0 8 - Friday, November 9, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Blue has all but home advantage FOOTBALL Win or lose, Big Ten title in reach 4 By DANIEL BROMWICH and KEVIN WRIGHT Daily Sports Editors Ohio State is already looming. The talk about another matchup for a Big Ten Championship between the two rivals has begun. But don't let Wisconsin hear any of that banter. The Badgers are wait- ing for the Wolverines in a potential trip-up game before the big show on Nov. 17. . Wisconsin and Michigan both come in a little banged up, and some of the Wolverine faithful wouldn't mind Michigan coach Lloyd Carr resting some of his ailingstars. Still, a Big Ten game is important, or at least that's what the Wolverine players would wantyou to believe. State, and he estimated that he was at just 80 percent coming into the game. If his health improves as expected, he should be at full strength against the Badgers, which is a big positive for Michigan. Fresh- man Ryan Mallett has struggled in recent spot duty, fumbling and throwinginterceptions whenHenne has left games because of injury. Even if Mallett plays, though, the resurgence of Mario Manningham combined with the steady effective- ness of Adrian Arrington and Greg Mathews makes this a tough match- up for any defense. Cornerback Jack Ikegwuono is still a star in the Badger secondary, which has played well this season. But his counterpart on the other side, cornerback Allen Langford, was injured against Ohio State Mike Hart and Chad Henne expect to play tomorrow despite lingering injuries. Michigan rush offense vs. Wis- last week and wo consinrush defense day. Missing a star Senior running back Mike Hart against a multi-fac says he'll be nearly 100 percent for Michigan's doesn't this game, and that is good news for for the third-best1 Wolverine fans who saw him rush the Big Ten. for 110 yards in barely more than a half against Michigan State. Even Edge: Michigan if he's not ready to carry the load, backups Brandon Minor and Car- Michigan rush d los Brown have proven themselves consin rush offens capable, as long as they can get into The Badgers' the flow of the game. and ends with rur The Wisconsin rush defense was Hill. Unfortunately one of the best in the Big Ten last against the Bucke season, and some expected it to be a bruised left leg. even better this year with many for Saturday is unl contributors returning. But it has Wisconsin running fallen far short of expectations, big hit if Hill can't g ranking eighth in the conference by freshman Zach Bri giving up nearly 150 yards per game aged just more than on the ground. It allowed Ohio State carry against Ohio running back Chris Wells to rush But the Wolver for 169 yards and three touchdowns last week against a last week. And with defensive tackle attack, allowing al Jason Chapman out for the season, ing yards in the sei the unit might get even worse. Much of that was ga n't play Satur- ting cornerback eted attack like bode well, even pass defense in defense vs.Wis- se offense starts nning back P.J. , he didn't play yes because of His availability known, and the g game takes a o. His backup is own, who man- three yards per State last week. rines struggled power rushing most 190 rush- cond half alone. ined on one run, e running back running style Hill's, and Caul- dichigan defense cond half. Michigan pass defense vs. Wis- Mesko to win tf consinpass offense tion, especially The Wolverine secondary must sphere of Camp have loved to see this stretch of the The battles o schedule finally arrive. Gone are little more inter the four wide-receiver sets and the haff has gone 1 empty backfields, and in are the I- gers while K.C formations. Just like Michigan State a perfect 8-for last weekend, Wisconsin will look had anyone r to move the ball on the ground, and return game, e' the Michigan secondary will have to has shown spu guard against play-action. Working returning punt in the Wolverines' favor is the Bad- gers' lack of depth and talent at wide Edge: Push receiver. Star wideout Luke Swan was lost for the season a couple of Intangibles weeks ago, and quarterback Tyler It's hard tos Donovan has rarely tested the aer- come out witht ial attack this year, and if he does, to win this tou Donovan's looking for his tight end complete sche Travis Beckum who has more than Championship 700 yards receiving this season. verines don't h he battle of field posi- y in raucous atmo- pRandall. f the kickers willbe a resting. Taylor Mehl- 5-for-17 for the Bad- Lopata has kicked -8. Neither team has eally emerge in the ven though Mathews irts of explosiveness s for Michigan. By JACK HERMAN Daily Sports Editor Since losing its first two games of the season, Michigan has made clear that even though a National Championship may be unattain- able, the team still has big goals. Such as winning the Big Ten. To do so the Wolverines have said they must treat each game as if it's for the title. "It's just a Big Ten game," wide receiver Greg Mathews said Mon- day about tomorrow's game at Wisconsin. "And if you want to win a Big Ten Championship, you have to win your Big Ten games." Actually, Mathews