10 - The Michigan Daily - Friday, September 30, 2005 MJbe 1hdtigun BaiIU STAFF PICKS Predictions against the spread for 10/1/05 Gabe Edelson No. 14 Michigan (+5.5) at Michigan State Michigan' No. 1 Southern Cal (-16.5) at No. 14 Arizona State Arizona State Ian Matt Herbert Venegoni Stephanie Former All-American Wright Ed Muransky No. 2 Texas (-15) at Missouri No. 3 Virginia Tech (-10.5) at West Virginia No. 4 Louisiana State (44.5) at Mississippi State' No. 5 Florida (-3.5) at No. 15 Alabama Syracuse (+21.5) at No. 6 Florida State South Florida (+20.5) at No. 9 Miami Mississippi (+22) at No. 10 Tennessee No. 13 Notre Dame (+3) at No. 22 Purdue Kansas (+17.5) at No. 16 Texas Tech Indiana (+18) at No. 17 Wisconsin No. 18 Minnesota (-3) at Penn State No. 19 Virginia (-3.5) at Maryland Washington (+21) at No. 20 UCLA' Florida Atlantic (+38) at No. 24 Louisville Illinois (+17.5) at Iowa Best Bet Overall Texas Virginia Tech Mississippi State Florida Florida State South Florida Tennessee Purdue TexasTech Wisconsin Minnesota Virginia UCLA Florida Atlantic Iowa Texas 241'9.2f(1-2) Michigan State Arizona State Texas Virginia Tech Louisiana State Florida Florida State Miami Mississippi Purdue Texas Tech Indiana Minnesota Maryland UCLA Louisville Iowa Louisiana State 26&-2 (L2) Michigan Southern Cal Texas Virginia Tech Louisiana State Florida Florida State Miami Mississippi Notre Dame Texas Tech Wisconsin Minnesota Virginia UCLA Louisville Iowa Virginia Tech 24492(1-2) Michigan Arizona State Texas Virginia Tech Louisiana State Florida Florida State Miami Tennessee Notre Dame Texas Tech Wisconsin Minnesota. Virginia UCLA Louisville Iowa Texas 251&2(3-0) Michigan Arizona State Texas West Virginia Mississippi State Florida Florida State' South Florida Mississippi Purdue Texas Tech Wisconsin Minnesota Maryland UCLA Florida Atlantic Illinois Florida 21-22-2 (1-2) Former Wolverine great Muransky makes picks Ed Muransky started 33 straight games at offensive tackle for the Wolverines from his sophomore through senior years, 1979- 81. The towering 6-foot-7, 320-pound lineman was a key member of the 1980 Wolverines, Bo Schembechler's first bowl- winning team - the victor in the 1981 Rose Bowl. In his final season in Ann Arbor, Muransky was named an All-American, while also making the All-Big Ten, Academic All-Big Ten and Academic All-American teams. Muransky was drafted by the Los Angeles Raiders in the fourth round of the 1982 NFL draft. After playing in roughly 20 games over three years for the Silver and Black - including the 1983 Super Bowl- winning season - Muransky left for the Orlando Renegades of the USFL. When the league folded, he decided to retire and enter the business world. Now married and a father of three, Muransky resides in Ohio. . . .. ..... ..... ... ........... .. 1. I'll"..-I, NOTES Double-overtime game ends in 2-2 tie For more than 62 minutes, the Michi- gan soccer team was locked in a 2-2 tie with Dayton. But at 75:19, Wolverines forward Steve Bonnell scored to give Michigan a 2-1 lead. Unfortunately for the Wolverines, Dayton's Jonathan Welsh notched a goal just three minutes later to send the game into overtime. Twenty minutes later, after two over- times, the game ended in a 2-2 tie. Michigan's Kevin Savitskie got off to a fast start, scoring the Wolverines' first goal 10 minutes into the game. Mid- fielder Adam Bruh notched the assist. Dayton responded less than three min- utes later when Terry Alvino scored an unassisted goal. STATE NEWS BETTER WATCH OUT. GAILY SPORTS Schmucker succeeds as senior By Danielle Ravich Daily Staff Writer Michigan women's golf co-captain Amy Schmucker has led her team at both tour- naments this season. But the senior's suc- cess might seem mysterious to some. The first week, she tied for seventh with a four-over par 220 at the Lady Northern Tournament and placed 11th with a 224 54-hole total at the Mary Fossum Invi- tational at Forest Akers West Course the weekend before. "Finishing within the top 15 at these tour- naments is something to be really proud of" Michigan coach Kathy Teichert said. Schmucker's