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6B - Football Saturday - Saturday, October 7, 2006
PROCRASTINATION STATION
Saturday, October 7, 2006 - Football Saturday - 3B
Varsity should keep upper hand on rivals
MICHIGAN 35
MICHIGAN ST. 21
Before every football game
this season, two of the Daily's
football writers will take the
weekend's matchup to the
PlayStation 2 and then let you
know what happened.
e Play of the game - With
Michigan up by 14, Michigan
State QB #5 looked to drive
his team to a comeback. But
his pass was picked off in the
end zone by Michigan's CB
#29, Michigan's third pick.
" Player of the game -
Michigan RB #20. The back was
"1 did think it was odd that coach
Wright was slapping himself in the
face during the post-game press
conference."
"I was a little puzzled when
the Spartans got their second
touchdown on a pass that went
right through CB #14's helmet,
but I guessthat'sjust atestament
to today's technology."
"Looks like I'll just coast into a No.
1 vs. No. 2 matchup against Ohio
State at the end of the year."
uns
yar
sco
Spa
Mic
"I d
but
love
'toppabe, picking up 18 o
ds on the ground and three Michigan State coach Kevin FILE PHOTO
res against an overmatched Wright: Senior quarterback Drew Stanton was injured during his last trip to the Big House as a sophomore. He returns to
artan front seven. Michigan Stadium this Saturday in hopes of leaving the Spartans to their first win against Michigan since 2001.
"The coaches blew it for our kids
today. They were playing a heck0
P RE SS of a game and then the coaching e 1 e1 e s 0
CONFERENCE staff didn't get the right personnel B e h i
QUOTES: on the field as my field goal got
blocked."
higan coach Scott Bell: "Coach Bell's defense is
impregnable. I don't even think
Don't want to sound arrogant, Buster Douglas could beat it." In August, Daily Sports Editor Scott Bell sat down help that team win. I would have definitely loved to have
I am absolutely unstoppable. I with a member of each of Michigan's home conference been in there, but I can't assure you that things would have
myself." "Oh, Bob Saget!" opponents. This week, we'll look at Michigan State senior been different had I been in there.
quarterback Drew Stanton. Stanton is a Heisman Trophy
and Maxwell Award candidate entering his final year in SB: Do you have friends at Michigan that you talk
DAILY SPORTS PROCRASTINATION East Lansing. trash to leading up to and during the game?
DS: LaMarr(Wooley) is really the only one that while
STATION: CORRECTLY PREDICTING Scott Bell: You've said before that last year's gas e we're playing that I'll talking to, cause he's theonly
against Michigan was a game that you should have won, one I really played against a lot. ... other than that, I don't
GAMES (SOMETIMES) SINCE 2006. and then everyone knows what happened two years ago. really know anyone well from there that still plays.
Vn>r in thiisvr Ie hn nt th bic rivnlr
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t
By Kevin Wright
Daily Sports Editor
No love is lost between Michigan and Michigan State.
With each team featuring numerous in-state players, some of
the Wolverines and Spartans have been suiting up against each
other since high school.
And the intense nature of the rivalry has showed.
There was the extra second game in 2001, when T.J. Duckett
caught a Jeff Smoker pass with one second on the clock to lead
the Spartans to a 26-24 win over then-No.6 Michigan.
Then, after a few years off from competitiveness, the drama
returnedin the two hands of Braylon Edwards,who propelledthe
Wolverines back to a triple-overtime thriller in 2004.
Last year added another extra frame and victory for Michi-
gan, who held onto the Paul Bunyan trophy with a thrilling win
at Spartan Stadium.
As Michigan State limps into the Big House tomorrow, don't
be surprised if another instant classic is on its way.
Michigan running offense vs. Michigan State running
defense
The Wolverines have used a potent running attack all season
to set up their offense and control the clock. Last week against
Minnesota,the Michigan coaching staff did an excellent job run-
ning Mike Hart early in the contest (he took the ball on the first
six snaps) to move the Gopher defense up and open the second-
ary for the deep ball. On the opposite side, the Michigan State
front seven didn't look dominating against Illinois last weekend.
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GAMES, STAFFuterildren'sceate
I & 2 Bedroor
PICKS RESULTS All2apart!
All/ apartn
AND RESULTS
FROM FRIDAY'S
FOOTBALL GAME
BETWEEN THE
MICHIGAN
DAILY AND THE
STATE NEWS. -
(IT'S GOING TO
BE A WIN.
