W~ 'V WV 'V WV 'V W W W W W Ell W - m w W ! W w w w _ # v w w lw 2B - Football Saturday - The Michigan Daily - October 21, 2006 2006 Depth Ch art S. J. S sS S.1 ams L. I R Breaston 2006 Michigan Schedule FS R. Mundy B. Englemon J. Ad W. Barringer CB WILL MIKE SAM L. Hall P. Burgess D. Harris S. Crable B. Harrison C. Graham J. Thompson B. Logan DE DT DT DE R. Biggs T. Taylor A. Branch L. Woodley T. Jamison W. Johnson M. Walton J. Van Alstyne Sears PR Breaston I Hall M.Trent J. Sears W R TE LT M. Massey J. Long B. Thompson M. Ortmann WR A. Arrington C. Tabb LG C A. Kraus M. Bihl J. Ciulla D. Moosman QB C. Henne J. Forcier LB 0. Oluigbo W. Paul RG RT A. Mitchell R. Riley J. Schifano C. Zirbel . reaston G. Mathews S Vanderbilt (Sept. 2), W 27-7: "Bend, don't break" can't be used to describe the defense after this impressive performance. Michigan allowed just 171 yards of total offense and sacked the quarterback six times. Somewhere Jim Herrmann is crying. Central Michigan (Sept. 9), W 41-17: Thunder and lightning didn't stop the Wolverines from trouncing the Chippewas at the Big House. Mike Hart ran all over Central's D for three touchdowns, and LaMarr Woodley picked up two sacks for the second straight week. Notre Dame (Sept. 16), W 47-21: The Fighting Irish came into this one with the national media singing their praises, but it was Michigan who emerged victorious. The Wolverines dominated every facet of the game, but Mario Manningham's three scores stole the show Wisconsin (Sept. 23) W 27-13: Michigan took its time in this one, toying with the Badgers and giving them hope. Then Chad Hence, Mario Mannigham and the Michigan defense put the pedal to the metal and buried Wisconsin, picking up revenge after last season's heartbreaking loss at Camp Randall. Minnesota (Sept. 30) W 28-14: In 2005, the Golden Gophers stormed Michigan Stadium's turf and planted their flag after beating the Wolverines. This year, Michigan took back the Little Brown Jug with a bit more class, marching slowly toward the Minnesota sideline and celebrating as a team. Michigan State (Oct. 7) W 31-13: After two straight years of exciting finishes, this season's Michigan-Michigan State matchup pretty much stunk. The Wolverines proved they won't let an emotional rivalry game derail their undefmated year. The Spartans pmoved they can't control theiremotions. Well done John L. Well done. Penn State (Oct. 14) W 17-10: Everyone knew Michigan's defensive line was good. Knocking Penn State's top two quarterbacks out of the game is simply ridiculous. The front four's hits were so hard, neither Nittany Lion signal-caller had been cleared to practice as of Wednesday. Welcome lathe big leagues Paul Cianciolo. Iowa (Oct. 21): Thanks to Iowa's recent success, the Big Ten is now the Big Three and Little Eight. This year might bea little different. The Hawkeyes dropped a disappointing game to Indiana last week, so it's unclear which Iowa team will show up in Ann Arbor. One thing is certain: Drew Tate is shaking in his cleats. Northwestern (Oct. 28): Northwestern loves to be Big Ten giant killers, and the Wolverines are no strangers to losing an "easy" game against the Wildcats. This will be the final Big Ten game played at the Big House this season, and you can expect the outgoing seniors will want to go out on top. Ball State (Nov. 4): Although Ball State is David Letterman's alma mater, there won't be anything funny about this game. Michigan should continue its dominance of the Mid- American Conference in this late-season nonconference game. Indiana (Nov. 11): Coach Terry Hoeppner claims the new team motto is "If you can run, you can play," emphasizing team speed. What he really means is that if you can functionally ran, you can play because this team is awful. How the hell did it beat Iowa last week? Ohio State (Nov. 18): The Horseshoe will be rocking, as this game will most likely have Big Ten championship implications and possible national title implications. If Lloyd Carrcan win this one on the road, he may consider dropping the extra "L" in his name. Saturday October 21, 2006 - The Michigan Daily - Football Saturday - 7B STAFF PICKS Predictions against the spread for Oct. 21 Former Michigan center and '96 team MVP Rod Payne takes on the football writers. The Super - Bowl Champion co-wrote a Scott Matt Kevin Stephanie Rod book, "Centered by a Miracle." Bell Singer Wright Wright Payne Iowa (+14) at No. 2 Michigan Iowa Iowa Michigan Michigan Michigan - Indiana (+30.5) at No. 1 Ohio State Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana Indiana No. 4 West Virginia (-23 )at Connecticut West Virginia WesthirieaWestVirie West Virginia West