Friday October 28, 2005 sports.michigandaily. com sports@michigandaily.com (Th e irbiigau Ba il PORTCS 8 . . . ......... . Final road test on tap for Varsity By Stephanie Wright Daily Sports Editor Michigan and Northwestern are two clear examples of how unpredictable the Big Ten has been this season. After under- achieving to start their season, the Wolverines are barely in the Big Ten race. After failing to receive a single vote in the pre- season AP poll, the Wildcats are one of four one-loss teams at the top of the conference. With a 3-1 conference record, Northwestern will earn at least a share of the Big Ten title if it wins its final four games. But Michigan wants to spoil Northwestern's;relatively clear road to the title and keep its own hopes alive in the process. Michigan passing offense vs. Northwestern passing defense: Michigan quarterback Chad Henne appears to have snapped out of his sophomore slump and turned the corner for good. He completed 14-of-21 passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns against a solid Iowa defense last weekend. Half of Henne's completions went to senior co-captain Jason Avant, who has nearly kept pace with Braylon Edwards's receiving numbers from a year ago. Michigan's receivers should be licking their chops at the chance to face the Wildcats' struggling pass defense. But the one thing the Wildcats know how to do is notch interceptions. Northwestern leads the conference with 12, and three Wildcats defenders have at least two picks. Henne has thrown just four interceptions this season, though, and the Wolverines should have little trouble against the Wildcat secondary. Edge: Michigan Michigan rushing offense vs. Northwestern rushing defense: The Wildcats aren't much better against the run. Their rushing defense ranks 10th in the Big Ten. But North- western has improved against the run as the season has progressed. The Wildcats have held their opponents under 200 yards rushing in three of their past four contests. Still, Michigan's deep backfield should be a tough test for the Wildcats. The Wolverines managed to gain 122 yards on the ground last week without Mike Hart. Freshman Kevin Grady received the bulk of the car- ries, but junior Jerome Jackson stepped up late in the game, gaining 44 yards on 11 carries. Hart's health is a concern, but the Wolverines' three- headed monster of Jackson, Grady and Max Martin should expose Northwestern's weakness against the Mike Hart, battling injuries, is questionable for tomorrow's matchup with Northwestern. run if called upon. Young to gain 153 yards ICE HOCKEY Blue prepares for grueling 9 - * Fairbanks trip By Dan Levy Daily Sports Writer Five games into this season, the No. 1 Michigan hockey team has once again established itself as a national power. A win over then-No. 5 Boston College and a tie with No. 10 Michigan State have high- lighted the team's 4-0-1 record and resulted in a climb in the polls from No.7 to the top. But those five games all had something in common - they were all played at Yost Ice Arena. This weekend, the Wolverines will go on the road for the first time all year - and this is no quick bus ride. Michigan will travel to Alaska to take on No. 20 Alaska-Fairbanks for their first test away from Ann Arbor. "It's a four-hour time change," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "There's no question it's a tough way to make your first road trip." The Nanooks (2-1-1) offer a unique road challenge besides the usual rowdy fans and unfamiliar surroundings. Alaska-Fairbanks plays on an Olympic-sized rink, which features different dimensions than Yost. "The rink is wider, not longer," Berenson said. "You have to make sure you don't get caught out of position, especially defensively." The wider rink allows Alaska-Fairbanks coach Tavis MacMillan to build his team around speed to create a deadly offensive attack. If Michigan finds itself out of position, it may also find itself behind on the scoreboard. "Tavis MacMillan has put his own style in there, and they are more of an offensive attack team," Berenson said. "They still have a big team, but now they have a skating team." Despite skating to two relatively easy 5-2 wins over the Nanooks last year, the Wolverines are aware that this year's Alaska-Fairbanks team is very dangerous. The Nanooks brought in a large freshman class last year. Now sophomores, they provide a strong base for an attack that has already knocked off one No. 1 team this year - Alas- ka-Fairbanks beat Minnesota 4-3 on the road to begin the season. "That big freshman class are now all sophomores," Berenson said. "They have a good nucleus." The most important sophomore for Alaska-Fairbanks is undoubt- edly goaltender Wiley Rogers. He posted a solid 2.88 goals against average last year and has improved that number to 1.97 early this sea- son. "They have good goalkeeping," Berenson said. "Wiley Rogers is as good as anybody in the league." With half the team playing its first road game for the Maize and Blue, it will be up to the Wolverines' more experienced players to step up their games and provide leadership in a hostile environment. "We've got some veteran players on this team that have been on this team when we've been really good on the road," Berenson said. "They'll be counted on more on the road than at home." . The Wolverines have given up an average of 153.4 yards on the ground per game, which doesn't bode well if they attempt to stop Sutton tomorrow. Edge: Michigan Northwestern passing offense vs. Michigan passing defense: Wildcats quarterback Brett Basanez's name has started to appear on a number of Heisman watch lists, and with good reason. Basanez has thrown for 2,181 yards in seven games, leading all Big Ten quarterbacks. Michigan boasts the second-best pass defense in the Big Ten. Although Iowa quarterback Drew Tate completed 27-of-39 pass attempts for 288 yards and two touchdowns