Tuesday
October 25, 2005
sports. michigandaily. com
sports@michigandaily.com
POtll E RTSii g a n B a ilv
S
10
You can't predict
the Big,
The last couple of years it hasn't
been too hard to look at the Big
Ten and place the football teams in
one of three groups. There were the true
title contenders: Michigan, Ohio State and,
lately, Iowa. There were the solid teams
like Minnesota, Wisconsin and Purdue
that always came up just short. And then
there was Illinois and Indiana, two schools
just biding time until basket-
ball season started.
All right, maybe things
haven't changed for the Illi-
ni and Hoosiers, but watch
a game between any two
of the Big Ten's other nine
teams and - about four-
and a half hours later -
you'll likely get up off that
couch satisfied. The way
things are going, in a month SHA
when the regular season is MAT
over and five teams could Mattu
have identical 5-3 confer- Mattu F
ence records, the Big Ten
may have to figure out who goes to which
bowl game with a series of coin flips.
Just a couple of weeks ago, after Mich-
igan's loss to Minnesota, even the players
readily admitted that the Big Ten title was
a reach. Two thrilling last-play victories
later, everyone is looking for ways for
the Wolverines to creep back into the
race. Can Penn State and Minnesota lose
another game? Can Wisconsin find a way
to lose two? And even if that all happens,
can Michigan win what will arguably be
its toughest road and home games of the
season, against Northwestern on Saturday
and Ohio State to end the regular season?
Suppose all that happens, and Michi-
gan miraculously pulls out the confer-
ence title and automatic BCS bid. What
exactly is its reward? It has no chance
at the national championship game, and
this year that game is the Rose Bowl, the
usual destination for the Big Ten champ.
Instead, the Wolverines could play a team
like West Virginia in the Orange Bowl, a
game that few people would care about.
And what if the Badgers, who have to be
considered the favorites right now, come
out with the title? After falling short of the
Rose Bowl last year in devastating fash-
ion, how anticlimactic would an Orange
Bowl berth be?
The Big Ten is probably the most
Ten now
R
.TT
Fu;
exciting and wacky conference in college
football right now, and it's quite likely that
nobody in the country is paying any atten-
tion. After all, Southern Cal and Texas
are undefeated and heading toward an
inevitable showdown while Virginia Tech
and either Alabama or Georgia are getting
screwed out of that opportunity.
I used to think that having no playoff
in college football was a great
thing. It meant that every
week of the regular season
was like a playoff round; every
game was a must-win. But
instead it has led to Michigan
hosting random MAC team
and fill-in-the-blank schools at
the Big House to pad the win
column. Sure, we play Notre
Dame, and the Irish have
AD given us more trouble than
TU anyone could have expected or
Fast asked for, but that may not last
erious for too long. For a team that
has national championship
aspirations, why unnecessarily risk throw-
ing it away in September?
But what if instead the conference win-
ners were given berths to the playoffs?
Then people would look at the Big Ten
completely differently. Maybe Wisconsin
would emerge from conference with a
worse record than the other teams in
the playoffs, but the Badgers would be a
battle-tested team that would know how
to play a complete game for 60 minutes,
something the Trojans and Longhorns
will have had to do once at the most dur-
ing the season.
It's quite possible that no conference
has ever been as unpredictable as the
Big Ten currently is. Michigan State and
Purdue were opce top-10 threats, yet now
both are in danger of finishing with los-
ing records. Northwestern and Penn State
have emerged out of nowhere, Ohio State
is in the middle of the race as always, and
Wisconsin appears to control its own des-
tiny yet again.
The Big Ten title is always worth fight-
ing for, and as many as eight teams could
be fighting for it a month from now. It's
too bad the reward for winning it will
hardly be as satisfying as the journey.
0
RYAN WEINER/Daily
Senior Jason Avant has been a steady contributor and a reliable receiver for the Wolverines this season with 60 catches for 767 yards and six touchdowns.
Senor Avant more an just
a possession receiver for Varsity
By Matt Venegoni
Daily Sports Editor
Sometimes he'll go through a game and people
won't notice what he's done. He might get the qui-
etest 100-yard games possible, but senior receiver
Jason Avant is one of the best pass catchers in the
Big Ten - he just won't tell you that.