Virginia No. 5 Texas (-7) at No. 17 Nebraska Texas Texas Nebraska Texas Texas No. 6 Louisville (-17) at Syracuse Louisville Syracuse Louisville Louisville Louisville Alabama (+11) at No. 7 Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Tennessee Alabama Tulane (+32) at No. 8 Auburn Tulane Auburn Tulane Tulane Auburn UCLA (+14) at No. 10 Notre Dame Notre Dame UCLA UCLA Notre Dame Notre Dame washington (+23) at No. 11 California California Washington Califomia Washington California No. 13 Ga. Tech (+7.5) at No. 12 Clemson Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Georgia Tech Fresno State (+33) at No. 14 LSU Fresno State Fresno State Fresno State Fresno State Louisiana State Mississippi (+19) at No. 15 Arkansas Arkansas Mississippi Arkansas Arkansas Mississippi No. 16 Oregon (-4) at Washington State Oregon Dregon Washinge n State regon Oregon No. 18 Boise State -211 at Idaho Boise State Idabs Boise State Btise State Boise State No. 10 Rutgers (+6.5) at Pittsburgh Pi burgh utgers Pit urghRtgets Pitther Colorado (+14) at No. 20 Oklahoma Okahoma ColradoaColorado Oklahoma Oklahoma No. 21 Wisconsin (-6.5) at Purdue Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin No. 22 Boston College (E) at Florida State Florida State Florida State Florida State Florida State Florida State No. 23 TexasA&M (-3) at OklahomaState Texas A&M Texas A&M TeasA&M Texas A&M Texas A&M Kansas State (+16) at No. 24 Missouri Missouri Kansas State Missour Kansas State Missouri Illinois (+18) at Penn State Penn State Penn State Illinois Penn State Penn State Michigan State (-7) at Northwestern Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Michigan State Best Bet WestVirginia Oregon California Tennessee Indiana G. Rivas p RB Z. Mesko M. Hart R. Ryan K. Grady 175 U FOOTBALL SATURDAY PRODUCTION CREW Scott Bell Matt Singer Kevin Wright Stephanie Wright Football Writers Dent M. Fresard Edirin Chief Jack Hesman ManagingSports Editor Jeffrey Bloomer Managing Editor Alex Dziadosz Mike Hulsebus Managing Photo Editors Mike Hulsebus Cover Alez Dziadosz Cover Photos Alexis Floyd Business Manager Robert Chin Display Sales Manager Ben Schrotenboer Assoc. Display Sales Manager David Dai Special Project Manager Special thanksto: BrettCrawford, Lisa Gentile, Bridget O'Donnell B ELL II'dhbe secretly fist neath the desk in the Continued from page 3B ing Michigan games No. 2 battle with Ohio State. But them to victory like this is Michigan. We have to throw Come on, who do yc a loss or two in there sometime, And hey, peoplei right? The Alamo Bowl probably easy to make tin foi doesn't even want teams with good not. On top of that, records playing in it. sive these days....r Now, luckily, I'm an impartial one or anything ... journalist and not a Michigan fan, Thank God I has because if I were a Michigan fan, I'd to this team, becaus have to start being superstitious, too. to go down this wet I'd have to start picking against hard. Stupid Michig Michigan purposely in Staff Picks don't even know wh to reverse jinx them. How juvenile Oh, what's that? would that be? (Don't look up.) 3in the BCS? And BREAKDOWN Continued from page 3B Mesko should be able to bounce back now that the Wol- verines return home. ForIowaKyle Schlicher remains a solid college kicker. He is 19-for-20 on the season. In clutch situations, Schli- cher has an edge, but with Michigan's return and kicking games, field position should favor the Wolverines. Edge: Push Intangibles -pumping under- press box dur- s,trying to will any other fan. tou think I am? may think it's l hats, but it's tin foil is expen- not like I have ve no allegiances se they're bound ek, and go down gan fans, they hat's coming. Michigan is No. in the ESPN/ USA Today poll? Hmm. Texas was No.2in the AP Top 25 for all of last season and didn't falter at all? Hmm. Michigan is a much better team than Iowa? Crap. I hate it when facts inter- fere with media-driven hogwash. It's no fair. All right, I was just kidding ear- lier. Is there still room on the band- wagon for me? - Bell can be reached atscotteb@ umich.edu. Michigan returns to the Big House after a huge road victory at Beaver Stadium, and Iowa is coming off an extremely deflating loss to Indiana in Bloomington. Even though Iowa should be fired up to come out and avenge the loss, the Hawkeyes have to go on the road again. Michigan might be tempted to start looking ahead toward the end-of-the-season showdown with Ohio State, but this team has been in the spotlight for the last few weeks. It knows how to handle the pressure, and it's still on a mis- sion. Look for the Wolverines to take care of business. Edge: Michigan Michigan 31, Iowa 14 I