The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com October 29. 2007 - 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. DEFENSE-0-METER 4 It was an impressive performance by the defense, allow- ing just three points to Minnesota. Even though it's Min- nesota, the Gophers do average 30 points and nearly 440 Crables total yards per game. They also present the challenge of a spread offense and a mobile quarterback, two things the Wolverine defense has struggled with in the past. CARR-O-METER 3/ Carr was in a pretty good mood after the game. He didn't have as many jokes as usual, but he seemed to enjoy the win 4 and the recapture of the Brown Jug. He was still guarded Lloyd about the returns of quarterback Chad Henne and running Carrs back Mike Hart, and he wasn't angry with a question inquir- ing about an apparent injury to tight end Carson Butler. THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL z fcour th izinstalbnent in z6. OKLAHOMA: The Sooners haveovercome their or Sotaffers willall out debacle against Coloradowith twowins against 10 ints, second-place votes ranked opponents since then. Oklahomais anear- e published with first-plae lock towin theBig12 South after defeated Texas earlier this year in the annual Red RiverShootout. 7..Hr0.TA Ta, i)sanesuly, nowexcitingwoa it be if Michigan hosts the undefeated, top-ranked Buckeyes? Ohio State crushed Penn State in a gamethat manyexperts picked the Nittany Lions to win. Maybe the Buckeyes really are good. 2. BbSTON COLLEGE (4)r Virginia T echi owned quarterback Matt Ry}an andi the Eagle offense for 58,E m . I2nUttes in fron It Cof a rowd c } r{)w inL ante tadlTim, Well, fcuotball gaim's last 60 mninutes2.la}'ton Co lgcescajvd the tippeug arfor \le anoher weel 3. OREGON: Michigan fans need noreminderof the Ducks' raw talent. If Oregon can be the first to topple unbeaten Arizona State next weekend, it'll have the inside track on a Pac Ten title. But it may have bigger ambitions: a national championship. "r54k TTE . i.~ id h w 8. WEST VIRGINIA: The Mountaineers'lossto South Florida seemingly booted them from Big East contention. Well, three weeks later, West Virginia is back on the top of the league with justone more game against a rankedaopponent. HYPEMETER Much of it probably had to do with the rain, wind and cold, /butthere was almost nobody in the student section when the game started. The crowd filled in bythe middle of the first Big Houses quarter, but barely anyone was wearing maize, and the fans were pretty quiet throughout the game. But it was Minnesota, without Hart and Henne, so it was probably to be expected. ASSOCIATED . SO The top three remained stable as Boston College broke the "curse of No. 2." Preseason favorite Southern Cal and defending national cham- pion Florida fell out of the top 10 after losses. Kansas moved up to No. 8 after winningto notch its first 8-0 start since 1909. TEAM LAST WEEK THIS WEEK 1. Ohio State beat Penn State37-17 Wisconsin 2. Boston College beat Va. Tech 14-10 Florida State 3. Louisiana State idle at Alabama 4. Oregon beat Southern Arizona State Cal 24-17 5. Oklahoma idle Texas A&M 6. Arizona State beatCalifornia 31-20 at Oregon 7. West Virginia beat Rutgers 31-3 idle 8. Kansas beat Texas A&M 19-11 Nebraska 9. Missouri beat lowa State 42-28 at Colorado 10. Georgia beat Florida 42-30 Troy 11. Virginia Tech lost to BC14-10 at Georgia Tech 12. Hawaii beat New Mexco . idle StateS50-13 13. Southern Cal lost to Oregon 24-17 Oregon State 14. Texas beat Nebraska 28-25 at Oklahoma State 15. Michigan beat Minnesota34-10 at Michigan State 16. Connecticut beat South Rutgers Florida 22-15 17. Alabama idle LSU s 18. Florida losttoGeorgia 42-30 Vanderbilt 19. Auburn beat Mississippi17-3 Tennessee Tech 20. South Florida lostto Connecticut22-15 Cincinnati 21. Wake Forest beat North Caro- at Virginia linga37-10 22. Boise State beat Fresno St. 34-21 San Jose State 23. South Carolina lostto Tennes- at Arkansas see 27-24 24. Tennessee beat South Caro- Louisiana-Lafayette lena27-24 25. Clemson beat Maryland 30-17 at Duke Games updated through Oct. 28 10. GEORGIA: Handing Urban Meyer and the Florida Gators their third loss of the season was enough for the Bulldogs to squeak into the Daily top 10. With so much parity in the SEC, how lon ca enrgia keen winning? 5. KANSAS (2):Whyisthe medianotallover this story?Didthey use up alltheir good lines about underdogs on South Florida? The unbeaten Jayhawks have racked up quality road wins at Texas A&M, Colorado and Kansas State. Staff Picks recap: This is the biggest upset of the season so far: Scott Bell lost for the first time. Not only did he only pick up just five wins, but this week's results also mark the first time this year Bell hasn't posted an above-.500 record. Still, he retained first place in the overall standings because of the big lead he engineered during his ridiculous run. Kevin Wright finally distanced himself from Daniel Brom- wich in a race for second place, and he's even starting to sneak up on Bell. Most important, props to Jack Herman for having a not-unconscionably-awful week. With a stellar (for him) 8-11-1, he's now back into a tie for last place in the overall standings with the guest pickers. LSA senior Matt Devine and his cowboy hat did just well enough to get his picks in the paper another week. He bested Bell by just two and Bromwich by one, but that's all he needed to do to stick around. As always, e-mail the football writers at footballbeat07@umich.edu to get in the pool of potential par- ticipants if Devine falters. STAFF PICKS The Daily football , writers do their best to predict what happens in the 2007 College football season. Scott Daniel Bell Bromwich Jack Kevin Herman Wright Devine (guest) No.19MICHIGAN(-23.5) vs. Minnesota Michigan Michigan Minnesota Minnesota Michigan No.1Ohio State (-4) vs. PENN STATE Penn State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State Ohio State No.2 BC (+3) vs. No8 V A TECH Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Virginia Tech Boston College Boston College No.5OREGON (-3) vs. No.9 So. Cal Southern Cal Oregon Oregon Oregon Oregon No.6W.Va.(-6.5)vs.No.25 RUTGERS Rutgers Rutgers ,.Rutgers ..Rutgers ..Rutgers No.7ARIZONA 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 Hawaii No.17 TEXAS (-21) vs. Nebraska Texas Texas Nebraska Nebraska Nebraska No. 2Virginia(-3.5)vs.N.C.STATE NCState Virginia Virginia Virginia Virginia No.23 AUBURN -75)vs. Mississippi Auburn Auburn Auhurn Auburn Auurn Michigan State (-3) vs. IOWA Iowa Michigan State Michigan State Iowa MichiganState Indiana (+7.5) vs. WISCONSIN Indiana Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Wisconsin Northwestern (+13) vs. PURDUE Northwestern Purdue Purdue Purdue Northwestern ILLINOIS (-13.5) vs. Ball State Illinois Illinois Illinois Illinois Illinois Best Bet Michigan Ohio State South Florida Illinois Michigan State Record this week 5-14-1 (1-0) 6-13-1 (1-0) 8-11-1 (0-1) 11-8-1 (0-1) 7-12-1 (01) Overall record 104-85-5 (3-5) 95-94-5 (6-2) 90-99-5 (2-6) 100-90-5 (4-4) 90-99-5 (2-6 . i