Wednesday October 26, 2005 sports. michigandaily.com sports@michigandaily.com PRheTStrhigan ailg 9 Adams's eyes key in Blue's road win By Ian Herbert Daily Sports Editor There aren't any other guys on the Mich- igan football team from North Carolina. In fact. strong safety Jamar Adams has always been a Tar Heel. But when it came time to choose a university, Adams prayed and decided to make his way north. The sopho- more said that secondary coach Ron Eng- lish was the main reason he came to Ann Arbor. "I thought he was the best defensive back coach around, and I just wanted to work with him," Adams said. "To me, he was a true man. He has taught me so much about just being a man not only on the foot- ball field but also off the football field as well." One of the most important lessons - at least last week - was simply "eyes inside." Late in the fourth quarter, Iowa had driven the length of the field and was down inside Michigan's 20-yard line, looking to win the game. It was third-and-two, and a first down would have given the Hawkeyes three more shots at the end zone. It was then that Adams made, according to Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, one of the most important plays of the game - maybe of the season. Adams was in man-to-man coverage on the tight end, who was blocking him to the outside. "When I saw him block out, I could hear coach E's voice in my head, 'Eyes inside son,' and that's what I did," Adams said. "I got my eyes inside, and I was able to make the play." Adams stopped the play that was devel- oping - a shovel-pass to running back Albert Young. It was a play that is very difficult to contain for less than two yards, Carr said. But Adams, just a sophomore, stopped it almost single-handedly for a loss of one. "I have seen seniors that busted that," Carr said. "For a young guy to make that play speaks highly of his ability to concen- Other conferences have nothing on the Big Ten it's like some sort of twisted blood sport. Throw nine of the most powerful, dan- gerous fighters in the country (and two weaklings) into a cage. Furnish them with swords, nunchucks, tridents, crossbows, axes, spears and javelins. Then lock the door, and see who - if anyone - emerges alive. Welcome to Big Ten football. No, you won't find any Big Ten teams among the top-10 on this week's poll. No, the Big Ten won't be sending a representative to the Rose Bowl, this year's national championship game. But when it comes to competitive, intense football week-in and week-out, no other conference holds a candle to this mighty midwestern league. For starters, every single team in the Big Ten emerged from non- conference play with a winning record, a feat no other conference accomplished. Even pathetic Illinois MA went 2-1, including a 33-30 victory SINS over Rutgers, the team now occu- S pying second place in the Big East. Spitti It makes you wonder if the Illini would earn a BCS berth if they jumped ship and moved to that unimaginably awful conference. Then, the bloodbath of a Big Ten season began. Wisconsin over No. 14 Michigan ... Michigan over No. 11 Michigan State ... Penn State over No. 6 Ohio State ... Michigan over No. 8 Penn State ... Northwestern over No. 22 Michigan State ... and so on. The bottom line is, on any given week, any Big Ten team - except maybe Indiana and Illi- nois - can take out any other Big Ten team. That's why nine Big Ten teams have found their way into the top-25 polls during the course of this season. That's why, more than halfway through the year, seven teams are within one game of the Big Ten lead. It's this parity that makes the Big Ten unique - no other confer- ence has that type of competitive depth. I'm sure the player-haters are out there, get- ting ready to fire off their vicious e-mails in my direction. They say the SEC, ACC, Pac-10 and Big 12 are the toast of college football. They point to the Big Ten's generally weak noncon- ference schedules and claim that parity is a sign of weakness. For these skeptics, I've prepared a fun and informative example: the Texas Tech Red Raiders. After Texas, the Red Raiders are considered the second-best team in the Big 12 this year. How come? First of all, their "spectacular" offense put up a whopping 199 points dur- ing their three-game nonconference sched- ule. Their opponents? Florida International - ranked 118 out of 119 Division I-A teams in The Sporting News - and two Division I-AA squads: Sam Houston State (2-4) and Indiana State (0-8). The latter couldn't even beat St. Francis (Ind.), an NAIA (read: not even in the NCAA) team. Think things got much harder once the Big 12 season began? Think again. The Red Raiders faced off against Kansas, Nebraska and Kansas State. Combined, these three teams have spent a grand total of - you guessed it - zero days in this year's top-25 polls. Still, Texas Tech's efforts against these stellar opponents earned them a No. 10 ranking heading into its matchup with Texas. Of course, against their h& first real opponent of the year, the Red Raiders didn't quite live up to TT their billing, falling 52-17. ,ER It's true most teams from other .r conferences don't quite have a SFire Texas Tech-style cakewalk. SEC Al 'ng MIKE H~ iULSELBUS/Daily Safety Jamar Adams is the only player on the football team from North Carolina. trate and, under pressure, execute in a dis- ciplined way." For Adams, this season has been all about discipline. The young safety had to stay focused despite the fact that he didn't win the starting job coming out of camp. Adams battled with junior Brandent Engle- mon for the spot at strong safety, but, in the end, Englemon won out. Adams said that - through everything - he always believed he would get his opportunity. "I think, in practice, I continued to prac- tice hard and my coaches continued to push me," Adams said. "So, I knew that they believed in me and continued to push me. I knew my chance would come." For