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2B Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom
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Saturday, November 17, 2007
The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com
FOOTBALL SATURDAY I
Columnist Kevin Wright battles with a writer from the Ohio
State student newspaper. It gets kind of ugly.
The last three year-end meetings have not been kind to the Wolver-
ines. We recount what happened in our feature section.
If you're wondering who will be at right guard for Michigan on
Saturday, check out our depth chart.j
Still unsure who to pick? We break down this weekend's
f matchup.
Our writers and a guest give it their best shot in the final
regular-season edition of staff picks.
* [
RMOR E ON LINE
at michigan daily.com~~
CAN'T MAKE THE GAME?
BE SURE TO CHECK OUT OUR BLOG "THE GAME" FOR UPDATES.e
2007 Michigan schedule
Appalachian St. (Sept. 1), L 32-34: Imagine opening the door to your
dorm room and someone punching you in the face. That's what happened
at the Big House. So much for a National Championship.
Oregon (Sept. 8), L 7-39: Then the person that punched you in the face added
insult to injury by stepping on your crotch and spitting in your ear. Then he walks out
your front door with your girlfriend and steals your laptop. And your pillow.
Notre Dame (Sept.15), W38-0: The defeat of the Fighting Irish did two things for Michigan.
First, it gave the Wolverines confidence heading into the Big Ten season. Second, the national
press switched gears from Michigan's 0-2 start to harping on how bad Notre Dame is.
Penn State (Sept. 22), W 14-9: For the second week in a row, the Wolverine
defense held its opponent without a touchdown as Michigan beat the Nittany Lions
for the ninth straight time. Michigan safety Artis Chambers had nothing to do with
that, but his Big Ten ineligibility could have cost the Wolverines the game.
at Northwestern (Sept. 29), W 28-16: Chad Henne returned from injury to
lead Michigan to a second-half comeback win. Special thanks to the alarm
clock that woke up the Wolverine defense for the fourth quarter.
Eastern Michigan (Oct. 6), W 33-22: Michigan played this game like it was a bye week
- as 10 Wolverine contributors sat on the sidelines against the Eagles. Unfortunately
for Michigan fans, this one turned into more of a contest than anyone would've
imagined with Eastern Michigan pulling to within two points in the second half.
Purdue (W 48-21): After a pair of not-so-dominating performances against not-so-great
teams, the Wolverines silenced critics with a huge win over the Boilermakers. The offense
looked nearly unstoppable, and the defense impenetrable. The bad news: Mike Hart got hurt.
at Illinois (W 27-17): Led by a legendary effort from Chad Henne, the Wolverines showed a
lot of guts in their win over Illinois, heating them in front of a sold-out crowd at night. The win
put Michigan in perfect position for the rest of the year, well unless, Henne is really hurt.
Minnesota (W 34-10): Two years ago, the Gophers captured the Little Brown Jug for the first time
since 1986 thanks to - surprise - a late-game, long run. This year, the Wolverines taught them a less
- even without the help of Chad Henne and Mike Hart. The Jug is safe for another year in Ann Arbor.
at Michigan State (W 28-24): Chad Henne once again battles through injury to lead the
Wolverines to a fourth-quarterback comeback victory in East Lansing. Wide receiver Braylon
Edwards, we mean Mario Manningham, makes a great catch to win the game. Sorry, lil' bro.
at Wisconsin (L 37-21): And Ryan Mallett's downfall continues. Relieving Chad Henne early
in the game, the freshman breaks down in front of Camp Randall crowd. With the defense
struggling against the Badgers, the Wolverines eight-game winning streak comes to an end.
Ohio State (Nov.17): The Game is once again for all the marbles. With a Big Ten Championship and a Rose Bowl
berth onthe line, youcan expect another epic game in the storied rivalry. And youcan bet Chad Henne, Mike
Hart and the rest of the seniors would like nothing more to topple Ohio State in their last game in Ann Arbor.
By SCOTT BELL and
JACK HERMAN
Daily Sports Editors
This edition of The Game wasn't
supposed to have the hype.
But even with lackluster perfor-
mances from both Michigan and
Ohio State last weekend, there's still
quite a buzz around Saturday.
Well, actually, it's more about
Michigan coach Lloyd Carr than
either of the two teams. Will he
retire after the game, let it drag out
a few weeks or not retire at all?
There's still a game, though, and
here is how the two teams pan out
on paper.
ed for the game.
But the boost
gets with Hent
what the Buckey
in the lineup.
Don't underes
a happy Super M
Edge: Michigan
Michigan's offense
ne's return exceeds
yes get with Jenkins
stimate the power of
lario.
