SANDALS: A DOSE OF REALITY HELPS

,.
4k ,
i

A The Michigan Daily I michigandaily.com September 2, 2008

WHAT'S NEW'
UTAH 25, MICHIGAN 23

Questions
remain at
B after
mediocrity
COURTNEY RATKOWIAK
Daily SportsEditor
It's not often that a one-time walk-on receives
some of the wildest pregame cheers from the
Michigan Stadium crowd.
On Saturday, that ovation belonged to Nick
Sheridan. But this weekend, the home fans may be
cheering for last week's second choice.
After redshirt sophomore Nick Sheridan and
redshirt freshman Steven Threet turned in less-
than-thrilling performances in Saturday's 25-23
loss to Utah, the Wolverines still have no clear-cut
frontrunner for the job.
"Steve probably came out of that game grading
a little bit higher," Rodriguez said yesterday after
watching the game film. "Nick had a little bit of
an edge coming into last game, and Steve kind of
equaled those things up."
The quarterback situation has been one of the
team's major storylines for months, and it may
have become a little less complicated Monday
when Rodriguez announced freshman quarter-
back Justin Feagin will redshirt. Rodriguez said
on Signing Day in February that he had never
seen Feagin, the only dual-threat player listed at
quarterback on the roster, play in person before he
signed.
"It's in the past. I don't
know why it matters,"
Rodriguez said.
"He's not ready," Rodriguez said yesterday.
Sheridan and Threet came into Saturday's game
with almost the same amount of collegiate game
experience - virtually none.
Rodriguez firstappearedtoleantowardThreet,
who started the spring game, as the possible Utah
starter before acknowledging Sheridan's surge in
fall practices.
But after Saturday's loss, Rodriguez wasn't
eager to explain the logic behind his choice of
starter.
"It's in the past. I don't know why it matters,"
Rodriguez said before explaining that Sheridan
got the nod because he made a few more good
plays in last week's practices and scrimmages.
The quarterbacks knew they both would see
action Saturday, and they received nearly equal
time on the field. The two were comparable on
See QUARTERBACK,
j Page 4B

SAIDALSALAH/Daily
Senior defensive end Tim Jamison reaches for Utah quarterback Brian Johnson in Michigan's 25-23 loss to Utah.
After much change, Blue
truges in irst gme

First-time quarterbacks
and spread system fall to
solid Utah squad
NATE SANDALS
Daily Sports Editor
It was a game of firsts for the Michigan
football team: The first game under new head
coach Rich Rodriguez, the first game in adi-
das uniforms and the first significant playing
time for its two quarterbacks, redshirt sopho-
more Nick Sheridan and redshirt freshman
Steven Threet.
But the first win of the new era proved elu-
sive as the Wolverines couldn't complete a
late comeback effort and lost to Utah, 25-23,
in front of 108,421 at Michigan Stadium on
Saturday.
While there were certainly some bright
spots.on both sides of the ball - especially
the defense's second-half emergence and a
near-comeback in the fourth quarter - the
Wolverines generally failed to translate their
schemes from the practice field to the con-

fines of the Big House.
"I told our team I didn't think they quit,
they played hard, stayed into the game, we got
a little lift in the second half, but they didn't
execute," Rodriguez said after the game.
Many of Michigan's struggles to move the
ball on offense seemed to stem from inexpe-
rience, with three true freshmen starting on
offense.
Rodriguez wouldn't publicly name his
starting quarterback in the week leading up
to the game, but Sheridan came out for Michi-
gan's first offensive series.
Sheridan led Michigan to an early touch-
down on an eight-yard pass to true freshman
running back Michael Shaw. The drive ben-
efited from a muffed punt recovery by Utah
and a pass interference call against the Utes
inside the 10-yard line.
It was the first career touchdown for both
players.
But Sheridan didn't show great poise in the
pocket. It especially hurtthe Wolverines with
less than a minute remaining in the first half,
when he lobbed a pass that was easily inter-
cepted by Utah's Sean Smith. The Utes were,
leading 15-10 at the time, and scored a touch-
down with 18 seconds left to take a 12-point

lead into the half.
"The ball kind of sailed on me a little bit,"
Sheridan said. "We'll go back and watch film
and see, but I felt pretty good out there. But
obviously we have alot of room to improve."
Threet got his first game action in the
second half and fared better than Sheridan,
leading the Wolverines to within a two-point
conversion of tying the game late in the fourth
quarter.
The Georgia Tech transfer threw the best
deep pass of the day for Michigan, a 33-yard
touchdown to Junior Hemingway in the
fourth quarter.
"Coach told me Thursday Nick would get
the startbut that I'd be playing, so he told me
to make sure I'mtaking every mental rep even
though I might not be in there," Threet said.
"Staying in it mentally definitely helped."
Michigan's coaching staff expected the
inexperienced offense to struggle at times in
the game. The defense was expected to be a
stalwart, but that wasn't the case in the first
half.
Although the defense had practiced all
summer against the spread offense, it looked
bewildered early against Utah, allowing 313.
See RODRIGUEZ, Page 49

1 "Club star climbs to varsity, helps Blue to victory

McCurdy joins men's
soccer team, gets first
point in first minute
NICOLE AUERBACH
Daily Sports Writer
SALINE - Redshirt junior Tom
McCurdy was sick of playing it safe.
Instead of starring on the Michi-
gan club
soccer team OREGON STATE 0
for a third MICHIGAN 4
straightyear,
he decided to take a risk and try out for
varsity.
He endured physically grueling try-

outs, battling for a roster spot. Then
McCurdy finally jogged out onto the
field as a Wolverine midway through
the first half of Sunday's game against
Oregon State.
It didn't take him long to make his
presence felt.
McCurdy entered the game in the
26th minute and, less than a minute
later, set up senior forward Jake Stacy,
who drove an 18-yard shot into the net.
Stacy's goal - and McCurdy's first
career point - gave the Wolverines a
two-goal advantage. Michigan went on
to beat the Beavers 4-0 Sunday at Hor-
net Stadium Field in Saline.
The Wolverines controlled the
entire game, outshooting Oregon State
17-4. Four different players scored.
"We have a lot of offensive weapons,

and we're always looking to get for-
ward," Stacy said.
Solid play from starters and strong
performances from reserve players
allowed Michigan to coast to its Sun-
day victory.
Because his debut was a few years in
the making, McCurdy's performance
was a little more special than most.
McCurdy's story isn't that uncom-
mon for this program. Michigan coach
Steve Burns led the club soccer team for
nine years before the program gained
varsity status in 2000, and he always
keeps an eye out for club talent.
"Any time there's a guy who is a first
team club player at a national level -
that's a Division I athlete," Burns said.
"Tom was that selection, I believe, last
year, and we knew he was going to fit

in."
McCurdy said although he was wor-
ried howhe'dinteract with teammates,
everyone has been friendly and wel-
coming. And of course, he feels com-
fortable on the soccer field.
"A lot of things were going through
my mind," McCurdy said of his first
appearance. "I was a little anxious,
excited. It was a mix of feelings, but
overall, I was just really, really looking
forward to getting a chance to get on
the field."
The relentless Wolverine defense
complemented the team's fiery offense.
Players hustled to keep pressure on the
Beavers and forcedturnovers. Redshirt
junior goalkeeper Patrick Sperry made
two saves to record ,his 14th career
See SOCCER, Page 3Er

FILE PHOTO
Michigan coach Steve Burns had a lot to celebrate after watching his
team sweep Oregon State and UWGB this past weekend.

i

r

I (4 b
4

I