first two years as a Wolver- ine were difficult - she wasn't playing her best and knew it. But Schmucker has been improving consistently: During freshman year she averaged 79.17, and improved just slightly sophomore year, averaging 78.39. Last year she averaged 77.42. "I was used to going to my golf pro for a quick tune-up, but when I played here I had to work on my swing and stance by myself," Schmucker said. "I let the little shots get in the way but I learned to adopt a positive outlook and push the bad thoughts out." Perhaps she finds comfort in some of her newly developed superstitions. For exam- ple, Schmucker always carries four tees in her pocket; two small and two tall. She also marks her ball with a Canadian quarter, bear-side facing up. "The tees are a practical thing," Schmuck- er said. "I always want to have an extra one in my pocket just in case one breaks." But the quarter ritual began during a tournament when a Canadian team- mate offered a Canadian coin to make her mark. The tournament turned out to be one of Schmucker's better performances, and the next time she used it, she did well again. Another of her strange superstitions includes not eating any seafood before a tournament. Schmucker maintains a no pre- match seafood policy because she went to a seafood restaurant with her family before two different rounds and did horribly dur- ing both. "My dad was joking around and said that I didn't do well because of the seafood." Schmucker said. Since then, seafood has been off the menu for pre-tournament gatherings. These habits may seem peculiar, but to Schmucker, they are confidence-boosters. Most importantly, it has been Schmucker's hard work, dedication and passion for golf that have carried her along. "All of my experiences led me to where I am now," Schmucker said. "I really strug- gled during my first two years." After a summer of working on her mental game, Schmucker has made some major improvements. "Amy has really stepped up her game," Teichert said. "She keeps her high confi- dence and is able to score even when she's not hitting the ball as well as she would have liked to. When she doesn't hit the ball well, she stays focused and grinds it out." It takes both physical and mental abili- ties to be a great golfer. "Golf is an extremely mental game and to be a successful player, you have to be mentally strong" Schmucker said. "It is also important to maintain composure and not get frustrated with previous shots. If you believe you can hit it, you'll make it. But if you're not focused, you can hit way off the lead." With fortune on her side and an improved mental game, Schmucker has become an integral part of the Wolverines' roster. SPARTANS Continued from page 9 Special Teams: Remember the years when Michigan special teams caused nau- sea? Those years appear to have passed. Garret Rivas has connect- ed on all 11 of his extra points and 6 of his 7 field goals. Redshirt junior Ross Ryan has consistently put the Wolverines' opponents in bad field position with his punts and kickoffs. But Michigan's return game has not been as good as advertised. Redshirt junior Steve Breaston has averaged just 16 yards on kick returns and 10 on punts. But he showed everyone what he was capable of with his 72-yard return against Eastern Michigan. The Michigan State unit is somewhat of an unknown - kicker John Goss has attempted just three field goals, connecting on two. But the Spartans return game is definitely a strength. Junior Kyle Brown has shown he can be an explosive return man and has given Michigan State good field position. Edge: Push Intangibles Michigan has won more than two-thirds of the games between the two teams - and seven of the last 10. Most of the students in Ann Arbor have never seen the Spartans beat Michigan, but none of them have ever seen Michigan State ranked higher than Michigan either. It's always difficult to win on the road in the Big Ten, but Michigan coach Lloyd Carr has only last back-to-back games five times. Plus, the Wolverines literally have nothing to lose. Edge: Michigan Michigan State 34, Michigan 31 m I