4 8A - Friday, October 26, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Stars' status in uestion 'M' geared for BySCOTT BELL ikJ wild weekend Daily Sprs Editorf Even though the status of quar- terback Chad Henne and running back Mike Hart remains unknown, there is one certainty: Saturday's game against last-place Minnesota is the final chance for the Wolver- ines to rest their starters before a stretch run at Michigan State, at Wisconsin and against Ohio State to close the season. Whether that will happen is any- one's guess.E Michigan coach Lloyd Carr was coy when speaking about both stars at his weekly press conference Mon- day. Both are listed as starters on the depth chart, but as this season has shown, the start-of-week depth chart isn't always the same as the one on Saturday. Still, Carr thinks Hart's chances of seeing the field are much better than they were last week. "I'm sure Mike is going to be alot better than he was last week," Carr said. "I think daily he'll improve. From the time he got hurt, you just don't know. All you do know is they're gettingbetter." As for Henne: "You know, the only thing I can say is that he's day to day. We'll see how he feels, go from there," Carr said. If neither can go, Michigan (4- 0 Big Ten, 6-2 overall) has capable backups with game experience readyto step up. Sophomore Carlos Brown topped the 100-yard mark against Illinois last weekend in relief of Hart. It was the first time a back ran for more than 100 yards against the Fighting Illini all season. Freshman Ryan Mallett started two games when Henne hurt his knee earlier this season. He also played for about a third of the Illi- nois game when Henne went down with a shoulder injury. Both have shown flashes of great- ness this season, but each have also STAFF PICKS The Daily football writers do their best to predict what happens in the 2007 college football season. By MICHAEL EISENSTEIN playing around the corner, either. Daily Sports Writer The Wolverines have traveled more than 2,000 miles so far this year. They're sort of strange, sort of "We've been so busy traveling, bizarre and, well, sort of cool. it's been like a month since we've That's the best way to describe been home," Berenson said. the circumstances colliding this It's also been a while -18 years weekend for the Michigan hockey - since the last, and only, time team's home opener againstBoston Boston University visited Yost. In University. two meetings, Michigan defeated The Wolverines are off to a 3- the Terriers 4-3 and 6-2. If another 1 start and are undefeated in the sweep happens during Boston Uni- CCHA, but the two teams they've versity's second trip to Ann Arbor, defeated have just three combined it'll be the first time in 31 seasons wins. And even with a roster near- that the Terriers will open with a ly half full of freshmen, Michigan five-game winless streak. finds itself ranked third nation- But Wolverine fans are much ally, its highest ranking since 2005. more concerned about two highly Keep inmind,thisteamwaspicked touted freshmen struggling to to finish fourth in the conference score. by the coaches and media just one Max Pacioretty and Aaron month ago. Palushaj, Michigan's two high- "We shouldn't be No. 3, and est-drafted first-year players, have we shouldn't get hung up on that yet to knock in a goal this season. because you know how long that'll Pacioretty, a . first-round draft last," Michigan coach Red Beren- pick, has yet to even tally a point. son said. But both registered more than 60 A little harsh? Apparently not. points for their respective teams in "We're overrated," senior Chad the United States Hockey L~eague Kolarikesaid. "That'ssridiculous, last year, so Berenson isn't wor- Third overall? ried. "What are you going to do, "That's a temporary thing," though? It's the second weekend of said Berenson, who noted they the season and we've been playing both play on the No. 1 power-play well, but we haven't beaten anyone unit. "I'm not worried about them. very good." They're both in good roles." Aside fromthe high ranking, the And while it may be weird for anticipation for the home opener fans not to know a lot of players seems stronger than years past for on the ice tonight with the home another reason: The Yost-faith- debut of Berenson's largest fresh- ful haven't waited more than four man class ever, one thing is certain games for the first regular-season - a loud crowd welcoming the 12 home game since 2001. new Wolverines into Michigan It wasn't like Michigan was hockey lore. MORE ONLINE BLOGS Live commentary for football at michigandaily.com (michigondaily.com/thegame) EMMA NOLAN-ABRAHAMIAN/Daiy Freshman quarterback Ryan Mallett and sophomore running back Carlos Brown could play extensively Saturday against Minne- sota if Chad Henne and Mike Hart's injuries keep them out. Both replacements have already had considerable experience this year. had issues holding onto the ball. Brown fumbled three times at the beginning of the season, and Mal- lett has had issues handling snaps all season. Something Mallett and his team- mates will want to keep a handle on is the Little Brown Jug - the trophy Michigan and Minnesota compete for each year. Michigan has won 17 of the last 18 meetings between the two teams and regained the Jug with