w w w 2B Saturday, November 17, 2007 The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom w w i w w w w 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 GRIZZLY PEAK AWARDS & IMAGE Mi DAILY, KiCK-OFF EDITION, SEPT 5&8 B/w 3.75 x 6INCHES DUE TO PUB 08-01-07