the year, Adams has 21 tackles (17 solo) plus one pass breakup and one tackle for loss. He has been solid pretty much all year, solidifying a secondary that is play- ing with just one returning starter. When Englemon went down with an injury during the Minnesota game, Adams filled in. He's had played some snaps throughout season, but his work the last couple of weeks as a starter has been a step up. He couldn't pinpoint exactly when, but Carr said he saw a change in Adams a few weeks into the season. For the first few weeks, Carr said Adams was playing tenta- tively at safety. "Somewhere along the line, it all became clear for him, and the clutter was gone and he was able to go in and play within the system," Carr said. Maybe it's another way coach English has helped to mold this Michigan Tar Heel. and ACC teams, especially, have genuinely difficult stretches built into their conference seasons. But even their schedules are much more palatable than Big Ten slates. First of all, the middle tiers of these "power" conferences are nowhere near as strong as the Big Ten's. I'd take Iowa over Clemson or Min- nesota over South Carolina any day. Also, the very structure of the Big Ten conference season makes conference play much more intimidating. Big Ten games are scheduled in a block, after the nonconference season concludes. The SEC and ACC mix nonconference games within their conference season. The result? While Michigan is forced to play six consecutive games against top-25 caliber opponents, Virginia Tech can sched- ule teams like Marshall and Ohio to provide a nice breather in the middle of its conference season. Don't get me wrong - I'm not disrespect- ing the undefeated teams in other conferences or implying that Michigan deserves to move up in the polls. What I'm saying is that, top to bottom, there is no tougher football conference than the Big Ten. Give any team in the coun- try - even Southern Cal - eight consecutive games against Big Ten opponents, and I doubt any of them come out unscathed. - Matt can be reached at mattsing@umich.edu Martin excels early in career By Bryan Hamilton Learning to be a leader is something has been reached just three other times i Daily Sports Writer that can only come with more experience Michigan volleyball history. Such num and, as the first-year player continues to bers have earned praise from coaches an n n- d k Seeing the floor; creating situations for your teammates to score; knowing where to put the ball. All are qualities vital for point guards to successfully lead their teams to victory. And though these may be the duties of basketball's floor general, they are also the responsibilities of the setter in volleyball. And this season, the Wolverines are see- ing a change of the guard at the position. Redshirt freshman Mara Martin of the Michigan women's volleyball team is the new starting setter this year - a role that she has been anxiously awaiting since her arrival in Ann Arbor last fall. As an incoming freshman in 2004, Martin had to wait for her shot at the coveted position because fifth-year senior Lisa Gamalski was finishing up her impressive career at Michigan. "It was kind of expected coming in that I would be redshirted," Martin said. "With Lisa there and all of her experi- ence, it would be tough for a freshman to take the starting spot. But it was still extremely difficult because I was always used to playing." In the unfamiliar role as spectator, Mar- tin made the best of her situation by learn- ing from someone she admired for her style of play and command of the court. "It was really helpful to be able to watch how she ran the team and was in control on the floor," Martin said. "After watching her, I knew I would want to be that kind of leader out on the floor." be shaped into her new role this season, players a like. she admits she still looks up to some of "She had a great match," coach Mar her elder teammates, such as co-captain sophomore Katie Bruzdzinski. "Katie is someone who has a lot of experience playing in big matches," Mar- tin said. "She is someone who knows how to get the job done." As it turns out, Martin - who, at 6- foot-1, is the tallest setter in Michigan volleyball history - is getting the job done herself in her inaugural season of play. The young Michigan star has start- ed in all 17 matches played this year and has accounted for nearly 90 percent of the team's total assists to date. If these num- bers are not enough indication of what Martin has accomplished so far, then her mark in Wolverine history a month ago may be. In a Sept. 16 match against Georgia, the redshirt freshman recorded a career-high 81 assists - a mark that Rosen said. "She has come so far in the last month, and her game has taken great strides. I think she has actually played better matches since then." As mentioned before, the key to being a great floor leader, basketball or vol- leyball, is the ability to make the others around you better as you continue to improve your own game - something that is essential for Martin and the rest of the Wolverines. "No question about it," Rosen said. "The success is almost parallel. As Mara improves her game, so we will improve as a team overall." Whether it's continuing to learn from hers captains, setting up her teammates for crushing spikes or merging into that leadership role, it can be expected that, as Martin rises, so will the Wolverines. EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daily Redshirt freshman Mara Martin replaced Lisa Gamalski at setter this year. $1.00 BEFORE 6:00PM - $1.50 AFTER 6:00PM TUESDAY 50C ALL SHOWS ALL DAY FOUR BROTHERS 12:453:005:257:4510:00 R MUST LOVE DOGS 12:15 2:20 7:00 PG13 WAR OF THE WORLDS 4:30 9:30 PG13 CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY 12:00 2:307:30 PG RED EYE 2:45 7:15 9:15 PG13 SKY HIGH 12:15 5:00 PG MR. & MRS. SMITH 5:00 9:45 PG13 Hey, Fresh men, Sophomores, and Juniors... .. N; ~ a