SportsMonday, September 11, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - 5B

MAIZE GAUGE
The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box-
score. The defense-o-meter measures the intensity of the defense, the Carr-o-meter judges Lloyd
Carr's demeanor following the game, and the hypemeter measures the fans' game performance.

ese

-x

I b

DEFENSE-0-METER
3 The front seven dominated for a second straight
/ week. It forced two fumbles and didn't allow
LeFevour to get comfortable in the pocket. The
LaMarr score dropped due to a few secondary lapses.
Woodleys

CARR-0-METER
2 Our buddy Lloyd wasn't doing backflips following Satur-
L day's game, but he was excited to get young players in
4 the game who gained "invaluable experience." He's also
Lloyd relieved to get through this stretch without major injuries.
Carrs

HYPEMETER
3/4 Probably a third of you left when the rain started pouring
/ down. But those that stayed were champions, celebrat-
/ ing nature's wet fury as only college students could. The
Student result was a fun atmosphere for a pretty crappy game.
T-shirts

STAFF PICKS
Predictions against the
spread for Sept. 9
Central Michigan (+28) at No. 10 Michigan
No. I Ohio State (+3) at No. 2 Texas
No. 19 Penn State (+8) atNo. 4 Notre Dame
No. 4 Auburn (-20.5) at Mississippi State
Central Florida (+23) at No. 7 Florida
Arizona (+16.5) at No. 8 Louisiana State
Troy (+30) at No. 9 Florida State
Air Force (+20) at No. 11 Tennessee
No. 12 Georgia (-3.5) at South Carolina
No. 13 Louisville (-39) at Temple
No. 14 Iowa (-19) at Syracuse
Washington (+17) at No. 15 Oklahoma
No. 16 Virginia Tech (-13) at North Carolina
No. 18 Clemson (-3) at Boston College
No. 20 Oregon (-5) at Fresno State
Minnesota (+9) at No. 22 California
No. 24 Texas Tech (-.75) at UTEP
Nevada (+14.5) at No. 25 Arizona State
Best Bet
Record

Matt Kevin
Singer Wright

;:
,:
may.,
__ .

Scott
Bell

Central Michigan
Ohio State
Notre Dame
Auburn
Florida
Louisiana State
Troy
Tennessee
Georgia
Temple
Syracuse
Oklahoma
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Fresno State
California
UTEP
Nevada
Clemson
12-5-1(0-1)

Michigan
Texas
Penn State
Auburn
Florida
Louisiana State
Troy
Air Force
South Carolina
Temple
Syracuse
Washington
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Fresno State
California
UTEP
Nevada
Nevada
9-8-1(0-1)

Central Michigan
Texas
Notre Dame
Mississippi State
Florida
Louisiana State
Florida State'
Tennessee
South Carolina
Louisville
Iowa
Washington
Virginia Tech
Boston College
Fresno State
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
California
9-8-1(1-0)

Central Michigan
Texas
Penn State
Auburn
Florida
Louisiana State
Troy
Tennessee
Georgia
Louisville
Iowa
Washington
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Fresno State
California
Texas Tech
Nevada
Virginia Tech
9-&1(1-0)

Marching Band Director
Michigan
Texas
Notre Dame
Auburn
Florida
Louisiana State
Troy
Tennessee
Georgia
Temple
Iowa
Washington
Virginia Tech
Clemson
Oregon
California
Texas Tech
Arizona State
Texas
10-7-1(0-1)

Bell takes early lead; Nix makes celebrities proud
All five prognosticators started off on their staff picks journey by beginning above the .500 mark. Bell did the best of the bunch, and Nix
gave the celebrities a launching pad to overtake the Daily beat writers. Even though Bell picked correctly 12 times, he failed to come through
on his best bet, which Kevin and Stephanie did. After taking a lot of heat about his preseason picks, Kevin decided that darkhorse California
will always be his best bet.

STUDENTS
Continued from page 1B
After about 20 minutes, the rain less-
ened, but an announcement that the
delay would last at least 40 more min-
utes cleared out even more fans. The
festivities went on undeterred.
The football team's student manag-
ers took advantage of the empty field
to play touch football on the Michigan
Stadium turf.
The Big House's video screens, usu-
ally used for real-time game video and
replays, were taken over by the Weather
Channel's radar feed, which showed a
line of storms moving through the Ann
Arbor area.
Meanwhile, the real Michigan foot-
ball team was trying to stay fresh dur-
ing its unplanned break.
"We did nothing," senior linebacker
Max Pollock said. "We sat around the
locker room. It was pretty early in the
game, so there weren't a lot of coaching
points to make. So we pretty much just
sat around and try to stay focused on the
game. ... No cards, no poker, nothing
like that. No TV. We just stayed focused
on what we had to do."
CENTRAL
Continued from page 1B
ground total was overshadowed by a disap-
pointing 134 yards through the air, which
followed up last week's 135-yard passing
performance.
Even though Michigan totaled 41 points
for the game, none of them were a product
of the passing game. Four ground scores
combined with senior linebacker Max
Pollock's interception return for a touch-
down in the fourth quarter accounted for
Michigan's five touchdowns. The Wolver-
ines' leading receivers were Mario Man-
ningham and tight end Carson Butler,
with a measly 27 and 26 yards receiving,
respectively.
Michigan struggled with the pass on
defense, too. Although the defense's per-
formance overall was strong for the second
straight week, there were a few lapses against
Central Michigan's high-flying offense.
The Chippewas got their first score on a
38-yard touchdown connection from quar-
terback Dan LeFevour to Justin Gardner. A
second touchdown came midway through the
fourth quarter when LeFevour found Damien
Linson on a three-yard pass. The score came
two plays after Michigan was penalized
for having too many men on the field when
defensive coordinator Ron English ordered