When looking at the receivers in the NFL, it's
about flash and showboating, but Avant won't have
any of that. In fact, he wouldn't even admit that he's
one of the top players in the Big Ten or that he has
hands like Velcro.
"I'm all right," Avant said. "Blocking is probably
the best thing I do. My hands are OK."
Much of the talk before the season was about how
the offense was going to replace the departed Bray-
lon Edwards. And even though he hasn't replaced all
of Edwards's big plays, Avant's not that far behind.
Eight games into the season, Avant has 60 catches
for 767 yards and six touchdowns. In that same span
last year, Edwards had 58 grabs for 808 yards and
eight touchdowns.
"I think the first characteristic you look for in
athletics from a leadership standpoint is a guy that
plays with great intensity and has a great will to win
because ultimately in a team game your best players
have to perform," coach Lloyd Carr said.
No game showed the importance of Avant to the
Wolverines better than Saturday's against Iowa. The
Chicago native had seven catches for 105 yards and
one touchdown, but, more importantly, the passes he
reeled in came at crucial moments.
The Hawkeyes drove down the field with ease
throughout much of the first half, so it was up to the
Michigan offense to at least keep the game close.
Enter Avant.
With Iowa leading 7-0, the Wolverines had a sec-
ond-and-goal from the five-yard line. Quarterback
Chad Henne went back to pass and looked for his
favorite target - Avant. The senior wideout lined up
outside on the left but moved in motion behind the
slot receiver just before the snap. As the play pro-
gressed, Avant sprinted towad the center of the field
and the goal line, but he wasn't staying there for long.
He turned toward the goalpost, then looked for the
ball. Henne lofted the pass above the Iowa lineback-
ers and secondary where only Avant could get it.
Avant used his 36-inch vertical leap to his advantage,
snagging the ball and tying the game.
"He's a great feature to this offense, and that's
why he's getting all the passes that he is, because he
knows how to beat man coverage or zone coverage,"
Henne said.
His touchdown was impressive, but his catch in
overtime was even more remarkable. After Iowa
seized the lead, 20-17, in overtime, Michigan took
over on offense. Junior Jerome Jackson carried for two
yards, setting up a second-and-eight at the 23-yard
line. Henne dropped, faking a handoff to Jackson and
rolling to his right. As Henne moved further to the
right, Avant came streaking across the field. Henne
uncorked a laser to the sprinting Avant. The pass was
behind him, but the sure-handed receiver twisted his
body backwards and made the grab despite tweaking
his ankle in the process.
"It all comes down to performing," Carr said.
"And it's hard to be an outstanding leader if you
are not performing your part in the play. Jason has
been an exceptional leader. I think that's one of
the reasons, one of the primary reasons, he was
selected because he brings his work ethic every
single day,"
Although Avant was limping after the game, Carr
said he's expected to play against Northwestern. For
Henne and the rest of the offense, who rely so heavily
on Avant, that news probably wasn't taken quietly.
NOTES: Equipment manager Jon Falk was injured
in the first quarter of the Iowa game. An Iowa player
rolled over Falk's leg making a tackle on receiver
Carl Tabb. He had surgery yesterday, but he will be
missing his first game in over 30 years at Michigan.
"This is not just a normal broken leg," Carr said.
"It's not good. Our thoughts and prayers are with Jon.
I went into the training room after the game on Sat-
urday, I said (to him), 'You must be in unbelievable
pain.' He says, 'No, I was just thinking next Saturday
is going to be the first Michigan football game I have
missed in I would say 30 some years.' This football
is awful important to Jon."
- Sharad Mattu can be reached
at smattu@umich.edu.
BASKETBALL TICKETS ON SALE
Today at 8:30 a.m. single-game tickets for nonconference games and an eight-game Big Ten
package will go on sale for the upcoming men's basketball season.
" For the nonconference games, the upper-level gold seating is priced at $10
* Exceptions will be the games against Miami and UCLA, which will go on sale
for $15.
" For the Butler, Miami (Ohio), Coppin State and Chicago State games, the Tick-
et Office will offer tickets in the student bleacher section for $22.
" The eight-game package is available for $118 in the upper level gold section.
