech
No. 5 Florida (-22.5) at Kentucky
No. 7 Georgia (-14.5) at Mississippi State
N. 21 Iowa (+7) at No. 8 Ohio State
No. 9 Louisville (-21.5) at South Florida
No, 11 Purdue (+3.5) at Minnesota
Colorado (+14) at No. 12 Miami
No,16 Notre Dame (43.5) at Washington
No. 17 Michigan State (-10.5) at Illinois
Nq.8 Adzona State (-5.5) at Oregon State
Duke (+24.5) at No. 23 Virginia
A kansas(+15) at No. 20 Alabama
Best Bet
Record this week:
Overall
Gabe
Edelson
Ian
Herbert
Michigan
Southern Cal
Virginia Tech
Florida
Georgia
Ohio State
Louisville
Minnesota
Colorado
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Arizona State
Virginia
Alabama
Arizona State
8-6 (1-0)
24-19-2(1-2)
Michigan
Southern Cal
Virginia Tech
Florida
Georgia
Ohio State
Louisville
Purdue
Miami
Washington
Michigan State
Arizona State
Virginia
Alabama
Michigan State
7-7(10)
25.18-2 (1-2)
Matt
Venegoni
Michigan
Oregon
Virginia Tech
Florida
Georgia
Ohio State
Louisville
Minnesota
Miami
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Arizona State
Virginia
Alabama
Louisville
8.6(-1)
24-19-2(1-2)
Stephanie Daily Alum
Wright Dan Okrent
Michigan
Southern Cal
Virginia Tech
Florida
Georgia
Ohio State,
Louisville
Purdue
Miami
Notre Dame
Michigan State
Arizona State
Virginia
Alabama
Arizona State
8(1-0)
25-18-2(30)
Michigan
Oregon
Virginia Tech
Kentucky
Georgia
Ohio State
Louisville
Minnesota
Miami
Notre Dame
Illinois
Arizona State
Virginia
Alabama
Virginia Tech
8 (1-0)
21-22-2 (1-2)
Daily writers still solid
with their picks
Dan Okrent got the celebrities
back on track, with a solid
week, including an impressive
best-bet pick.
But is this how every week
will look, everyone picking
pretty much the same teams?
Matt is the black sheep this
week, not only failing to get
his best bet right, but getting
absolutely embarrassed by
picking a team that got beat
by 31. Truly pathetic.
Stephanie continued her
perfection in the best bet
department and sticking to a
one-game lead with Ian over
Gabe and Matt.
Finally, let's say it - no one
was expecting a Michigan loss.
The entire beat and celebrity
got bit by the disappointing
Wolverines.
The football beat doesn't just cover games and write columns that no one seems to like. The
group also loves partying and hanging out. That's the point of the Daily Road Trip - to see
what's going on in other Big Ten cities and let you, the reader, get a glimpse of it.
Before I got to Madison, I had never heard of a pizza door, there's a television set submerged into the floor and
place with a bouncer. The line at Ian's Pizza was out the covered by Plexiglas, which is just plain cool. And the
door and around the block, and Ian's place was packed. We stood by a TV showing the Iowa-
had employed a door monitor to 4Z01,te Ohio State game and looked around for a table, but
limit the fire hazards. While when nothing opened up, Gabe and I went to buy
Gabe was happy with a ir brats while Ian stood guard. While we were up
slice of barbecue steak Daily R Iad Tripat the bar ordering our food, a table opened
and fries pizza and a up. One of the guys leaving the table asked
slice of mushroom, Ian if he was a Wisconsin fan. Instead
I had my eye on a of lying to secure us a place to sit, Ian
piece of macaroni remained loyal to Michigan - and didn't
and cheese pizza. >;get the table. When Gabe and I returned
The first time I went with brats in hand, we had to stand around
up, the mac was gone, " a little table while we ate. Still, the food was
so I got a slice of regu - Ar good and the atmosphere was even better, so
lar cheese instead. Big : it really wasn't the worst thing that could have
mistake. With options >x:. happened. - Stephanie
such as chicken and
Badgers taliback Brian Calhoun runs away from Michigan's Leon Hall to score a
touchdown in the fourth quarter of Wisconsin's 23-20 win over the Wolverines.
mashed potato pizza and
taco pizza, I felt ashamed that I
stuck with something so ordinary. I
went up a second time, but the girl in front
of me took the last piece of my coveted mac and cheese
pizza. Infuriated, I booked out of the store and over the
mounds of paper plates littering the outdoor sidewalk.
- Ian
State Street Brats is known as one of the best sports
bars around - Sports Illustrated, for one, named it the
fourth-best college bar in the nation. So before we headed
over to Camp Randall on Saturday, we decided to satisfy
our urge for tasty brats by checking it out for ourselves.
In my opinion, the place didn't disappoint. Just inside the
:BADG ERS
Continued from page 1B
The Wolverines contained Calhoun in
the first half, limiting the nation's leading
scorer to 53 yards on the ground. But Wis-
:consin's relentless reliance on Calhoun paid
toff on its final possession of the game.
E With 4:29 remaining in the fourth
quarter, the Badgers regained posses-
;sion on their 48-yard line, and Calhoun
ran the ball on three straight plays.
Stocco then completed a nine-yard
mass to wide receiver Rrandon Wil-
"I gained a lot of respect for him," Carr
said of Calhoun. "I liked him coming into
this game. He is one tough guy, and he
keeps coming."
Calhoun capitalized on Wisconsin's
great field position throughout the sec-
ond half with his lone touchdown early
in the fourth quarter. In his second
straight start, Michigan tailback Max
Martin fumbled on the Wolverines' 23-
yard line. After Wisconsin linebacker
Mark Zalewski recovered the ball and
Michigan committed a personal foul,
Calhoun ran twice for 12 yards and the
Things took a turn for the worse when we ven-
tured over to Angelic Brewing Company, a bar on
West Johnson Street on Friday night. The interior was
nicely decorated but, it was a bit too crowded inside.
Actually, it was way too crowded. I stood at the bar for 45
minutes, a $20 bill in hand - and very visible - while
I went completely ignored. I wasn't alone, either. Most
of the people around me were similarly shut out. After it
became apparent that no alcohol was in our immediate
future, we decided to try our chances elsewhere. Inter-
estingly, the bar was so packed with Michigan students
that a rousing chorus of "The Victors" met little to no
opposition while spreading like wildfire. "It's great, to
be, a Michigan Wolverine!" was also overheard. All in
all, a good scene but disappointing results. - Gabe
Often you hear that Madison is a "drinking town with
a football problem." Well, everyone saw Saturday night
that it didn't have too much difficulty putting Michigan
away on the field. But before that
even happened, Madison showed
that it definitely deserves its repu-
tation as one of the premier party
if not better, than Michigan's. Everybody was hyped up
and willing to get crazy. Probably a little too crazy con-
sidering the beating I took. Once inside the stadium, the
student section lived up to its billing of being hostile.
I was called an "asshole," "faggot" and "bitch" no less
than 1,000 times. But the tradition "jump around" was
great and made the Big House's lack of noise even more
obvious. Special thanks to the fellas of 414 Main Street
for their hospitality. - Matt
The Top Five of the Daily Road Trip Mix-Tape:
Chicago -"Fight for Your Honor"
Boyz 11 Men - "On Bended Knee"
Dead Prez - "Hell Yeah"
Coolio - "Gangsta's Paradise"
Liz Phair - "Why Can't I"
m