The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
Friday, November 10, 2006 - 9
Blue one away
from Bucks
Lewis, Hoosiers
could scare M'
By SCOTT BELL
and KEVIN WRIGHT
Daily Sports Editors
One more win.
That's all Michigan needs
to head into Columbus with an
undefeated record and a shot at
the Big Ten Championship and a
possible National Championship
bid on the line.
But before the Wolverines
turn their focus to Ohio State,
they have to take care of business
against an upstart Indiana team
that has already surprised Iowa
and is one win away from its first
bowl bid since 1993.
Michigan rushing offense
vs. Indiana rushing defense
With Michigan, it's the same
story every week. The Wolver-
ines are going to run, whether or
not the opposition puts eight men
in the box. Michigan coach Lloyd
Carr doesn't care, especially after
he hammered in improving the
running game as a must before
the season. And the commitment
has paid off. Junior Mike Hart has
racked up 1,281 yards on the sea-
son, and the Wolverines' ground
attack totaled 352 yards against
Ball State last week. Meanwhile,
the Indiana defense gives up an
average of 170.6 yards on the
ground per game.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan passing offense
vs. Indiana passing defense
Now that quarterback Chad
Henne has his favorite target wide,
receiver Mario Manningham,
back, look for the Wolverine pass-
ing attack to return to its early-
season form. The last few weeks,
Michigan struggled to stretch the
field without a deep-ball threat.
As Manningham works himself
back into the lineup and Adrian
Arrington continues emerging,
Michigan will able to throw at will
- especially with Indiana forced
to stop the run.
Edge: Michigan
Michigan rushing defense
vs. Indiana rushing offense
The stats speak for themselves.
Michigan is No. 1 in the nation
against the rush, and the Wol-
verines are on pace to break the
record for fewest yards allowed
on the ground during a season.
The defense has let just one back
to rush for more than 100 yards
against them so far, and don't
expect Indiana to be the second.
Even though the Hoosiers aver-
age more than 100 rushing yards
per game, they rely more heavily
on the passing attack to move the
ball.
Edge: Michigan
Indiana passing offense vs.
Michigan passing defense
The Wolverine passingdefense
was exposed last weekend - kind
of. Yes, Michigan allowed two
long touchdown passes against
lowly Ball State, but don't be too
swayed by this stat: Michigan's
first-string defense was respon-
sible for allowing just three of
the Cardinals' 26 points.
Indiana super frosh Kellen
Lewis has emerged as a super-
star in the making as the signal
caller for the improving Hoo-
siers. His arm, coupled with the
receiving prowess of last year's
freshman All-American James
Hardy, gives Indiana a potent
aerial attack.
But Michigan's front seven
gets constant pressure on oppos-
ing quarterbacks, and Davis will
have to rely on his legs to buy time
against a ferocious pass rush.
Edge: Push
By STEPHANIE WRIGHT
DailySports Editor
Usually a Big Ten doormat, Indi-
ana has made quite the turnaround
this year.
The Hoosiers finished last season
with just one conference win, a 36-13
victory over fellow bottom-dweller
Illinois.
With two games left in its 2006
campaign, Indiana has already tri-
pled its Big Ten win total from a year
ago, and sits one victory away from
earning its first trip to a bowl game
since 1993.
No. 2 Michigan could have its
hands full tomorrow when it goes for
its 15th straight win over the Hoo-
siers.
"They've proven that they can
make some big plays and knock off
some big opponents," said defensive
end Jeremy Van Alstyne, who grew
up 45 minutes north of Bloomington
in Greenwood, Ind. "They're having a
great season."
Indiana can thank quarterback
Kellen Lewis for that.
In his last five contests, includ-
ing all three of the Hoosiers' Big Ten
wins, Lewis has amassed 1,383 all-
purpose yards and 11 touchdowns.
His 255-yard, three-touchdown per-
formance in Indiana's surprising 31-
28 win over then-No. 15 Iowa on Oct.
14 earned him co-Big Ten Offensive
Player of the Week honors.
Even though the Hoosiers (3-3 Big
Ten, 5-5 overall) struggled against
Minnesota last weekend (the Golden
Gophers pummeled Indiana, 63-26),
Lewis set a career high with 396 total
yards.
"I think this young quarterback,
Kellen Lewis, is destined for star-
dom," Michigan coach Lloyd Carr
said. "He's got great ability to run the
football, but I think he's even more
impressive as a passer. He's got a
great release, a strong arm, and (he's)
a guy that has really brought this
team together."
