4B - Septermber 21, 2009 The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com THE QUICK BREAKDOWN 0 MAIZE GAUGE The Michigan Daily football writers break down the weekend's stats that don't show up in the box score. The Mesk-o-Meter measures the success of special teams, the Rod-o-Meter judges how emotional (positive or negative) Rich Rodriguez was following the game and the Hype-o-Meter measures the fans' performance. 0 . V4 ' ' ' i .. ^.. ...wt -\ 4 . ' . ROD-O-METER 3 When your team matches last year's win totaljust14 days into the season, it has to feel good. Rodriguez was lighthearted and drew laughs when he addressed the Rich Rods officiating by "pleading the fifth." But while talking about key Michigan injuries, he shed the smile pretty quickly. MESK-O-METER I 3/ Zoltans After watching Darryl Stonum race his way to a touchdown off a kickoff return last week, we were expecting more from the special teams. Sure, they didn't screw up at all during the game -but they didn't do anything spectacular, either. HYPE-0-METER 1/4 "Yawn." That seemed to be the general sentiment in Michigan Stadium when the game started. And it never got much louder than that. Yeah, we know the Wolver- Big Houses Ines were playing Eastern Michigan. But you have to get excited about every win, especially after last season. 0 LOOKING GOOD FEELING BLUE MAX cOLLINS/Daly FE PHOTO RUNNING BACK MICHAEL SHAW CENTER DAVID MOLK Fellow running back Carlos Brown will have Everyone's been crediting the offensive line for everyone talking days after his 187-yard, two- Michigan's 380-yard game - and deservedly so. touchdown game. But we always knew he had But if redshirt sophomore David Molk broke his wheels. Sophomore Michael Shaw was the one foot as Wolverine coach Rich Rodriguez feared in the backfield who pleasantly surprised us. after the game Saturday, it would certainly be the Even though he missed spring practice for sports biggest loss from the weekend. Since redshirting hernia surgery, he looked healthier than ever his freshman year, Molk has started every game with 53 yards and a score on nine carries. of his career at center - 15 contests in a row. NOTABLE QUOTABLE Yeah, our sideline was nuts. I actually (was) trying to get to him to celebrate in the end zone and he took off on me, so I was like, 'All right, forget it. I'll jog. I'll catch you on the sideline.'" - Michigan wide receiver Darryl Stonum on running back Carlos Brown's 90-yard touchdown run. THE MICHIGAN DAILY TOP 10 POLL The Michigan Daily Top 10 returns for its first installment this season. Each week, Daily Sports staffers will fill out ballots, with first place votes receiving 10 points, second-place votes receiving nine, and so on. The results are published with first- place votes in parentheses. 1. FLORIDA (6): We were 6. MISSISSIPPI: Swine flu: 3, disappointed the Gators Rebels: 0. Again, we'd take didn't hang 80on Lane an SEC matchup over one Kiffin's Vols. with a pandemic any week. 1.TEXAS (3): Texas Tech is a lot more manageable sans Michael Crabtree. The 'Horns are tied with Florida this week atop our poll. 3. ALABAMA: 'Bama had about as balanced an attack as possible: 263 yards in the air and 260 on the ground. 4. PENN STATE: Were you around in 1941, the last time Temple beat PennState? JoePa was. 7. BOISE STATE: Time to put this one on cruise control with a ribbon on top. Hello, undefeated season. 8. LSU: Apparently everyone in Louisiana is a Tigers fan. La.-Lafayette didn't threaten for a second. 9. MIAMI: Ahh, it feels like the '90s again. Miami tore through a second-straight ranked opponent. 10. OKLAHOMA: Sam who? 5. CAL: Running back Redshirt freshman Landry Jahvid Best:35, Minnesota: Jones filled in for the 21. Oh wait, that was also the Heisman winner and set the final score, school's touchdown record. Senior running back Carlos Brown pulls away from the Eagle defense for a 90-yard touchdown. STAFF PICKS The Daily Football writers do their best to predict what happens Michael Ruth Courtney Andy Eisenstein Lincoln Ratkowiak Reid in the 2009 tootball season. No. 25Michigan (-24) vs. EMU No.1 Florida (-29.5) vs. Tennessee No.2 Texas (-17.5) vs. Texas Tech No. 3 USC (-20) at Washington No.4Alabama (-38) vs. North Texas No. SMississippi (NS) vs. SE Louisiana No. 5 Penn State (-30) vs. Temple No. 7 BYU (-8) vs. Florida State No. 8 California (-14) at Minnesota No.9 LSU (-26.5) vs Louisiana-Lafayette No.10 Boise St. (-7.5) at Fresno St No.11 Ohio State (-20.5) at Toledo No.12 Oklahoma (-17.5) vs. Tulsa No.13 VA Tech (-5) vs. No.19 Nebraska No.14 GA Tech (+5) at No. 20 Miami No.15TCU (-33.5) vs. Texas St. No.16 Oklahoma St. (-33) vs. Rice No.17 Cincinnati (-1) at Oregon St. No.18 Utah (+5) at Oregon No. 22 Kansas (-22.5) vs. Duke No.23 Georgia (+1.5) at Arkansas No. 24UNC (-7.5) vs. E. Carolina This Week Overall Michigan Tennessee Texas Tech Southern Cal North Texas Mississippi Penn State Florida State California LSU Boise State Ohio State Oklahoma Nebraska Miami Texas State Rice Cincinnati Utah Duke Arkansas North Carolina 14-7-1 43-21-1 Michigan Florida Texas Tech Washington North Texas Mississippi Penn State BYU Minnesota Louisiana-Lafayette Boise State Ohio State Tulsa Nebraska Miami Texas Christian Oklahoma State Cincinnati Utah Kansas Arkansas North Carolina 12-9-1 39-25-1 Eastern Michigan Florida Texas Washington Alabama Mississippi Penn State Florida State California LSU Fresno St Ohio State Oklahoma Nebraska Georgia Tech Texas State Rice Cincinnati Oregon Duke Arkansas North Carolina 12-9-1 39-25-1 Michigan Florida Texas Southern Cal Alabama Mississippi Penn State BYU California LSU Boise State Toledo Oklahoma Nebraska Miami Texas Christian Oklahoma State Cincinnati Utah Duke Georgia North Carolina 12-9-1 33-31-1 Guest Picker: Phil Rose Eastern Michigan Florida Texas Washington North Texas Mississippi Penn State BYU Minnesota LSU Boise State Ohio State Oklahoma Virginia Tech Miami Texas State Oklahoma State Cincinnati Oregon Kansas Arkansas North Carolina 11-10-1 37-27-1 To apply to be a guest picker, e-mail lincolnr@umich.edu. If you're chosen and can beat at least two of us, you'll stay on for another week. The longest tenured guest picker will get a prize at the end of the season.