Turubul
takes lessons
from youth
to Yost
By H. Jose Bosch
Daily Sports Writer
As a small child, freshman Travis Turnbull skated
and shot pucks in the basement of his home. In the
40-foot by 20-foot score court, Turnbull slowly but
surely followed in the footsteps of his father, former
NHL player Perry Turnbull. But on one particular
afternoon, his daily routine in the basement would
change dramatically.
"When he was a little kid, for him, the best pres-
ents were related to hockey," Perry said. "Whether
it was sticks or helmets or gloves or whatever it
was."
What Travis didn't know that day was that his
father had gotten him a pair of custom-made skates.
Once he returned home, Perry handed Travis his new
pair of skates. After skating around a bit - stopping
and starting a few times - he looked at his father.
"Dad," Travis said. "I feel like a pro."
Fast forward to 2005 and now Turnbull, much
older, is skating for the Michigan hockey team and
skating for the same coach that his father played
under for five years with the St.. Louis Blues.
"I'm excited as heck," Perry said. "Red (Beren-
son) was my favorite coach in the NHL, and, if I
M MEN'S TENNIS
Questionable call
undermines Maravic
By Dan Ketchel
Daily Sports Writer
When it comes to sports, officiating can be
a fickle thing.
College tennis takes a unique approach to
enforcing the rules by allowing athletes to call'
the lines - determining whether a ball hit by,
their opponent is in or out.
Unfortunately, Michigan sophomore
Matko Maravic experienced the negative
side of this stipulation in his bitter quarter-
final loss at the 2005 Wilson/ITA Midwest
Regional Championships yesterday. Mara-
vic - who was the No. 3 seed - had won
his three previous matches on Saturday and
Sunday. His opponent, No. 5 Sheeva Parbhu
of Notre Dame, will move on to Tuesday's
semifinals after barely edging out Maravic in
three sets, 6-7(4), 7-6(9), 6-2.
Maravic had match point in hand three
times in the second set as it went to tiebreak.
But, with his own victory looming, a ball came
across the net - arguably nipping the line
- and Maravic called it out. Facing elimina-
tion, Parbhu appealed the call and the official
ruled against Maravic, evening up the match
yet again.
"I thought it was out, too," Michigan
"He hung in there," Berque said. "(Mara-
vic) played a little more solid, a little smarter
at the end of the first set and made a few tacti-
cal adjustments. (Parbhu) gave him an open-
ing and Matko jumped on it."
The second set stayed evenly matched
throughout, the players holding both their
ground and their serves to force yet another
tiebreak. Maravic battled throughout the
set despite experiencing some painful back
spasms that needed to be treated by the
trainer. Still, Maravic recovered and found
himself leading the tiebreak 8-7 when his
call was overruled. This allowed Parbhu to
get his foot back into the door - eventually
taking the tiebreak, 11-9.
"It was definitely the momentum turn-
around," Maravic said. "I was maybe thinking
about it a little too long. The match was sup-
posed to be over, and I wasn't really able to get
back into it again."
Following the upsetting decision that stole
the win away from Maravic, Parbhu pro-
ceeded to run away with the third set. Fueled
by the emotional 180 turn, Parbhu took the
final set in decisive fashion, 6-2, and took the
match along with it.
"I think (Maravic) will be OK but I'm sure
he's upset about it today," Berque said. "He
ran r.-,..,.1 1.,nztPnac nr nc he ornn nnrl --mn-
Freshman Travis Turnbull has racked up four assists a
ing in the team's top forward line alongside sopho-
more Kevin Porter and junior T.J.... Hensick.
"So far, he's impressed us with his work ethic and
offensive and defensive awareness and intensity,"
Berenson said. "He's doing a good job."
Growing up in southern Missouri, Travis would
take frequent fishing and hunting trips with his dad.
"As a kid, you want to be with your dad and that's
what I had planned for the day (hunting and fishing),
and he wanted to come along," Perry said. "How
RODRIGO GAYA/ Daily
nd one goal this season.
game's first goal was incorrectly credited to Turn-
bull - the son of a man who once passed up an
open-net breakaway to allow his right-winger to
score - he was the first to be on the bench telling
his coaches it wasn't him that scored, it was fellow
freshman Danny Fardig.
"He grew up in that environment, and you take
credit for what you get" Perry said. "If someone gets
one that they shouldn't, and the team wins, that's not
important. I know over the years I've scored a few
a