shouldn't talk so fast. Because the funny thing is the Wolverines don't have to win this one. Along with Ohio State, Michi- gan has a two-game lead on the rest of the conference. That means even with a loss against the Bad- gers (3-3 Big Ten, 7-3 overall), the Wolverines can win the a share of the title - and a trip to the Rose Bowl - when they play the Buck- eyes next week. "I guess it's strange," said run- ning back Mike Hart said of know- ing the team will play Ohio State for the title. "You know that's how we always expect it and how we always want it, that's how it is a lot of the time, a lot of the years we've played football. That's why Michi- gan-Ohio State is so special. "But this game against Wiscon- sin we want to get, too. We care a lot about this game, we're going into this game, we need to win it, we wantto win it." Given the circumstances, need might be a bit strong. But to be fair, Michigan has a lot to play for. For starters, if Michigan (6-0, 8-2) loses this week, it must beat Ohio State to earn a BCS spot. With a win against the Badgers, the Wolverines would still have a shot at a BCS game, however slim, even with a loss to the Buckeyes. And pride plays its part, too. Two years ago, the Wolverines lost, 23-20, at Camp Randall Sta- dium when Badger quarterback John Stocco snuck into the end zone with less than a minute left. Although the Wolverines topped Wisconsin during Revenge Tour 2006, surely they would like to do it in front of the Badgers' own crowd. That will mean stopping quar- terback Tyler Donovan, who in his first year at the helm has been one of the Big Ten's most efficient passers. And containing tight end Travis Beckum, who Michigan coach Lloyd Carr believes to be one of - if not the most - talented player at his position in the coun- try. And for the second year in a row, bottling up running back P.J. Hill, who plays a straight-ahead, power-running game, much like the one Michigan State used to beat up the Michigan defense in the second half this weekend. That is if he plays. Although Carr said he will game plan for Hill, a bruised left thigh kept the running back out of last week's 38- 17 loss to Ohio State. Hill is just one of the many Bad- gers on the injured list. Just this Monday, Wisconsin coach Bret Bielema announced two more starters - cornerback Allen Lang- ford and defensive tackle Jason Chapman - have also sustained injuries that will force them to miss the rest of the year. Michigan has some injury prob- lems of its own. Hart and quarter- back Chad Henne battled injury last week to play in the Wolverines 28-24 win. Some have speculated the two will rest this week to gear up for Ohio State. Just don't suggest that to them. "Itfeelsreallygood,"said Henne of his shoulder injury, adding he will "definitely" play. "I got treat- ment (Monday), and everything has definitely gotten a lot tighter, and it feels a lot better." Said Hart: "These are the last two games of my career at Michi- gan. And a bowl game. I'm not missing anything." say if the in gh rot me o >picti ave t+ the ning and 1 Edge: Michigan Randall. Still, remember cot two years ago Edge: Michigan Michigan pass offense vs. Wis- consin pass defense Chad Henne garnered Big Ten Player of the Week honors for his performance against Michigan but Michigan Stat: Jehuu Caulcrick's strongly resemblesI crick pounded the M mercilessly in the se Specialteams Ten opener. Thatn If this game were in the Big be enough motivatio House, Michigan would dominate sin has more ridingc this category. However, punter The Badgers have s Zoltan Mesko has struggled in big the road, and win ag road games. He didn't have a very always helps to easet good performance in Happy Val- ley a year ago and had just one good Edge: Wisconsin boot last weekend against Michigan State. The Wolverines will need Score: Michigan24 Michigan will tensity it needs ad game. In the A the Big Ten ure, the Wol- o win in Camp upperclassmen into Madison osing their Big might prove to n, but Wiscon- on a home win. tumbled down ainst Michigan the pain. ,Wisconsin17 Edge: Wisconsin (if Hill plays) MEN'S BA SKETBALL Looking for men's soccer coverage? Freshmabtf nguards How about staff picks andFeshma gas ProcrasinaionStatin" could dtaepace ICE HOCKEY Wait may end for Ciraulo tonight 4 micnigandaily.com/sports. ByDANFELDMAN Daily Sports Writer RANDOLPH COURT APARTMENTS 16 2 Bedroom Apartment Homes Ground Floor Ranch Style! Private Entrance! Patio! Spacious Kitchen! Air Conditioning! Laundry Facilities! 24-Hour Emergency Maintenance! Pets Welcome! And much, much more! Call today to reserve your new address! 734-971-2828 Equal Housing Opportunity SingaporeGDA/E Work, live and play in Singapore - the choice gateway to Asia! Come find out the exciting career and internship opportunities in our technology sectors. 