The Fighting Illini ran for 252 yards with running backs Pierre
Thomas, Jr. and Juice Williams each rushing for more than 100
yards. Previously, the Spartans had been stout against the run,
holding three of their first four opponents to less than 100 yards
on the ground. Still, Michigan brings too much to the table with
its running game. Hart has looked nearly unstoppable so far, and
the Wolverines are going to come out and run to start the game
no matter what.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan passing offense vs. Michigan State passing
defense
With Michigan employing its running game so effectively,
opposing teams have had to load the box with eight players.
That's left a lot of room in the secondary for quarterback Chad
Henne and his receivers, especially Mario Manningham. Man-
ningham has torched opposing cornerbacks, racking up over
100 yards receiving in each of the last three games of the season.
Now, Adrian Arrington has emerged as a possession receiver.
He collected the first two touchdown catches of his career last
week. Meanwhile,the Spartan secondary didn't wow anyone, but
it hasn't been the laughing stock of the Big Ten. Michigan State
collected five interceptions in five games and allowed just Notre
Dame to pass for more than 300 yards. But if the Spartans have
to stack the box with an extra man to stop the Michigan ground
game, Henne and Manningham should have their names con-
tinually called over the loudspeaker.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan running defense vs. Michigan State running
offense
Defensive coordinator Ron English's players are at the top of
their game, and they know it. Even though they say all the right
things about opposing offenses, deep down this group - led by
a talented front four featuring future NFLers Alan Branch and
LaMarr Woodley - knows no one can beat them with the run.
What's worse for Michigan State is that starting running back
Javon Ringer won't be suiting up. (He's rushed for 438 yards in
five games). That leaves Jehuu Caulcrick as the starter, and the
Michigan defense salivating. The squad hasn't allowed a 100-yard
rusher yet this season, and don't expect it to happen tomorrow.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan passing defense vs. Michigan State passing
offense
In the fourth quarter against Minnesota, the Michigan second-
ary looked more than mortal. Gopher quarterback Bryan Cupito
found seams in the middle of the field and along the sidelines
to bring Minnesota within eight yards from making the contest
closer than it should've been. And even though Michigan coach
Lloyd Carr expects Morgan Trent to start, he is still just a week
removed from thumb surgery. On the other side, Michigan State
has one large question mark: Will quarterback Drew Stanton
play? Stanton, the spark of the Spartan offense, left the Illinois
game with bruised ribs. While he's expected to play, rumors have
been circling around that Stanton hurt more than the ribs. But if
Stanton plays and starts for Michigan State, he should be able
to exploit a recently shaky Michigan secondary, especially with
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rou re a senior: inis is your iast snot at ne Dg rivary
game. Can you just talk about what the Michigan game
will mean to you this year?
Drew Stanton: Obviously I'm looking forward to it,
but like I've said before, there are over a handful of games
before that that we have to worry about before going to
Ann Arbor. We have to take care of business first. But
an in-state rivalry is always something special, especially
with it being my last chance to go down there and play, it's
going to be something I'm definitely looking forward to.
SB: Do you embrace going into places like Michigan
Stadium and playing?
DS: I love it, I love going everywhere in the Big Ten.
The great thing about the Big Ten is you get a chance to
defend your home turf, but you also get a chance to go on
the road.... That's what makes Big Ten footballso great,
the stadiums we have, the traditions we have and just that
the gameplay is second to none.
SB: I'm sure you don't like looking in the past, but do
you ever wonder "what if' had LaMarr (Woodley) not
driven you into the ground (when the Spartans led Michi-
gan by double digits in 2004, and eventually lost in triple
overtime after Stanton left with a shoulder injury)?
DS: No, I don't think about it much, and I don't think
it's a guarantee we would have won if I was healthy. I still
think Damon (Dowdell, Stanton's replacement when he
got injured) did everything he could have possibly done to
SB: Do you look at the Michigan game as more of a
friendly rivalry, or something that is more personal?
DS: Everyone wants to play it up (in the media). Every-
body has a different storyline going into the weekend.
Yeah, I want to beat them, but I don't want to beat them
any more than I want to beat Ohio State or Penn State. I
don't think there's a difference there, it's still just a game.
SB: So the rumor going around is that you picked up
yoga in the offseason. Does it really help, or is it a way to
pick up girls?
DS: I go with my girlfriend and one of my other friends
who used to play on the team, so it's not a way to pick up
girls. It actually helps a lot with my agility. It's been a great
experience overall and my flexibility has increase tremen-
dously, with my hamstrings and my quads and things like
that. There are some things my hips can't do though, like
having both of my legs go over and do pretzel. That's just
not happening.
SB: What are some of the weird positions you've
learned there?
DS: I still don't have all of the names down, but they
have like the up dog and down dog and all that stuff, and
the half moon, there's just a whole bunch of weird names
like that. A lot of the times I don't know what they're
doing, so I just look over at the person next to me and do
what they're doing.
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