About 45 minutes after the initial
delay, Michigan kicker Garrett Rivas
led the Wolverines' specialists back
onto the field for warmups, sparking a
healthy round of cheers from the Michi-
gan faithful. The alumni sections quick-
ly filled back up, while the remaining
students in the upper rows rushed to fill
the seats of their less-committed coun-
terparts, who left early to dry off and
enjoy the comforts of home.
After an NCAA-mandated 10-minute
warm-up period, the sun returned and
the Wolverine offense finally took the
field. Michigan picked up right where
it left off, running junior Mike Hart off
the left side for a five-yard gain. The
Wolverines would score later on the
drive, take a 14-0 lead, and never look
back on their way to a 41-17 victory.
Although the game itself wasn't any-
thing special, the bizarre weather-relat-
ed circumstances made the otherwise
typical non-conference game at Michi-
gan Stadium a day to remember.
"(The weather delay) was unbeliev-
able," redshirt junior guard Adam
Kraus said. "It was the weirdest thing
ever. It was the first time I've ever (been
through) something like that."
the first-team players to substitute in for the
second-teamers in a goal-line situation.
"Out of nowhere, Coach E called the first
team up, and (there was) a lot of confusion
and a lot of miscommunication," senior
linebacker David Harris said. "A lot of us
thought we were done because he took us
out earlier. A lot of guys were relaxing on
the sideline and not paying attention."
But as a whole, the defense was
impressive once again. Woodley fueled
the attack once more, picking up another
multi-sack game on the still-young sea-
son. The Saginaw native also forced and
recovered a fumble to go along with his
two sacks - the forced fumble ending
Central Michigan's opening drive in the
red zone.
The Chippewas had just 16 yards rush-
ing on 21 attempts for the day and commit-
ted three turnovers.
With another solid defensive perfor-
mance and a consistent ground attack
under their belts, the big question heading
into next weekend's clash with Notre Dame
will be whether or not the passing game
can surface when needed.
"For Notre Dame, we're going to have to
be a lot more balanced," Henne said. "We're
going to have to throw the ball and keep
running. They're going to stop the run, so
we're going to have to pass the ball."

THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL

8. Texas: There's no shame in losing to a team like
Ohi Sste bstthe way the Longhorns lostcertainly
raises ssmeered flags.Txas seemedeoveewhetmed
by the Buckeyes' attack and has some regroupingto
do if it wants to getback tothe top of the rankings.

3. Southern Cal: While fellow top-10 teams
Ohio State and Notre Dame were taking on
tough opponents, the Trojans were maxing and
relaxing during week two. They'll return to action
this week against a decent Nebraska squad.

10. Michigan: The Wolverines snuck into
the top 10 thanks to Florida State's near-loss
£ to Troy. But Michigan's stay in the rankings
will be short-lived unless Mike Hart & Co.
take care of business in South Bend.

5. West Virginia: It's aetrend we should all getrused
to - the Mountaineers blew out another horrendous
opponentlast week. Against Division I-AA opponent
Eastern Washington, runningback Steve Slaton put
up silly numbers, running for 13.1 yards per carry.

MINOR
Continued from page 4B
for 34 yards.
"I felt great today," Minor said.
"Coach always teaches poise under
pressure. So I just had to keep my poise
and not feed into the crowd when they
started oohhing."
CLASS REUNION: Even though many
fans may have been looking past Central
Michigan to next week's showdown in
South Bend, offensive coordinator Mike
DeBord had to deal with a different kind
of distraction: Facing the team he used
to lead.
"It was an interesting week," DeBord
said. "I tried to keep my mind really on
the game planning and what I had to do
with our offense. Then when I walked
out there today, it hit me."
After guiding the Wolverine offense
during the 1997 national-championship
season, DeBord left to assume the head
coach position at Central Michigan in
2000. He returned to the Wolverines
to coach special teams in 2004 and

switched over to offensive coordinator
this season.
"There's obviously emotions there,"
DeBord said. "I don't think you're human if
there aren't.... I'm really happy for them.
I'm happy for what they've been able to get
in the program now that we were fighting
for at the time (I was there)."
INJURY UPDATE: Tight end Tyler Ecker
left the game in first half of Saturday's
contest with an apparent injury. He was
seen sitting on the sideline with his hel-
met off and didn't return to the field.
He finished the day with one catch for
8 yards.
Linebacker Chris Graham didn't suit
up after pulling a muscle in last week's
game against Vanderbilt. Michigan
coach Lloyd Carr said he hoped Graham
would return to action next week.
Defensive end Eugene Germany
didn't dress but is expected to practice
on Monday.
As for freshman Carlos Brown, he saw
limited action on Saturday. The coach-
es originally feared he had contracted
mononucleosis but now believe he just
had a case of strep throat.

HAVE QUESTIONS
FOR THE DAILY
FOOTBALL
WRITERS?
E-MAIL THEM
AT SPORTS
MICHIGANDAILY.
COM WITH YOUR
QUESTIONS,
AND CHECK OUR
BLOG AT WWW.
MICHIGANDAILY.
COM FOR
ANSWERS.

i

f