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Sign up for our mailing list and visit us at ww cltactsmgapore.rg:gg Michigan point guards Jer- ret Smith and Kelvin Grady have faced plenty of questions about their respective learning curves as Michigan coach John Beilein implements his system. They're on different paths now. Jerret Smith's didn't run through enough classrooms. Grady's has accelerated. Since Smith will be out tonight against Radford with an ankle injury - or if he's healthy enough to play, he will serve a one-game suspension for missing class - Grady will probably start. Tonight's7p.m.game,forwhich students can print out a voucher for a free ticket at www.mgoblue. com/studentvoucher, could be the debut of the much-anticipated all- freshman backcourt of Grady and Manny Harris. Beilein said the team already knows who will be starting today but didn't reveal the lineup to media members. Grady and Har- ris played with Ron Coleman, DeShawn Sims and Zach Gibson - the frontcourt starters against Ferris State - in the team's final five-on-five drill at yesterday's practice. Grady, who admitted a couple of weeks ago to being behind the pack in learning Beilein's offense, said he's definitely caught up. He usually spends a couple of hours each night writing down- and going over plays with Harris, his roommate. The pair, along with Sims, called Beilein asking for DVDs of the offense to help accelerate their learning. Beilein said Grady and Sims have really clicked since being together during the summer. Grady and Harris, who is back to 100 percent after being injured in a 15-point, nine-rebound effort in the exhibition game against Ferris State, are two of the team's fastest players. Their get-up- and-down-the-court style is sure to keep fans at the edge of their seats. But, as Beilein pointed out, they're still freshmen. "There are some things we're not prepared to do," Beilein said. "We'll have to make adjustments on the fly." If Grady and Harris are start- ing, on the fly is right. By NATE SANDALS Daily Sports Editor Sophomore Anthony Ciraulo has spent much of his college hockey career waiting. First, there was the two years toiling in the junior-level North American Hockey League for a spot on the roster. A spot that only came last season after a highly touted recruit signed a pro contract just weeks before the season began. Once Ciraulo made it on the Michigan roster, he had to wait longer. The 21-year old freshman didn't see game action until Dec. 1, 10 games into the season. When Ciraulo got a permanent spot in the lineup Dec. 10, he played a solid supporting role in Michi- gan's final 23 games. The 5-foot-6 center impressed his coaches and teammates with his quick play and effective forecheck, though he tal- lied just two points for the season. After junior Danny Fardig broke his knuckle blocking a shot last Friday against Nebraska-Omaha, Ciraulo's experience, though lim- ited, made him the logical replace- ment as the fourth-line center. So if Fardig can't play tonight and Ciraulo gets into the lineup for the CCHA matchup against Alaska at Yost Ice Arena, Ciraulo's eight- game absence from the lineup won't have been all that long in the grander scheme. "When (Ciraulo) came to Michi- gan, he knew he wouldn't be in the starting lineup until he proved to everyone that he could take some- one's job and compete at this level," Michigan coach Red Berenson said. "And it took him half a year to do that last year." Ciraulo was a bit sluggish in practice early in the week, Beren- son said. But he has picked up the intensity each day, making the coach more comfortable to put him into the lineup this weekend. "Every practice has to be like a game for me so I'm ready to go when my time comes," Ciraulo said. This season has been harder for the Clinton Township native because he knew it would be dif- ficult to break into a lineup with depth at forward. "It's really tough when you're not playing," sophomore BrianLeb- ler said. "Your confidence isn't very high and your school work seems like it's that much harder. Every- thing is just slower." Lebler is Ciraulo's roommate, so he knows first hand how hard watching has been for Ciraulo this season. Still, Ciraulo hasn't got- ten down and works hard in every practice, Lebler said. If Ciraulo does make it into the lineup this weekend, he will likely see some time on the penalty kill. Ciraulo's quickness and intel- ligence make him well suited to counterthe opposingteams power play. But there are no guarantees for Ciraulo. Fardig wants to play this week- end, despite the cast on his right hand, and if he does, Ciraulo's wait will stretch on longer, perhaps for the entire season. Still,thatdoesn't meanhe's meaningless tothe team. Ciraulo knows his role is to work hard in practice - to contribute even if no one is watching. "I just try my hardest on every shift and every little thing," Cirau- lo said. "Trying to make our top guys better, and, of course, playing with the guys we have, making me better." 4 I I 4 < Live and love... for there is no tomorrow An opera by Giacomo Puccini A modern production directed r by Kay Walker Castaldo University Symphony Orchestra conducted by Martin Katz University Opera Theatre Sung in Italian with projected English translations Nov. 8 at 7:30 PM Nov. 9 & 10 at 8 PM Nov. 11 at 2 PM Power Center Tickets $24.& $18'- Students $9 w/ID League Ticket Office " 734-764-2538 f Unirst f'higan sr .. - Music, Fiheatre & Dance ' 0 I t