a 28-14 win last season at Min- nesota. Despite the discrepancy between the team's records - both within the rivalry and this season - the Wol- verines contend this game is differ- ent than just any matchup against a 1-7 team. "The rivalry really doesn't change because I watched Minne- sota and they come out and hit hard, and if you don't play with that same intensity anything can happen at this time in the season," linebacker Chris Graham said. "You want tobe on top of your game and just go out there and treat them like any other type of team." Even with the rivalry in mind, it could be a tough game for Michigan to get excited about. Minnesota's defense yielded 394 yards on the ground against Division I-AA North Dakota State last weekend. If that isn't enough, the Gophers (0-4, 1-7) plan to start three true freshmen inthe secondary Saturday, according to coach Tim Brewster. Still, since Michigan had its own run-in with a Division I-AA team, the members of the team have kept preaching the mantra of not over- looking anyone. "I think we learned early in the season not to take any team for granted," freshman offensive line- man Steve Schilling said. "We're just going to prepare for the game like any other game we've prepared for. The coaches are going to get us into a good game plan, and we're going to do the best we can to execute." :cott sai Bell Bromwich Jack Kevin Herman Wright Matt Devine No.19MICHIGAN(-23.5)vs. Minnesota Michigan Michigan Minnesota Minnesota Michigan lo.t Ohio State (-4)vsNo. 24PENN STATE Penn State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State No. 2 BC (+3) vs. No. 8VA TECH Virginia Tech Virginia Tech. . .g.n..BostonCollege Boston College No.5 OREGON (-3)vs. No.9 So. Cal Southern Cal Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon No. 6 W. Va. (-6.5) vs. No.25 RUTGERS Rutgers.u................Rutgers. ...... . ..uterlgers Rutge Rutgers SNo.7 ARIZONA ST. (-3) vs. No.18 Cal Arizona State California California Arizona State California No.9 Florida (-9) vs. No. 20 Georgia Florida Florida Florida Georgia Florida No. 11 South Florida (-4.5) vs. UCONN South Florida South Florida South Florida South Florida South Florida No.12 Kansas (-2.5) vs. TEXAS A&M ! Texas A&M Texas A&M Kansas Kansas Texas A&M No.13 MISSOURI (-28.5) vs. Iowa State Missouri Missouri Iowa State Missouri Missouri No. 14 KENTUCKY (-13.5) vs. Miss. St. Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky Kentucky No. 15 S. Carolina (+3) vs. TENNESSEE South Carolina South Carolina South Carolina Tennessee South Carolina No.16 HAWAII (-27.5) vs. N. Mexico St. Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii Hawaii Hawai No.17TEXAS(-21)vs.Nebraska Texas Texas Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska No.21 Virginia (-3.5) vs. NC. STATE.NC State Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia No. 23 AUBURN (-7 55 vs.MNississippi......Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Auburn Michigan State (-3) vs. IOWA Iowa Michigan State Michigan State Iowa Michigan State Indiana (+7.5) vs WISCONSIN Indiana Wisconsin WisconsnW n Wsconsin Northwestern (+13) vs. PURDUE Northwestern Purdue Purdue Purdue Northwestern ILLINOIS (-13.5) vs. Ball State Illinois Illinois Illinois Illinois Best Bet Michigan Ohio State South Florida .inoisan State Record 99-71-4 (2-5) 89-81-4 (5-2) 82-88-4 (2-5) 89-81-4 (4-3) 83-87-4 (2-5) 4 I 4 Master of Engineering in Manufacturing Creating Global Professionals Procrastination Minnesota 30 station Michigan 28 4 Manufacturing is more important than ever, in the U.S. and around the world, 0% s% 10% 15% 20% 2s% Percent of Global Value-Added Manufacturing, 2005 Source: United Nations Statistics Division New technologies and markets require a new kind of professional. We prepare students with the knowledge and experience they need to become innovators in the field of global manufacturing. The Master of Engineering in Manufacturing is an intensive one-year program with an integrated, project-oriented curriculum grounded in engineering science. A group project in industry gives students real-world experience. Fellowships and opportunities for global study are available. - Play of the game - Minnesota K #36 knocked a 39-yard field goal through the uprights with no time remaining. It put an end to Mich- igan's huge comeback after trailing 21-2. - Player of the game - Minnesota RB # 29. The Gopher back set the tone early, breaking a pair of long runs. He ended up with 206 yards on 16 carries, along with a touchdown catch. - Press conference Minnesota coach Scott Bell: "Let's keep this short and sweet, Bromwich is a good coach. This was a tough game. Luckily, the king still prevailed." Michigan coach Daniel Bromwich: "The comeback? Impres- sive, I guess. Trailing 21-2 to Minnesota at halftime? It's flat-out unacceptable. At least it wasn't 108-7." 4 Become a leader in manufacturing and learn the process, product, system, and business aspects of manufacturing. For more information, including application materials, visit 'http://web.mit.edu/meng-manufacturing/ Master of Engineering Program m Massachusetts MIT Room 35-23a M*M ssahust- 77 Massachusetts Avenue Institute o Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 -517.-58-562 menginfo@mit.edu Techno-ogy 4 i %a wir 'I