last week, the Wol- verines got constant pressure throughout the second half. Basanez has been sacked just five times in seven games, and it will be hard for Michigan to slow down what coach Lloyd Carr said is the best offense his team will face this season. Edge: Northwestern Northwestern rushing offense vs. Michigan rushing defense: Northwestern's running game has been just as explosive, thanks to tailback Tyrell Sutton. With 970 yards in seven games, the freshman ranks second in the Big Ten in rush- ing yards per contest. Northwestern posted 200 yards on the ground against both Penn State and Michigan State. Those numbers figure to loom large in the mind of a Wol- verine defense that has struggled against the run this season. Last weekend, Michigan allowed Hawkeyes tailback Albert Edge: Northwestern £ Special teams: Michigan receiver Steve Breaston has re-emerged as one of the Big Ten's premier return specialists after a slow start early this season. After recovering from a hamstring injury, he now leads the Big Ten in total yards gained on kickoff returns. But Northwestern has an electric return specialist of its own. Marquice Cole leads the Big Ten with an average of 27 yards per punt return. Edge: Push *6* Intangibles: Michigan carries its first multi-game winning streak of the season into its final road game, but thanks to the parity in the Big Ten this year, the Wolverines still have a lot to play for. But Northwestern also has a bit of history on its side. In 2004, the Wildcats upset Ohio State under the lights in Evan- ston. Memories of that win and the chance for a conference title will motivate Northwestern at home. I Edge: Northwestern A Pick: Northwestern 31, Michigan 30 Spikers stay focused on tourney By Jacob Wolf For the Daily In a season of ups and downs, a young Michigan volleyball team proved last Sat- urday what it is capable of accomplishing. Spirits were high after an impressive win over No. 7 Wisconsin (8-2 Big Ten, 16- 3 overall), the highest-ranked opponent that Michigan has defeated this year. Yet, as the second half of the Big Ten season approaches, Michigan (4-6, 10- 9) knows that there is still a lot of work to do. The Wolverines' performance in the team's final 10 games will ultimately determine whether they will participate in the NCAA tournament for the fourth straight year. An overall winning record is necessary to qualify for the postseason. "Because there is no Big Ten tourna- ment, our backs are really against the wall," coach Mark Rosen said. "Any- thing less than going six and four in our remaining 10 games will put things in doubt.:' Prior to the Wisconsin game, the Wolverines scored an impressive win on Sept. 21 in their Big Ten opener on the road against rival Michigan State. The team then improved to 9-5 before drop- ping four straight three-game matches. "We really stagnated and can't afford that," Rosen said. "We are young, but I don't want to use that as an excuse. We have to keep getting better every day." A record close to .500 may not be what the Wolverines hoped for, but six of their nine losses have come against Candace Gay and defensive specialist Megan Knoebel are the only seniors on a team that graduated four players last year - all-Big Ten performer Lisa Gamalski, team captain Sarah Allen, Alicia Boswell and Jennifer Gandolph, who is Michigan's all-time leader in kills and digs. "Youth has been a big obstacle to over- come," Rosen said. "For people to learn how to lead in their own way is difficult." With each practice and game, the team gains experience, and wins - such as the one over Wisconsin - bolster confidence. "Last Saturday, everything finally clicked together,"junior Erin Cobler said. In addition to picking up a needed win, the Wisconsin game showed Rosen a style of play that proved the team's level of determination. In a normal game, the winning team can expect seven to nine kills. In the fifth game of Saturday's match, the Wolverines had 13 kills. "To get 13 (kills), it showed how well the team was playing," Rosen said. "We flat out won the game on kills, which says a lot about how we approached the match." Said Raschke: "We've been trying to gel and find chemistry. This match really did that for us." The team hopes to continue the momentum starting Friday night at Pur- due, who defeated the Wolverines in Ann Arbor on Oct. 8. "We can never feel comfortable with where we are," Cobler said. "We must keep progressing and continue to work hard every day." 0 Wr MIKE HULSEBUS/Daily Lisa Gamalski was one of four key players who graduated last year. ranked opponents. "The tough schedule was a good thing, because those are the same types of teams we will face in the postseason," freshman Elizabeth Raschke said. The team's lack of experience has hin- dered Michigan thus far. Middle blocker (M NOTES Tankers stumble in season opener to Cal The Michigan women's swimming and diving team struggled yesterday in its season opener, losing 167-128 at home against California. The Wol- verines, who trailed by as many as 72 points at one time, closed the gap toward the end of the meet by taking eight first-place and second-place finishes in the last five events. The Wolverines claimed both div- ing events, with sophomore Elyse Lee grabbing first place in the one-meter MAIZE AND BLUE SCRIMMAGE TOMORROW The Michigan men's basketball team will hold its annual open scrimmage for fans tomorrow night at Crisler Arena. Along with free admission, the team is offering con- tests and ticket giveaways for fans. The scrimmage begins at 6 p.m. and postgame autograph and photograph opportunities will be available. Also following the game, the Michigan vs. Northwestern football game will be shown on Crisler Arena's big screen as well. While admission is free, the Wol- verines are requesting that all fans donate at least $1 to Hurricane Katri areif EU IMY U N 1010U=miU U ulA U =- U U aN -U L I