Not bad for a player who expected
to see the field on just a handful of
trick plays when the season began.
A redshirt freshman, Lewis start-
ed the year as Indiana's third-string
signal caller. Then the Hoosiers lost
both of their top quarterbacks (Blake
Powers and Graeme McFarland) by
halftime of their second game, and
Lewis was thrown into the starting
lineup.
He's had college football buzzing
ever since.
"We know that he's a very good
quarterback," said linebacker Chris
Graham, who hails from Indianapo-
lis. "Just sit yourself down and watch
the games that he played in - he's a
very good leader for their team."
Even so, Lewis probably wouldn't
have made such a splash without
Indiana's standout receiving corps.
The Hoosiers' top seven receivers are
each averaging at least nine yards per
catch, and they've all grabbed a mini-
mum of 14 passes.
But redshirt sophomore James
Hardy is unquestionably the star.
Rivals.com named him to its fresh-
man All-Americateam lastyear after
he caught 61 passes for 893 yards and
10 touchdowns, and a number of sea-
son-preview magazines placed him
on their preseason All-Big Ten first
teams this year.
Even with so many Indiana receiv-
ers nabbing balls, Hardy has amassed
534 yards and nine touchdowns on 38
receptions this year.
"He's definitely going to be one of
the biggest, one of the hardest guys
I've gone against this year, and same
with the other corners," senior cor-
nerback Leon Hall said. "He is defi-
nitely a special talent."
Indiana's big-play ability might be
striking a little extra fear into Michi-
gan's defense after its sluggish show-
See HOOSIERS, Page 10
Junior running back Mike Hart will look to addto his 1,281 yards for the season
as the-Wolverines take on Indiana tomorrow.
Special teams
Carr sang the praises of Hoo-
sier return man Marcus Thigpen,
calling him the fastest player
in the Big Ten. His speed gives
Indiana an edge over Michigan
in the kick return game, where
Michigan's Steve Breaston hasn't
yet shown the explosiveness of
years past.
But give Michigan the nod in
the kicking department. Kick-
er Garrett Rivas finally added
some hardware to his mantle
after picking up Big Ten Special
Teams Player of the Week honors
on Monday. He will look to add
to his 339 career points, which
broke Michigan's all-time mark.
Edge: Michigan
Intangibles
Both teams have a lot to play
for. Michigan needs to right
the ship after struggling in its
last few games. With their big
matchup against Ohio State on
the horizon, the Wolverines will
look to send a message to their
rivals.
But Indiana is fighting for
bowl eligibility. After years of
mediocrity, the Hoosiers finally
have a chance of breaking into
the postseason. Sitting at 5-5,
Indiana needs to win one of its
final two games. The Hoosiers
would just as soon get that task
out of the way on Saturday.
Edge: Push
Michigan 31, Indiana 17
Cagers open season with reunion
By H. JOSE BOSCH for the season (12 point
Daily Sports Editor Wolverine seniors C
Petway have to be aw
This weekend, the Blue Devils are in town and shiftier counterparts w
Michigan basketball coach Tommy Amaker will ing out down low. Desp
be celebrating a reunion. Blue Devils out-reboun
Unfortunately for the fans, these Blue Devils season, and under hea
hail from Central Connecticut State, not Duke, man, the team has out-
and Amaker will reunite with a former assistant, for eight straight seasoi
Eastern Michigan coach Charles Ramsey, not his The key to the rebou
college teammates. guards. Against the sm
The Wolverines hope to start a streak similar Dion Harris and Reed
to last season's 7-0 start when they open their third, respectively, in ri
2006-07 season against Central Connecticut Amaker attributed
State on the first day of this weekend's John a smaller team to sho
Thompson Challenge at Crisler Arena. instead of banging bodi
The matchup marks the first time the two translate into long rel
schools have played each other. rebounding abilities be
The Blue Devils start a small lineup; their tall- those of the forwards.
est player is 6-foot-7 forward Jemino Sobers. In Michigan will playtv
the Wolverines' first exhibition game, they faced end during the John'
a similar opponent in Wayne State, which also Saturday afternoon, th
didn't have a player taller than 6 foot 7. off against Davidson.