OHIO STATE RUS
MICHIGAN RUSH
If a tandem
ners and a trio of
exploit the Wolve
why can't Ohio St
ie" Wells? Memb
defense are proba
foolish these da
MICHIGAN RUSH OFFENSE VS. wishing to play
OHIO STATE RUSH DEFENSE: ward offenses. S
After last year's No. 1 vs. No. 2 ten their wish, th
game, Mike Hart gave Ohio State's been beaten dow
defense a not-so-flattering endorse- Both Michigan St
ment after his 142-yard, three- out-MichiganedI
touchdown performance. Now, the ground, and Well
so-called "nothing special" Buckeye Ten's bestbacks.
defense has a chance to prove its If the Wolverin
worth to Hart and the rest of the trend, defensive t
Michigan offense. son and Terrance'
This is nothing new to Hart, the battle in the
though, who was held from allmedia the Buckeye offe
events this week. While resting his happen? More tha
mouth, the Doak Walker candidate
also rested his body, which is suffer- Edge: Ohio State
ing from a high-ankle sprain.
But after sitting out his third MICHIGAN PASS
game in four weeks against Wis- OHIO STATE PAS
consin, it appears Hart should be Until last we
ready for tomorrow's game. Even pass defense hadl
facing an angry Buckeye defense, a
rested Hart running behind behe-
moth offensive lineman Jake Long
is nearly impossible to stop - Hart
has topped 100 yards every game
he has played this season. Its nt11
Edge: Michigan
MICHIGAN PASS OFFENSE VS. ,
OHIO STATE PASS DEFENSE:
All signs point to Chad Henne
starting tomorrow's game. Even
with Henne having a slightly sepa-
rated shoulder, this should be a
huge boost to a Wolverine offense
desperately needing one. Fresh-
man Ryan Mallett was, to put it
nicely, inefficient last week in 'Af
Madison. With Henne under cen-
ter, receivers Mario Manningham YoI r
and Adrian Arrington should get Your ficke
more catchable balls thrown their (one dri
way tomorrow.
Good news for Buckeye fans is
that starting cornerback Malcolm
Jenkins, who threw punches fol-
lowing his team's loss to Illinois
last weekend, will not be suspend- 194 to 182Hron st. exi
H OFFENSE VS.
I DEFENSE:
of Spartan run-
Badger backs can
rine rush defense,
ate's Chris "Bean-
ers of Michigan's
ably feeling pretty
ays after openly
more straightfor-
ince they've got-
e Wolverines have
n in the trenches.
ate and Wisconsin
Michigan on the
s is among the Big
ies want to flip the
ackles Will John-
Taylor have to win
trenches against
nsive line. Will it
an likely not.
DEFENSE VS.
S DEFENSE:
ek, the Michigan
played well, large-
ly because of the effectiveness of er coverage, pun
the front seven. The Wolverines would have beenl
consistently pressured the quarter- deep in their own
back, taking a big burden off of the fourth down.
secondary. Um, well, let'
Last week, the pressure didn't make mistakes.
change, but the result of it did. The coverage t
Michigan couldn't contain Wiscon- as before, and
sin quarterback Tyler Donovan, and punting nearlya
he often eluded tackles and either returners have
scrambled for key yards or hit wide impact, and, abo
receiver Paul Hubbard or tight end the Wolverines h
Travis Beckum for the big first kicking game, ir
down. gest question ma
This could pose problems since of the year.
the Wolverines face an Ohio State We could tal
team led by quarterback Todd Ryan Pretorius'sI
Boeckman. Behind a solid line, of the special teas
Boeckman had eight carries for 83 ter?
yards last week in the Buckeyes' Few teams w
loss to Illinois, making him a threat against the Wolv
to do the same against the Wolver-
ines. Although his passing stats Edge: Ohio State
weren't that impressive against the
Illini (13-for-23, 3 INTs), he's one of INTANGIBLES:
the country's most efficient passers Do we really n
this season. And with the Brians
(Robiskie and Hartline) lining up
wide to catch his passes, it could
be a long day for the Wolverines.
Edge: Ohio State
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Just a few weeks ago, we were
ready to give a bunch of credit
to the Wolverines. Kicker K.C.
Lopata was perfect, it looked like
the returners would break a big
one soon, and, if he had the prop-
ter Zoltan Mesko
burying opponents
territory on every
s just say we all
team is just as bad
now, Mesko isn't
as well. Michigan
yet to make any
ut the only thing
have going is their
onically, their big-
rk at the beginning
k about Buckeye
kicking or the rest
ms. Butdoes it mat-
rould fare poorly
erines.
need to go through
Bucks look to make it four straight
all the details?
0-3. Big Ten Championship. Rose
Bowl.
Both teams have plenty of rea-
sons to win this one.
The talk builds every year that
Ohio State coach Jim Tressel simply
has Michigan's number. Some might
even say Lloyd Carr is a John Coo-
per in Wolverine clothing.
But Michigan has something
going for it. With some of the fin-
est players to wear maize and blue
graduating this year, you can bet
they'll do everything in their power
to win at least one game against the
Buckeyes before graduating. And, if
you believe the rumors about Carr's
retirement are true, you can bet his
players would like to send him out a
high note.
And there's only one way to do it.
Edge: Michigan
OHIO STATE 24, MICHIGAN 20
7
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