But Central Connecticut State's best player The Wildcats are co:
could still pose a threat in the paint despite his which included their'
small stature (for a forward). Senior Obie Nwa- Tournament and third
dike, a first-team preseason All-Northeastern McKillop. Against Ohi
sTEVEN sI/Day Conference selection, was the only player in the of last year's tourname
Senior wing Lester Abram tips off the season at Crisler Arena tonight. conference last year to average a double-double point lead in the first
Power-play magicians come to Yost
s,10 rebounds).
ourtney Sims and Brent
are of their smaller and
rhen posting up and box-
ite their smaller size, the
ded their opponents last
ad coach Howie Dicken-
-rebounded its opponents
ins.
nding battle could be the
aller Wayne State, guards
Baker were second and
ebounding.
this to the tendency of
ot around the perimeter
es in the paint. Long shots
bounds, and the guards'
come just as important as
wo other games this week-
Thompson Challenge. On
e Wolverines will square
rming off a 20-win season,
eighth trip to the NCAA
d under head coach Bob
o State in the first round
nt, Davidson took a four-
half before dropping the
game, 70-62.
The Wildcats are led by a trio of junior tri-cap-
tains: Boris Meno, Jason Richards and Thomas
Sandler.
Meno and Sandler are the two biggest threats,
figuratively and literally. Both are the tallest
returning starters (6 foot 8) and the top two
returning scorers (5.6 and 6.5, respectively).
The two bigger forwards down low will allow
Sims and Petway to stay around the basket, play-
ing to their strengths rather than chasing long
rebounds.
Michigan concludes its weekend against East-
ern Michigan in the "Border Battle" with the
university next door.
The game will feel like a reunion for the head
coaches. Ramsey was an assistantunder Amaker
from 2001-05.
The Eagles return eight lettermen who sur-
vived a disastrous 7-21 season, including a gut-
wrenching 3-15 conference record. Guard Carlos
Medlock is their main scoring threat after aver-
aging 20.1 points per game last season.
The reunion may not feature Amaker's old
teammates Johnny Dawkins or David Henderson
and tonight's game may not feature the Blue Dev-
ils, but the weekend will remain just as important
for the Wolverines as they try once again to earn
an NCAA berth.
0 m 0 m 0 0 <on<g
)I ATI*ILA
By JAMES V. DOWD
Daily Sports Writer
Sitting in a four-way tie for fifth place in the
CCHA and facing its toughest challenge of the
year, No. 10 Michigan has a chance to make a
statement about where its season is going.
Its opponent, Nebraska-Omaha, finds itself
at third place in the CCHA with a chance to
make a name for its program during a two-
game set at Yost Ice Arena this weekend.
The Wolverines come into the series con-
fident after knocking off archrival Michigan
State for the first time in 10 games last Satur-
day.
But the visiting Mavericks present an even
tougher challenge than the Spartans or Miami
(Ohio) have presented thus far.
Nebraska-Omaha's prolific offense has pot-
ted more than five goals per game in its four
CCHA games, all against solid opponents.
Michigan, on the other hand, has struggled to
stay consistent from night to night.
"We're trying to get better in some areas
during practice," Michigan coach Red Beren-
son said. "But it's hard to practice consistency,
playing well on Friday and then playing well
on Saturday."
Michigan's key to the series is staying on top
of its game on both nights, which Nebraska-
Omaha players regard as their most important
all year. Several of the Mavericks hail from the
state of Michigan, and they know that winning
in Ann Arbor is the key to building a solid pro-
gram.
"(Michigan) has been around a long time,"
Mavericks senior Brian Marshall said. "This is
only our 10th season, so we're looking to build
a foundation for ourselves. These are the kinds
of games where you set that foundation."
The centerpiece of Nebraska-Omaha's plan
coming into Michigan is to capitalize on any
inconsistencies by ignoring the rowdy crowd
and outskating the Wolverines.
"Obviously, when you go play Michigan, it's
a tough game," Marshall said. "Their arena is
as intimidating as anywhere you play. They
know how to play in that building, and they
know how to play off the crowd. We just have
to outwork them on every shift."
The Wolverines know thatin order to be
more consistent, they must produce better
results on special teams. The Mavericks have
converted 30.8 percent of their power-play
opportunities in four CCHA games - a tough
match for a Michigan penalty kill that ranks
10th in the league.
Senior defenseman Jason Dest and sopho-
more center Da
in Michigan's p
ties up to workE
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skating harder:
in the zone and
to block more sl
Berenson sai
progress in mai
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Berenson said.
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, the Wolverines went 2-1-
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llustrated how important fresh
and working hard for 60 min-
an fed off the home crowd and
of easy victories in the teams'
Wolverines skated into Omaha, PI4ATl Cas
lavericks scored late goals in
notch the a win on Friday and a
ay. Start Today
at The Pita Pit!
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